The Persistence of Unsolicited Mail

Small actions have consequences that can stay with you forever. As a child, eager to show off my command of written language, I printed my name and address on a small printed piece of cardstock. Under the loving but misguided eye of my aunt, my handwriting sample found its way into an unassuming box with a slit in it. Though I never set foot into the store, I received regular correspondence from the company until I moved away for college (and maybe after). Such is the staying power of junk mail.

What better example of evolution is there than the humble mailer? The first advertising mail originated from the same pervert who envisioned store catalogs — Aaron Montgomery Ward. Building upon the uniquely human abilities to anticipate future outcomes (re: profit) and optimize processes, he lowered costs by offering goods directly to customers without the added expenses of a storefront. Other marketers decided to capitalize on available demographic information to ‘directly advertise’ their goods and services to a (supposedly) receptive audience. They have enjoyed a surprising amount of success, given the number of advertisements I receive for vinyl siding (I don’t own a house) and golf memberships (I don’t).

For-given-values-of-directed advertisement followed its stalwart cousin, the letter, onto the World Wide Web. Not only are our online ads based on the websites we visit, our electronic inboxes are filled with spam. Spam is the electronic equivalent to a flyer wedged under your windshield wiper.

In response to the stimuli of the digital environment, junk mail has become more aggressive and malicious. Instead of simply advertising products, junk e-mail asks you to actively click a link in order to view gratuitous nudity or agree to launder money for African royalty. Some variants hijack the recipient computer for use as a hub for sending more unwanted e-mail, frequently by using mimicry to imitate a trusted source.

Junk mail also frequently crosses the barriers between the Internet and the physical world. I have used a pseudonym when signing up for newsletters and promotions online, and subsequently received mail addressed to my alternate identity.

I recently moved 500 miles and several states for a new job. Difficulty in finding an apartment via long-distance led to complicated negotiations with the US Postal system, and some of my redirected mail took months to find its way to me. I manually went online to change my address with my bank; even then, it was more than two months before I received correspondence from them using my new address.

I didn’t tell any of the stores where I purchase pet supplies or other ‘discount clubs’ about my move; it was an opportunity to start over, a chance to begin a new life with only the essentials.

Less than a month passed before I received my first piece of unsolicited correspondence with my name and new address printed upon its pristine face.

You can move. You can put your name on a do-not-mail list. You can have an unlisted address. Junk mail will find a way.