How bloggers make money from your information

The problem with spam is that many people consent to its sending in the first place. Picture this. You are on someone’s web site or blog and are invited to enter a competition, or receive a free e-book. Not wanting to pass up a great offer, you happily enter in your email address and name in to the fields given and don’t check the box asking you if you would like to opt out of marketing promotions from ‘carefully screened companies’. The next thing you know, these ‘carefully screened companies’ are sending the most ridiculous spam: weight loss pills, new credit cards and magazine subscriptions being the worst offenders as I am sure you have noticed. So, is it ethical for a blog owner to attempt to make money out of selling lists of names and email addresses? Most certainly not. Why should a blogger have the right to sell the ‘right’ to spam someone else? So, when you are on a web site that you have not recently visited and are asked if you would like to opt out from further communications from ‘carefully screened companies’, you would be best positioned to ‘carefully’ opt out. You don’t want your information making money for some web master.