Nobody likes it. It's a wonder anybody still does it. It's what makes some people so leery of ever embracing email and it's what has lead to so many others opening up secondary, “junk” email accounts. As such, it's also the bane of ISPs and hosting providers everywhere. As of the writing of this article, spam has constituted almost 50% of the content of people's email inboxes and internet users, ISPs, and hosting providers have just about had enough.
By 2007 it is expected that, if no further action is taken against spammers, it will make up closer to 70% of the content of our inboxes. With arrests made, fines paid, and (in some cases) jail time pending, you'd think incidents of spam would finally be on the decline, but we have no such luck.
The first piece of spam was distributed in 1978 (back when the internet was called the ARPAnet and long before the days of competing consumer hosting providers). The first piece of anti-spam legislation was passed in 1997, in Nevada. Other states, like Arizona, have since followed suit. Most anti-spam laws today dictate that:
1. Any unsolicited email must indicate with the letters “ADV” in the Subject line that it is an advertisement.
2. The sender and recipient not in any way be obfuscated. In other words, it must be perfectly clear who sent the email and to whom.
3. A working “Unsubscribe” link must exist somewhere in the body of the email.
California, however, seems to be taking the war on spam a step further, designing a bill that permits consumers, internet service and hosting providers and the state to sue spammers for $500 per piece of spam.
Virginia currently boasts the harshest anti-spam law, banning automated spam tools and forged headers/footers entirely, and punishing offenders who either send 10,000 messages in a 24 span of time or earn $1,000 from unsolicited ads with up to 5 years in prison.
Internet service and hosting providers aren't waiting for laws to curb the insidious threat to their livelihoods, taking charge of the spam pandemic in their own ways. Consider Earthlink, who matches all incoming emails against the email addresses in the recipients' address books. If a message is sent from an email address not included, the recipient is notified of the attempted delivery and given several options for how they'd like the message to be dealt with, both in the moment and in the future.
By this method, Earthlink and other internet service providers and hosting providers with similar “challenge-response” systems in place obtain that very approval from their clients for delivering each email message that spammers, by definition, lack. Though some consumers may be irritated by having to actively participate in the unending process of eliminating spam from their inboxes, the method itself is extremely successful in reducing incidents of spam, in some cases, to almost zero.
Other hosting providers are taking the issue to court. In response to 8 million customer complaints, America Online (AOL) - which reported that in a single 24-hour period in March of last year its email filters had rid users' inboxes of 1 billion pieces of spam - has filed at least 5 separate lawsuits against spammers.
Hopefully spammers are less invulnerable than the cockroaches you might say they emulate. In the meantime, it'll be up to legislators, email clients, internet service and web hosting providers, and consumers like us to stand vigilant against them. While waiting for the courts and the government to do what they can to take care of the problem, you should take it upon yourself, at the very least, to make sure that both your internet service provider and, if you run one or more websites, your hosting providers include free spam prevention technology for their customers.
And Internet Service Provider
Bill analysis tools provide a vital service to business customers while saving time on account management and billing print fulfillment costs for the service provider. The customer can understand and manage their expenditures by creating their own reports and allocating costs with the option to access their bill. Reports are available instantly at every level of analysis – from trend summaries to individual line items.
What's new in bill analysis tools?
Some cutting edge companies now offer multi-level integration and deployment options for service providers of all sizes. Complying with the “JSR168 standard portlets” helps electronic bill presentment companies deploy into existing portal technologies such as BEA Weblogic, IBM Websphere or open source portals like Liferay. These bill analysis tools can be supplied with an API & SDK, making deployment quick and cost effective while creating a truly unique offering to your customers. Some of the best bill analysis tools mirror the user's own business structure, so that phone usage can be easily managed. They provide a range of reports that are presented as charts, making them easier for users to read and understand.
Why would a service provider decide to provide bill analytics?
For one thing, bill analytics allows the service provider to cut customer service costs by providing tools for customers to resolve their own billing queries. They also allow service providers to maintain proactive customer relationships; by encouraging online activity, service providers can develop a better understanding of consumer behavior. With these fast, powerful cost analysis tools, clients can set up watchpoints to view succinct, customized summaries of the reports that matter to them. And allow them the ability to access the exact level of analysis to fit their needs.
* Self-service – Electronic bill presentment tools empower customers to answer their own billing queries, therefore, you will benefit from savings in time and money. Win new customers – as the variety of telecom services grow and billing becomes more complex, bill analysis tools are becoming more and more necessary.
* Differentiate from the competition – Bill analysis tools provide a nonprice related service that adds value to users.
* Complements existing systems – Bill analysis tools can be delivered online as a stand alone solution or as a part of your portal or third party hosting.
* Hosting – Some of the most cutting edge bill analysis tools now offer flexible deployment, meaning it can be applications provider hosted, hosted by your company, or hosted by a third party.
* Scalable – Bill analysis tools are available in all shapes and sizes and are made to meet the needs of any business size…it's just a matter of finding the right solution.
Why would the end user opt to use a bill analysis tool?
* Makes information more accessible – with reports, graphs and data concisely summing up expense and usage trends.
* Saves time & cost – standard reports are instantly available, and even customized reports can be run within seconds – so the user gets just what they need, when they need it. Compare this to competitor solutions that can take hours or even days to download!
* Customizable reports – standard reports with wizard features are generally available with the best bill analysis solutions.
* Cost allocation – the best electronic bill presentment tools enable administrators to allocate usage to hierarchy or cost centre structures that reflect their business.
* Greater transparency – The recipient benefits from transparent bill information, allowing them to examine usage at department, team and individual levels.
Bill analysis tools make allocation and reporting a snap. Making these tools available to the end user improves the end user experience while reducing their need for customer service support. It makes real business sense to integrate a tool like this into your business processes. It can help you to cut costs, while providing a non-cost related differentiator to your customers. If you make their life easier, they are more likely to stick with you.
Both Sage Kalmus & Shelley Veazie are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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