SMARTER STRATEGIES

Five Smarter Technology Slaps and Claps � Part 2

Joe Maglitta | Date: 12-02-09 | Comments

Some technologies and practices make the world a better place. Some don�t.

- CLAP!
  "World's Largest Spammers" Hit with $15 Million Fine. You know all that e-mail for Viagra, bigger manhood and similar sludge clogging your networks and servers? As much as one-third of your junk (and everyone else's) reportedly comes courtesy of two skeevy New Zealand brothers and their U.S. accomplice. According to law enforcement, Lance and Shane Atkinson and Jodie Smith created a worldwide botnet network that made them "the largest spam gang" in the world. Under the names "Target Pharmacy" and later "Canadian Healthcare," the network recruited spammers who e-mailed "possibly billions" of "deceptive" marketing messages worldwide, according to a Federal Trade Commission report. But every dog has its payday. An international sleaze hunt paid off Nov. 30 when a U.S. federal judge ordered Lance and his company Inet Ventures Pty Ltd. to pay $15.15 million for violating the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003; Smith's companies were fined $4 million. Kicker: Atkinson only pays if he enters the United States. Actions were filed against three corporate defendants�Tango Pay, Click Fusion and Two Bucks Trading�in U.S. District Court last month. Question: For fun, what else should be done to punish these Web mega-polluters? Force them to eat cans of actual spam until they explode a la Monty Python? I'd like to hear your ideas. If you are seriously into stopping spam scum, you'll find tons of ammo and intelligence at http://spamlinks.net/prospam.htm.
- SLAP!
  Lufthansa in-Flight Cell Calling. In-flight Wi-Fi is great. But isn't air travel already sufficiently purgatorial without hours of deadly phone gabbling from some self-absorbed jag-weed in the next seat? At 2 a.m.? Thus I read with dread the German carrier's recent announcement of high-speed connectivity�optimized for handhelds and phones�on international flights, beginning in 2010. The cell industry, of course, thinks this sort of thing is swell. Ditto most overseas carriers. Mercy. Given the money at stake (Lufthansa will reportedly charge $3 a minute), in-flight cell calling is probably inevitable. Yet hope remains. British Airways says it's open to customer feedback on the issue. In the United States, the Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace Act, or HANGUP (H.R. 5788), would ban voice communications on wireless devices on commercial flights. (The bill is currently in a holding pattern in Congress.) The Association of Flight Attendants is also urging a ban on in-flight cell phone calls. They fear chattering chuckleheads would impair their "ability to maintain order in the cabin and to safely execute an emergency evacuation." Who ever thought we'd be fighting to keep $6-a-minute satellite calls? How about this: Stick the cell phone talkers in a noise-proof, rear section of the aircraft, with the screaming kids and (hey, why not) smokers. Just don't try to charge me extra for sitting in the "quiet" rows. "Flying cells/No way in hell! Flying cells/No way in hell! ..."
- CLAP!
  Truth in Labeling for Paid Bloggers. Is that diaper/cool Website/new taco chip really all that? New federal rules requiring bloggers to disclose freebies, trips, samples and other payola/swag took effect Dec. 1. Now, bloggers (magazines and publications are exempt) must disclose paid endorsement or pay-for-post arrangements on their sites or face fines. Abuse is said to be worst among parenting and beauty bloggers, but widespread. Predictably, ad industry honchos and many bloggers hate the idea. If bloggers want to act like journalists, they need to act like journalists. Truth in labeling is good for product and poster alike. On the Internet it's OK to be a paid dog; you just need to show your tag.
- CLAP!
  The Salvation Army for Wireless "Plastic Kettles. " At first it may seem tacky, like plastic Christmas trees or battery-powered angels. But hey, the commercial holiday season was cooked up by merchants, right? So why not use modern shopping technology to help those most in need? Last season, the Salvation Army experimented with using red metal kettles with wireless readers for credit and debit card donations. Fundraising in pilots went up smartly, prompting the charity to roll out the "Plastic Kettles" in 30 cities nationwide this year. "The machines print two receipts, one for the donor and one to drop in the kettle," reports the AP.The organization says its red kettles fetched more than $130 million last year, up 17 percent from the previous year. Given the unemployment situation, I wonder if they'll consider letting folks use their debit cards to make withdrawals �
- SLAP!
  Kellogg's Laser Flakes. From a U.K. press release: "Kellogg's has developed a hi-tech method to stamp out imitation cereals�by branding Corn Flakes with the company logo. The new technology enables the firm � to burn the famous signature onto individual flakes using lasers. If the system is successful it could be used on Kellogg's other best-loved brands including Frosties, Special K, Crunchy Nut and Bran Flakes." I don't doubt flake fraud is a serious concern, to someone. But deploying laser technology on breakfast flakes? Seems like a bit of � overkill. How about investing some of that laser money and actually adding more nutrition to cereals? Or improving taste so much that the resulting fabulous golden flakes cannot be counterfeited?