Does spam work?

I’ve been wondering about this for some time now. I mean, I get upwards of 200 spam messages a day. I filter it out of my in box, I don’t read it if I can avoid it, I don’t reply to it, I don’t click the “please remove” link (thereby confirming my address), I don’t send my prayers and money to exiled Nigerian government officials, I don’t invest in the latest BREAKING NEWS stock tip, I don’t actually fall all over myself to click on the “Visit my HOT and HORNY webcam RIGHT NOW!!!!” links.

And yet, the spam continues to pour in on a daily basis, loads and loads of it. It’s gotten to the acceptance level, the place where annoyance becomes tolerance become routine becomes just-the-way-things-are.

But . . . does spam work? Are spammers out there really selling anything, generating leads, reaching new customers?

I can’t imagine they are. I don’t see how. And yet, it’s still pouring in every day . . . does that mean that somehow, somewhere, someone is making some money from spam?

Another mundane comment, just been thinking way too much about everything else and sometimes my mind takes a break…

(As a sidenote: One of the nice things about having a name that is not obviously male or female means I get spam for both teams, Herbal Viagra and the Jackrabbit Vibrator. Lucky me.)