I can’t tell you the number of emails I get. I mean could tell you, but then I would have to actually count the number of emails. 

First, I would have to separate the real ones from the fake ones. Yes, I am talking about SPAM emails and not really the ones that are out phishing for credit card numbers or bank account information. I am actually referring to the many legitimate companies sending out unsolicited emails. I get a lot of those. 

Then I would have to separate the emails that are not real, but come from a company or person I know. The problem now of course is it is getting harder and harder to separate the real emails from the unwanted. I became increasingly aware of this about a year-and-a-half ago when I received and interesting piece of SPAM…from myself. 

Well, it wasn’t really from me in that I don’t have any companies that sell cheap watches but the “from” in the email had my name and my email. My IT person quickly educated me just about anyone can send an email “from” whomever they wish – it just takes a little computer trickery. 

Now I get about 2-3 emails from “me” every week. The spammers are selling anything from watches to online greeting cards. 

Spammers and Phishers do it for one reason. It is a numbers game and they have no interest in long-term business development. Nothing will burn your database (or potential customer base) than the loss of trust. 

Somewhere along the way lines became blurred. What is simply right and wrong started to have, for some people, gray areas. Solid business and personal ethics will always guide you in the right direction. 

Oh, and if you get an email from me to sell you a watch…I didn’t send it. 

Give any 13-year-old Photoshop and they have a field day cutting off the heads of people and putting them on other bodies. Sarah Palin is now in their sites. 

I have been monitoring emails lately about the campaign and the misinformation that surrounds them. Usually they are “stories” that are made up to support a candidate but in this case Palin is unlucky enough to be a visual target.

The latest is the fake photo show here. 

The body is not hers and the photo (head) was actually taken from this photo…

Chalk this up to people either being utterly stupid or simply not aware we have advanced beyond silent movies and Polaroid film. 

I have written before about the internet’s ability to spread misinformation and how it seems that we (in mass) accept anything in print to be fact. 

Case in point the Obama picture making its way around yesterday (again). Guess which one is real and which one is fake. Better yet, imagine how any 13-year-old with Photoshop can sway thousands of votes (not to mention manipulate people that think they are smart and well-informed).

Of course, this type of stuff doesn’t stop during the election. Seemingly well educated will believe anything on the internet from a Citgo Boycott to Bill Gates giving away millions of dollars. Oh well, here is this weeks Hocus Focus! 

Let’s see. Phone Upside down. 3:00am clock in the background. 

The real, but not terribly exciting, photo. Maybe if I publish at 3:00am that will help.

Stop sending me e-mails that tell me to boycott Exxon, Mobile, or 7-11 in hopes that a “mass walkout” would force them to lower the price of gas. Trust me, their powers far outweigh our ability to not consume gas. 

While we are at it… 

Bill Gates/Microsoft/AOL are not giving cash away (even if the e-mail says “I got a check”). 

Chevy’s, Denny’s, and Burger King are not giving away free food for “clicking here.” 

You cannot travel around the world for free if you “sign up” now. 

The Nigerian, the Orphane, and the Daughter of a Sheik do not have $168 billion they need to wire to your bank account (no matter how much they say they “trust” you).