2 of 10

Write now Article Tools

So far today I have won several million dollars on different national lotteries, got a string of "hot girls" all begging me for a date, offers for more than ample supplies of Viagra, and countless solid gold tips on how to win big at the casino.

Sadly, closing my e-mail with a sigh, I realize that I'm not an international playboy with the luck of the devil after all; just another hapless hack that is a daily victim to the relentless wall of spam that affects our daily lives.

So what exactly is Spam? The term is most commonly attributed to the famous sketch of the same name by the British comedians Monty Python, in which spam (the meat product) is mentioned repeatedly, almost ad infinitum in the aptly titled "Spam" song.

The Pythons reference was to Spam and it's marketing in post war Britain where, during a time of very restrictive food rationing, spam luncheon meat was still freely available.

The nature of electronic spam is that it is often repeated in that you gets lots of separate e-mails with the same content, it is also freely available, hence the obvious comparison with the famous sketch.

So to clarify, the term spam in respect of the web originated through the proliferation of unwanted, unsolicited e-mail that appears in your in-box, a problem that still exists today, wasting countless hours of time and money for individuals and businesses alike.

With the advent of new communication channels through modern technology in areas like instant messaging, chats, mobile phone communications, and the like the term "spam" has adopted a much wider use than its e-mail based origins. So today, spam can refer to any form of repetition in a given communication channel.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've lottery winnings to collect.

Learn more about this author, Paul Marriss.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Spam explained?
We want to hear your view. Write now!