BIG slap on the wrist to the New York Post who just sent a broadcast marketing email to names collected through their tell-a-friend-about-this-article system. The email is a sweeps offer to get people to sign up for the Post's email newsletters. I'll bet a lot of folks on the list don't even see it, because the Post made the mistake of putting "this is a one time mailing" at the bottom, which is SUCH classic spammer copy that most spam filters stop email messages with that line from reaching recipients.

Why am I so annoyed about this particular spam? Well, it's because many content sites (including our own) get their BEST traffic (not largest, but often most likely to convert to opt-ins and/or buyers) from our viral referral systems. However, surfers will only use the systems if they feel safe that the email addresses they hand over won't be abused. I don't care what the fine print in your privacy policy says, a friend cannot give permission for another friend to receive email. The only way you get permission is from the person themselves.

Let's hope nobody follows in The Post's footsteps because it could hurt all of our viral systems' results.