Spamming the spammers – They replied, wow

I was sick of deleting all the spams from gmail which never wanted me to delete any mails. I started spamming spammers, not only the unknown once but also the known ones. People used to send me a lot of articles, common messages through orkuts and other social networks. I started spamming them back but sending them my blog url. I used to do this for all marketing offers as well. Did it worked I do not know but I got a reply which was quite unexpected one.


First mail from [email protected]

Dear Sir,

I am Amina Idris from the State of Kassala in the Eastern part of Sudan. I recently lost my husband who until his death was a serving officer with the SPLA here in Sudan. He died in the cause of performing his duties under the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).
Before his death he was privileged to have served close the powers that be in my country and this exposed him to huge sums of money of which about $7.5 Million was left to my surviving son and I.
I am contacting you because I need a big favor from you as regards receiving these funds on our behalf and help us invest it in a profitable venture. Due to my inexperience in matters of business, I am willing to give free rein of affairs to you in the day to day running of such a business venture.
Please if you are willing to assist me, don’t hesitate to reply and indicate your interest as soon as possible.

Thanks and best regards.

Amina Idris


My reply

I am interested please visit my blog http://www.idealwebtools.com/blog/

A reply after few days (looks like a reply, not sure)

Dear Sir,

I know how surprised you were to have received my mail. Sorry for the unsolicited mail I sent out of despiration. Please know that I am really in need of help here regarding the safe investment of my funds.I am a refugee as you already know and I am in serious need for someone to assist me and my son in investing our funds.

The issue here is that I need someone like you in view of your high status, a person I can trust to help me put into meaningful investment this money which was left to us by my late husband. I will like to know you better and as such I will like you to send me some sort of identification so that I can ascertain who I will be entrusting so much money to.

I am open to any good suggestions as I will not hesitate to give you complete control of what ever business you suggest as soon as you provide me with a comprehensive business plan and we formalised the necessary procedures that will help me take possesion of the funds. You assistance will actually require you to travel over here in Thailand where we are currently residing as refugees reason being that I cannot travel out of Thailand at the moment due to my status as a refugee. My documents are still under processing.

I sincerely await your response.

Sincerely
Mrs.Amina Ldris

Have you tried spamming spammers? It is fun esp you sometimes get replies from marketing guys.

tagged.com – Blocking tagged.com taggedmail.com – yaari spam

[Note: Some of my related popular posts are: 1) why mistakes are often mistaken – It talks about what are real mistakes. 2) Orkut used for crime, is orkut responsible for it anyway? ]

You may be getting hundreds of mails from a domain called taggedmail.com (which is owned by tagged.com social networks). After the success of orkut, facebook and myspace everyone is starting a social networks. It is good to start one but any system that frustrates the world should be blocked forever.

I am blocking tagged.com and taggedmail.com from all my mail servers. Join the movement to teach the owner a lesson, “RESPECT USERS – Present and future”.

How to block tagged.com and taggedmail.com

With Google it is easy, you can just create a filter http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=8151. Even with other mail systems, you can block the emails from some of the domains.

how does taggedmail.com access a contact list?

This is another common question from many of our users. It happens when you enter your gmail account details to tagged.com while registering, it then gets the lists and keep sending this to the people on your behalf. So I never give my gmail/email accounts while registering to any domain. Now you need to go back to tagged.com and delete your account, change the email account settings from tagged.com before deleting it.

how does taggedmail.com work?

Another common question by our users. It is nothing but they get the list when people signup at tagged.com. They don’t send mails from tagged.com but use taggedmail.com to send emails. I know its frustrating but you need to take steps to block it.

Tagged.com says Over 70 million people are on Tagged. Are you? 🙂

How many of them joined the group after getting frustrated? May 69.9 millions. It is such a sad network.

Some of the comments from my friends about tagged.com and taggedmail.com,

>Sirjee…Maine bhi pareshan hoke hi join kiya hai..?

