SPam on BLOG (SPLOG)

I've had my blog for about a year now and just recently (the past week or so) I started receiving comments from bogus bloggers. They leave comments on my blog and invite me (or my readers if there are any) to visit their sites. I find this practice very annoying and although I first labeled it cyber-begging, I now know that it is splog-ing or perhaps splogging, the equivalent of spamming blogs.

According to a Wall Street Journal article, splogging is an automated process, much like spamming is. Apparently, there is software that creates the bogus blogs (those who leave comments are registered blogger users) and then leaves the comments. The practice exploits the search engine ranking system as well as users like me who try to uncover culprits but may give them profits by clicking through on their websites.

The article mentioned a blogosphere protecter, who I've linked to here.

Indespensable?

Those who are studying the Internet and its digitally-enabled communication are concerned that the quantity of communication is becoming greater than the quality of communication.

If you've received a forwarded email, you are aware that quantity is not the same and may, in fact, be in inverse relationship to quality. (Not that I don't love your emails, especially from those who are selective).

I received a commercial email from Cutter & Buck the other day. If you're not familiar with the company, it's an upscale apparel company that sells golf and country-club-type clothing. It may even put its clothing in the category of luxury. So, I was surprised to read the email promoting its "best-selling luxury mockneck" with a reference to said item: "it's indespensable as your first layer of comfort and good looks." Ugh. It's close to being phonetically correct but not quite, at least to my southern-accent-attuned ears. (The word should be indispensable - that is something one cannot do without).

I read somewhere that a defense against phishing (scam companies telling you to visit their sites and update your personal information) is not to trust emails with misspelled words. The advice sounds sound but it's not helfpul.

Get it right, good guys, so we can trust you.

Off target - a bad e-shopping experience

One of the things that I love about the Internet is how it enables shopping. Not only do I loathe the mall experience (an occasion visit to the nice strip malls are more my style) but now that gas prices are so high, e-shopping is relatively convenient and usually more economical way to do business.

Up-to-date inventory records are key, everyone should know, to a successful e-commerce site. When Internet shopping was fairly new (at least to me about five years ago), I shopped two major apparel catalogs on line. One company could tell me inventory availability instaneously; another couldn't. Guess which one I ordered from? It didn't take too long for the inventory functionality to be included on nearly every major company's site.

So...I was really surprised at the problems I encountered during an e-commerce experience with a major mass discounter. I won't say its name but let's say the experience was, well, off target of a great one.

It started wonderfully. I was trying to get some early Christmas shopping done when I happened to think of a younger friend who was getting married next year. I wondered if she had registered anywhere. She hadn't registered at any major department stores but I easily found her at the bridal registry of a discount store site. I had wanted to order fine china or even casual china so that she would receive a long-lasting gift. My options were limited to the practical (e.g., an electrical griddle) and not so long lasting (candles) so I opted for the practical. I chose two gifts: both were listed as being available.

In the ensuing weeks, I received numerous emails from the store. My items, it seemed, could not be shipped on time ("on time" as being specified by the store-the wedding date was months away) and my approval was needed to delay the shipping. I approved at least once. Then, I became irritated by the continuing stream of emails, asking over and over again if the store could yet again delay the shipping of my product. It would try, I was promised, to ship the items even if I didn't issue my e-approval. How hard I wondered?

At some point, I felt that I was playing an inventory game and, well, I was ready to take my order and go home -- not sure what the rules were and whether getting the items was considered winning or losing.

Finally, I got THE notice that one of the items on my order had been cancelled (a month or so after I placed the order for this supposedly available item) because I had not issued my approval. Of course the order failure was my fault. I did wonder though about the other item in the shipment -- surely this item would ship on time. I checked the bridal registry that had started me on this seemingly endless e-shopping journey and I noted that the item in question was listed as having been purchased for the bridal couple. Ah, success for me, I thought.

The next day, I received a notice that the second item could not be shipped because, again, I had not authorized yet another delay.

I visited the bridal registry and found that the item I had hoped to order (well the one I DID order) was not fulfilled and was, yes, again, available for shipment.

I'm still not sure what happened but I'm taking my e-dollars elsewhere.