gadget spam

Over the past year I’ve gotten a lot more tempting spam. There are the usual “enhancement” offers, as well as oddball things I frequently get like golf equipment and Christian singles related spam–but the ones that are actually enticing and growing to be the bulk of what I get are offers of gift certificates and prizes. Did I really win a digital camera, an ipod, an imac? It’s just a flicker of an instant but it’s quite tiring after a while. I don’t generally put my name in for prizes, first because the purpose of those contests is to gather personal information to send out more ads and spam, but also because I “win” practically 100 contests a day, and if I entered contests it would make it that much more difficult to just hit ! (the spam marker in gmail).

Since I got on the list for gadget spam I can better understand how the spam industry survives. If they hit your weak spot, something you really want, you just might believe it. It’s a good lesson in the practical usefulness of the Buddhist principle of freedom from desire.