(In English: I also joined this network after getting frustrated)

Dear Santosh,
Please send these messages to individuals and not to the group (just a suggestion).

The above message from our common groups (Alumni groups are getting such invitations), as every time you provide access to your email account they will keep mailing all your contacts. THE KEEP MAILING TILL YOU DONOT SIGNUP, FRUSTRATING FOR SURE.

Lets Tag tagged.com with BLACK LISTED

Now there is another network Yaari.com, Yaari spam

Yaari is now spamming my mail boxes like anything. The are forcing me to act every single day. I am going to block them too.

Blogs I read – my collections

During recent meetings I was asked to broadcast the list of blogs I read on a day to day basis. Sorry for the delay but here it is. Apart for this I do follow about.com various sections for the financial knowledge on mortgage, credits, debts, insurances, loans and other laws. Wikipedia is there for all the terms I have a query on. I also read http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/.

Google reader

Sorry could not write in detail, here is my opml file (I will try to keep it up to date) from my google reader. I use my reader almost 5 times a day (once in early morning 6:00 am, after reaching office and before starting my work 9:00 am, lunch hrs 2:00 pm, after finishing work at office 6:30 pm, at 11 pm at home) and will keep the unread post close to 0 every time.

Continue reading “Blogs I read – my collections”

Erroneous Perception of web by top Indian Job seekers

(Note: Please add your experience and take on the Erroneous perception of web by top Indian Job Seekers)
Why is that the top Indian Job seekers do not want to join web industry when in other part of the world people respect web related jobs? I do not regret my decision of rejecting the offers for “complier designing job”, “backward reservation protocol for wireless networking, a research type” and accepting an offer from a web start up with a great vision of winning the world with innovation. In India many have a wrong perception (but rightly so) towards Indian web industry, what are they,

  1. Web industry means making websites, graphics, multimedia.
  2. Its more technical kind of jobs.
  3. It does not have a wide reach or a career path.
  4. It will be quite boring, what will I do sitting in front of computer all day? (I had one MBA chap resigning after two days as he did not find the job interesting, sad he did not even give it a weeks time to experience the real web)
  5. I am not interested in web type jobs, I think I am born for marketing.
  6. SEO is a chepo work to do.

Many wrong perceptions like these but why did I say rightly so? Rightly so, as we only see what is shown to us, blame it on companies, blame it on university culture and blame it on _____. Let me take point by point that why these perceptions can be challenged :-

  1. Many feel that web industry means making websites, graphics, multimedia as most of the Indian companies does these kind of outsourcing work relying on the “cheap labour factor” of Indian economy. I have seen some of friends working on similar signups for 100 websites and charging 100 website owners and earning their daily cakes.
  2. Many feel that its more technical kind of jobs. Yes, it needs technical knowledge but it is nothing that you can’t learn. It is just a matter of 6 months. You can get the basic technologies in just few months. There is a huge marketing options available including my favourite, behavioural marketing.
  3. Many feel that it does not have a wide reach or a career path. Absolutely crap, we are never ahead of the demand resulting in producing outdated manpower. Do read my post on alpha of Indian Web business. It is just going to gear up, the gen Y is more web savvy than gen X, so will be the market.
  4. As one of our MBA recruit many feel that it will be quite boring. I am in this web industry for over 15,000 hrs and I still work on new things every single day.
  5. May feel that they are not interested in web type jobs and they prefer marketing. Were you interested in marketing before joining your B-School or your last course? Where you interested in marketing before meeting the Marketing guy? Its all about developing the taste but it cant happen if you are not introduced to it. This Jan I had a plan to visit some 20 B-school with the same mission of introducing Indian web industry but I got busy with unusual company affairs.
  6. Many feel that SEO is a chepo work to do and SEO is all that a web marketing can do. The best SEO is to focus on visitor experience. I have written articles on GE matrix and BCG matrix for online marketing and there is plenty scope for such conversion. The web product cycle, shelf life and everything has an interesting twist. Its more fun to be a Kotler for web industry that to be a Kotler’s disciple in offline marketing.

