May 3, 1978 is a day, to paraphrase Franklin Delano Roosevelt, that lives in infamy for all of us who use the internet, especially those of us who rely on e-mail as a major form of communication. I have been an e-mail user (in some for or another) for almost 25 years, and, until I read a blog at the Wall Street Journal's website yesterday, I had not idea of the significance of May 3, 1978. For, my dear friends, this Saturday marks the 30th anniversary of the first piece of piece of unsolicited e-mail, or SPAM.
The man who got the ball rolling, Gary Thuerk, was advertising an open house for a new line of computers that his company was selling. Reaction was swift from the 2600 or so people on the net; he was warned by many to not do it again, for there was an understanding by the users of the net that e-mail was not to be used to sell things. Mr. Thuerk to this day maintains he was not selling something but rather extending an invitation. No matter the reason, a new era in computing history was born.
This got me to thinking about SPAM and Mr. Thuerk and I wind up with a couple of reflections: 1) How many unwanted messages do you and I send out every day? (I'm not talking just about e-mail, but all messages, verbal and non-verbal); and 2) How many times do we initiate things that wind up with unintended consequences?
Now, don't get me wrong, I do not believe for one minute that Mr. Thuerk is solely responsible for all the SPAM in the world; someone would have done it if he hadn't.
However, take a moment as the 30th anniversary of the first SPAM message comes around and reflect upon the messages you send out every day. As Christians, our hope and prayer is that all of our life is about spreading the gospel of Christ in thought, word, and deed. Can it be said of us that we are spreading the message of God's love, hope, peace, and grace; or are we spreading a lot of SPAM through the lives that we live?
See you Sunday!
Lamar
The man who got the ball rolling, Gary Thuerk, was advertising an open house for a new line of computers that his company was selling. Reaction was swift from the 2600 or so people on the net; he was warned by many to not do it again, for there was an understanding by the users of the net that e-mail was not to be used to sell things. Mr. Thuerk to this day maintains he was not selling something but rather extending an invitation. No matter the reason, a new era in computing history was born.
This got me to thinking about SPAM and Mr. Thuerk and I wind up with a couple of reflections: 1) How many unwanted messages do you and I send out every day? (I'm not talking just about e-mail, but all messages, verbal and non-verbal); and 2) How many times do we initiate things that wind up with unintended consequences?
Now, don't get me wrong, I do not believe for one minute that Mr. Thuerk is solely responsible for all the SPAM in the world; someone would have done it if he hadn't.
However, take a moment as the 30th anniversary of the first SPAM message comes around and reflect upon the messages you send out every day. As Christians, our hope and prayer is that all of our life is about spreading the gospel of Christ in thought, word, and deed. Can it be said of us that we are spreading the message of God's love, hope, peace, and grace; or are we spreading a lot of SPAM through the lives that we live?
See you Sunday!
Lamar
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