Newsletter ArchiveSUBJECTs:Spam Laws - FTC Recommendation for Search Engines The Internet 800 Directory - http://www.inter800.com The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter This issue is for Friday, July 12, 2002 Table of Contents 01. Spam Laws 02. FTC Recommendation for Search Engines 03. Tip Of The Week *01 Spam Laws In the last two weeks many of you have asked about compliance with State and Federal laws in regards to sending “unsolicited” commercial e-mail. Before I provide you with my understanding of the laws in this area, please note I’m not a Lawyer. Currently there aren’t any Federal laws that govern the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail messages. While there have been many bills proposed, none have been enacted. The notice of compliance with Federal laws you see on the bottom of some e-mails is strictly for show. Several states have laws pertaining to e-mail delivered to computers residing in their state. “Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia” all have laws that makes it illegal to send unsolicited e-mail messages that use a third party's domain name without permission, misrepresent the sender or point of origin, or contain falsified routing information. “California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Utah” require that when sending unsolicited commercial e-mail messages you must provide opt-out instructions. “California, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah” require some or all (depending on the state and the nature of the e-mail) unsolicited commercial e-mail messages to contain a label at the beginning of the subject line. In most of the states this applies to e-mail that contain sexually explicit materials, but not all. For more detailed information about the laws in each of the states visit http://law.spamcon.org/us-laws/ If you have any thoughts or ideas you would like to share, please send them to Chuck Arning at chuck@inter800.com We’re Talkin’ Serious” Bone Suckin’ Sauce ! Winner: “Battle Of The Sauces.” Created in true western North Carolina style. Tomato based all-natural, sweetened with honey and molasses. Order your Box of six today for $39.99 +s/h. Toll-Free 1-800-446-0947 or online http://www.BoneSuckin.com *02 New FTC Recommendation for Search Engines A couple of weeks ago the FTC responded to a claim filed by a watchdog group, Commercial Alert. Specifically, in its response, the FTC said, "Commercial Alert's complaint alleges that when search engines include Web sites in search results lists, on the basis of 'paid placement' and 'paid inclusion,' such search results are advertisements. It further contends, "Without clear and conspicuous disclosure that the ads are ads,' such 'concealment may mislead search engine users to believe that search results are based on relevancy alone, not marketing ploys." The FTC's in-depth analysis and response was accurate and important in many ways. As has been discussed in prior newsletters, key word search placement has become the new industry standard among companies such as Google, Overture, Yahoo! and many others can attest. (In fact, to emphasize the importance of positioning and its growing universal acceptance, "two rivals in the paid search engine listings business, topped industry expectations in a further illustration of the performance-based sector's relative health, compared to the rest of the online advertising industry. Overture posted fourth-quarter revenue of $101.2 million, up 40 percent from the previous quarter, with net earnings of $20.8 million, up from $9 million, in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, competitor New York-based FindWhat.com posted a fourth-quarter profit of $1.6 million, or $0.08 per share, on revenue of $7.9 million." (2/13/02 News Release) However, the analysis revealed that almost 60% of viewers using search engines didn't realize that when they searched for specific content and received returns that were labeled "Partner Search Results" or "Featured Listings" that these connotated a paid arrangement. This has always been sort of a sore spot with us as when one searches for, say, "800 Directory", the Internet 800 Directory is at the top of the returns on every major search engine, but is sometimes preceded by paid advertising that is not necessarily relevant to the search for an 800 or toll free directory, as with any other 'editorial-style" return. The FTC agreed to Commercial Alert's complaints in its response: "Because search engines historically displayed search results based on relevancy to the search query, as determined by algorithms or other objective criteria, the staff believes that consumers may reasonably expect that the search results displayed by individual search engines are ranked in accordance with this standard industry practice -- that is, based on a set of impartial factors. Thus, a departure from the standard practice, such as a search engine's insertion of paid-for placements in the search list, may need to be disclosed clearly and conspicuously to avoid the potential for deception." Furthermore, they went on to suggest that a search engine should clearly state that any paid placement is prominently disclosed and under what terms and conditions they appear. They did not imply that paid content is wrong, nor did the original complainant. (For the full letter see: http://www.ftc.gov/os/closings/staff/commercialalertattatch.htm) I might add that the Internet 800 Directory has always disclosed our placement positioning, pricing etc. on its site at http://inter800.com/featured.htm . Steve Jackson saj@inter800.com Vegas Vacation has the best rates on Las Vegas Hotel Rooms. Don't make a reservation without calling us first! Call 800-637-6442 or visit our ad in the Internet 800 Directory: http://inter800.com/02281174.htm Tip of the Week Using [Ctrl] to select text in Word You can use the [Ctrl] key in combination with the mouse to select a sentence. To take advantage of this technique, simply hold down [Ctrl] as you click anywhere in the sentence; word will highlight the sentence as well as the period and any blank characters after the sentence. To expand the selection one sentence at a time, continue holding down the mouse button and drag through the text you want to highlight. If you use [Ctrl] to select the last sentence in a paragraph, Word won't highlight the paragraph mark, which it treats separately from the sentence. If the sentence contains an abbreviation that includes a period, such as Dr., Word will stop selecting at that point. To continue the selection, just hold down [Shift] and click on the remaining part of the sentence. If you have any tips or shortcuts that you think the readers of this Newsletter will find useful, send them to sjackson@inter800.com Banners? Pay-per-click? Why not target your market with links or information placed in relevant content? The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter offers direct access to business people who are interested buyers. Advertising: Information on how to sponsor this publication: Call 800-299-1879 Thanks for taking the time to review our newsletter for this week. If you know of anyone that might benefit from receiving this newsletter, send them to (http://www.inter800.com/news800/ ) where they can subscribe. All Contents Copyright ©1995-2002 The Internet 800 Directory Subscribe To The Newsletter: |