Remember, the time is going to change and the below picture will not longer be a reality
Professional blogger

H-1B visas, demand Vs supply

If your company is keeping a watch over the H-1B visas, here is some interesting news for this year,

On Tuesday, the U.S. government announced that this year’s limit on H-1B visas had already been reached after only one day, the first time in history the annual cap had been reached so quickly. Since 1990, American employers have relied on the visas to hire skilled foreign workers for up to six years, often in computer- or engineering-related jobs.

Politicians may work towards it

The reason for the surge matters: Congress is expected to hold hearings on raising the limit later this year, and will surely question why the quota was reached so instantly. Technology companies argue the surge is further proof that the quota must be increased, while opponents say there are enough Americans to do those jobs already.

The gap in “ability to innovate” is reducing faster than the gap in “living standards and environment for innovation”. Till few months back I was rejecting any abroad offers, which I am taking it seriously now (including a research offer and a one month seminar options). Till now my focus was on learning. I was getting enough time to learn and innovate but now I am feeling a little frustrated. With no current abroad offers I am looking for one. Why I want to move abroad,

  • I want to focus on some research topics with my job and sadly I am not getting any such environment here. We do not have good universities which focus on research, all focus on education.
  • Industrial peers (students by attitude) who believe in innovation and research. In India we take our jobs as jobs, a way to earn money. I want to get into an environment where we can spend some time on innovation (with no upper limits for failure count).
  • A little speedy life.
  • To experience the cultural diversification.
  • Income, expenses and taxes balancing out offering no chuck(net disposable income converging to a different zero with value almost equal to 0) for additional purchases.

There are pluses and minuses for every decision but a change takes care of few minuses making the whole equation a positive one. Lets see what the life has to offer.

Questions for your employer (Hiring Manager)

I was reading Penelope Trunk’s post “4 interview questions you should never ask“,

Most interviews reach a pause when the hiring manager says, “Do you have any questions for me?” In a world of workplace transparency the most common response to this question would be, “No. I have no questions. I am sick of job hunting. Give me a job.” But alas, you must play the interview game. So ask three or four questions as a way to convey that you have options, even if, in fact, you do not.

Your questions should convey: “I’m trying to find out more about this position to decide if I’m interested.” But you cannot say that flat out without sounding like an arrogant pain in the butt.

Very interesting post, so I thought I will put few questions I will be asking my employer or the hiring manager (apart from doing a good research on the company, job profile, working culture, products/services, market review, boss, vision)

  1. Can I know a little more about my team members and more about my team leader. (Very very important question, if you can get a right team then you can win the world)
  2. Do you have small teams?
  3. How independent are those small teams?
  4. What is done to keep the teams updated with the latest happenings (since I am into tech field it is a very important factor for innovation)?
  5. What are external affairs a team member is involved with like conferences, group discussions, panels, interviews, article writing e.t.c?
  6. How empowered will I be to make decisions?
  7. Do we have company gatherings to discuss about company affairs and culture? Who all attend it? (may be, may not be)

WILL I GET ALL SATURDAYS OFF? I will be framing more questions soon :). If someone can hire me for INR 50k per month with 4 working days that I can do research on other 2 days (just another dream :)).

Life vs work or work-a-lifestyle

They’ve got the smarts and the confidence to get a job, but increasing numbers of the millennial generation — those in their mid-20s and younger — are deciding corporate America just doesn’t fit their needs.

says USAtoday.
It is not much different in India, it is catching here too. My batchmates are gearing up for restaurant leaving all the six sigma consultancy. No one feels a job has enough. My immediate seniors have already started they ventures http://www.redhorns.com/products.php (there are more but I do not have the URLs).

