I've appended below an unsolicited email I just received, having to do with air travel and at least indirectly, with the Internet, because:
- I really can't tell: Is this is a Nigerian-type spam/scam? -- or is it for real?
- And beyond that, which would be worse: for it to be just a scam? -- or for it to be something that really goes on in our world? Is this how those utterly stupid and banal items that you hear on the audio or video Business Channels on airplanes are really created?
- Is there an uglier, more dishonest word than "advertorial"? (in the 3rd paragraph down)
============================= To: [me] From: Patricia Chi Subject: Radio Interview with [me] Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 01:32:05 -0700
Time Sensitive Material [my name] [my phone]
Hello:
I am writing on behalf of Sky Radio Network, the nation's leading in-flight media company, in regards to our upcoming "America's Innovators and Entrepreneurs" talk radio show on American Airlines.
This special on-going radio series spotlights compelling profiles of innovators and entrepreneurs -- from the small business owner to the large enterprise CEO -- the people that make up the backbone of business in America and are rarely heard from. This show will feature stories of hope, ideas and success stories in ways you've never heard before.
I would like to personally invite you to participate in our radio program, which airs worldwide on American Airlines for a full month reaching 4.2 million business and leisure travelers. This special advertorial opportunity requires a small production fee (see participation costs and details below).
Our guests to date include:
Anthony Ambrose, General Manager, Intel Craig Ellins, CEO, DigitalFX Tom Cates, President, Brookeside Stephan Brant, Managing VP, Hitachi Consulting Debbie Grodon, President & CEO, Snappy Auctions Al Knapp, President & CEO, Ethanex Energy Joy Flora, President, Merry Maids
To hear some of our current and past interviews, click on
Since we're on deadline, we're offering our last two spots on our September 2007 edition for only $3,995 (normally $6,995). Please note we must record your interview by June 8th and because of our tight deadline, we need a commitment to secure your spot no later than noon PST on Wednesday, May 23nd.
Your participation includes:
- Production and placement of a three-minute interview/profile to air worldwide on "The Business and Technology Report" on
- Sky Radio's "America's Innovators and Entrepreneurs" program listing in American Attractions (350,000 monthly copies).
- Rebroadcast of interview on formatting linklink to your site for 1 year.
- Digital audio file of interview for promotional and marketing purposes.
- "As heard on American Airlines" logo for airing of interview on your website.
- All turnkey production including scripting, recording, editing, mastering and delivery.
Please contact me as soon as possible to reserve your spot, as space is very limited. In the meantime, I encourage you to visit our website to gain a better understanding of who we are and the caliber of clients we represent.
Look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Patricia Chi Producer Sky Radio Network
12155 Riverside Drive Valley Village, CA 91607 818.754.6687 Office 310-594-9609 Mobile 818.301.2099 Fax snipped-for-privacy@skyradioandvideo.comProducers of the #1 Talk Shows in the Sky and on the Web
Sky Radio Network is an independent producer contracted to place business and lifestyles talk radio programming for four major domestic carriers. If you'd like to call for a reference, please contact the Executive Producer, Elizabeth Montgomery at 818-762-6800 ext. 11 or email snipped-for-privacy@skyradioandvideo.com. If you want to be take off our invitation list, please reply to this email stating your intent.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Personally, I do not think this is a Nigerian type scam/spam. Now spam it probably is, but I do not think it is Nigerian in nature. Nigeria always seems to be offering something for nothing, i.e. 'help me by spending this X million dollars which was left in our bank'. But, thanks for passing along this example of just what a miserable place the internet has become in recent years (actually, about 10-15 years, since Al Gore invented it.)I'll tell you what I *despise* about the net these days: the huge number of agressive viruses which are sent out which clog up my computer making it almost unuseable from one day to the next. I had one such item this past weekend which made my system almost entirely unuseable. I do not know _who_ sent it, but I got one of those miserable pop-ups, and quite a few pop-unders telling me I have lots of viruses; I think there were a couple dozen listed. If I clicked somewhere, it promised me a 'free scan' to get rid of them. So, like the damn fool I am, I clicked on what _I thought_ would dismiss the pop-up; instead it brought me more and more 'pop-ups' of the same kind. Try as I might, running every virus remover I have here did not get rid of it; its name is 'Dr. Anti-Spam' and at first did not even show up in the 'Add/Remove programs' list on the control page. Finally my friend and expert consultant in Canada told me to try one he sent here called 'f-spyaxe.zip' which I unpacked, loaded and ran. That sort of half-heartedly got rid of it, but left remnants of it. So many remnants, in fact, that when I got up Sunday, the remnants were cluttering my screen. Then my friend said try Rogue Remover, which is an open source thing specifically designed to clean out one's computer good and properly. (I had to spend about a half-hour cleaning out the pop-ups [as more and more of them kept showing up] before I could get to and read his email about Rogue Remover.) Once I downloaded RR it went to work immediatly, bashing one bogus file after another which this thing (Dr. Anti-Spy) had given me. I asked my Canadian friend, "if these people are trying to win over friends and get you to buy their anti-virus protection why did they do it this way?" My friend replied that, "you did not have all those nasty viruses they claimed; that was just to scare you; all they want to do is get your $39.95 payment, not get you rid of viruses." It turns out I had no viruses except for one: theirs. Apparently this is a common technique these days, to make claims about viruses to those of us not too familiar with the topic (or actual forensics of same) and then get money for removing them. Nasty, nasty, nasty!
And when I frankly say to people that 'computers and the internet are not fun any longer' ( I *used to be* one of the biggest supporters of same) my friends all tell me I am just a 'sourpuss and a bitter old man', and they ask me why if I feel that way, do I keep on doing this work. I tell them I do not know what else to do with my life. I do know I would like to find out who sent me that 'Dr. Anti-Spy' thing; I would make a referral to the alleged Iraq terrorists to find them (and ALL virus writers/distributors) and behead everyone of them. PAT