Antispam A Big Business
from the will-that-last? dept
You always have to wonder about businesses where "success" would mean they're no longer necessary. One of the industries that fits into that definition is antispam. If the antispam companies can really get rid of spam, then, in theory, they won't be necessary any more. So, you begin to wonder what incentives anti-spam companies really have to wipe out spam. In the meantime, however, antispam companies are raking in the cash from people who just can't stand the spam barrage any more. According to one study, antispam companies are bringing in more than five times as much money as spammers are themselves. Because of this, there are hundreds of antispam products out there, and more are appearing everyday. So, the question remains, is spam a permanent problem and will there always be a space for these companies? Or, will they be so good at their own business that spam becomes unprofitable and the business model collapses? In the meantime, it seems like some of the best antispam tools out there are still the free ones, so you also have to wonder if pricing pressure will eventually get to some of these companies as well.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