The article further says

Experts say these children of the baby-boom generation, also known as Gen Y or echo boomers, are taking to heart a desire for the kind of work-life balance their parents didn’t have. They see being their own boss as a way to resolve the conflict. So now they’re pressing ahead with new products or services or finding a new twist on old-style careers. They’re at the leading edge of a trend toward entrepreneurship that has bubbled for decades and now, thanks in large part to technology, is starting to surge.

“It is a fun-loving generation,” says Ellen Kossek, a Michigan State University professor in East Lansing who has spent 18 years researching workplace flexibility.

In the similar lines I also started a discussion at Webmasterworld on Google policy allowing 20% time to work on personal projects. I think that is a great way to retain the best talent in any company. I have also exchanged some mails with Jason Warner of Google about these policies.

I also liked the post by Ryan

Boss said, “If you’re going to be successful you need to start putting your career before your life.”
Her mother said, “If you don’t put your life before work you will never be happy.”
Hearing this conflicting advice from two of the most influential elders in your life is confusing. What does Niki’s boss say to his kids when he gets home? Does he tell them to put work before life? What would Niki’s mom say to young people she works with? Would she tell them to go home early?

After reading all these I decided to listen to some Bryan Adams and John Denver today (after really long).

Web an opportunity today or a threat tomorrow, choice is yours

Do I need a website? What will I do with it, I am just a singer? Web presence for catering service! I don’t think it makes sense. I deliver Pizzas, how will web presence help me, forget it its too complex for me! Thats a feeling among many businesses, very rightly so as they have not seen or have experienced the power of Internet.

I liked the line by Jason of Google, “Sometimes you hear about things that are big, and you see them and see that they are big, you rationally understand that they are big, but you don’t really understand that they are big until you experience them.”

Internet is a threat to every industry
(Internet is a threat/opportunity for every industry, you will have to face the music anyway)

Magazines are less read these days as blogs/daily web updates are taking care of the need (some adopted this new platform but some are history). With social networks and web 2.0, web is a way to empower your business with a better communication platform. People presume web to be a sales platform (esp in countries like India, where Internet business is in its early stages).

This week’s brand equity caught my attention, which I can summarized as the alpha of Indian Web business. Major businesses are trying to capture the young generation through web (Guys, it is going to be tougher than you thought), most of them trying to follow the successful formula. Do not forget that web is a village, where two shops are not needed so better be original.

Summary of the blog post: Use Web as an opportunity today or as a threat tomorrow, choice is yours. Web culture is catching up in India too.

Cleared my driving exam and Tax investment

With all the meetings, ppts, excel salary docs, TT practice, AGM docs for non-profitable organizations (and …), I was learning driving as well (thanks to our CEO for forcing me learn this as a company task). Today we had the exams (so had to bunk the meetings), from 12:00 noon to 4:30 pm it was a long wait and less testing. I was just asked to drive some 300 meters with one left turn, he checked how I start, first gear, second gear and speed control (all went fine :)). Then some 5 queries based on traffic boards and signals (all went fine) followed by photos, invisible signatures (thats what I was told about digi signatures). Finally it is done and passed, you can congratulate me.

Things that I have not learned (or not taught)

  • Driving with left hand over the side seat.
  • Driving with mobile on.

Along with the driving exams I had to make some last moment investment to save tax (Oh God, Huge taxes again), invested in ELSS and HDFC Unit Linked Insurance. We had a series of lectures (with sales pitch but followed by tough scrutiny from our tech team members who prefer the word earning and spending over saving).

I will be taking a leave on Saturday as I am really really tired. Also will finish all my pending mails on Saturday.

Sorry, No Mail replies

Sorry, for last few days I am not able to answer all the mails that is hitting my mailbox (Buzy Buzy Buziness life, you see). Also I am not keeping well, little feverish. I will be taking a day off this week and hopefully will be answering all your mails. Thank you for your patience. Keep mailing, let it reach the 1000 unread mails count :).