Coop's Corner

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May 3, 2008 6:46 AM PDT

Spam at 30. Happy birthday, sort of

by Charles Cooper
  • 4 comments

I prefer my spam...in a can

We'll find out later whether this really is Microhoo Day. If it's another false alarm, May 3 will retain its place in computer history as the day spam was born. Thirty years ago, some guy entered the record books for being the first to pitch unwanted commercial e-mail.

Remember all those predictions about how spam would be resolved by now? Still waiting. Government hasn't figured out the answer. Ditto the technology industry. Wonder if we'll still be bemoaning spam and its discontents 30 years ago from today? (Cue up "Sergeant Pepper" right about now.)

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About Coop's Corner

Charles Cooper has covered technology and business for more than 25 years. A graduate of Queens College and Columbia University, Cooper received the Excellence in Journalism award from the Northern California branch of the Society for Professional Journalists for column writing.

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