Spam Film Idea

Seems that education is the ultimate way to defeat spam, or at least to
reduce it dramatically.  The sharper the consumer, the less likely he or
she is to fall victim to an online con. With that in mind, I am thinking
of producing a film on spam and how to fight it. This would be a
professional job. Filmmaking is my business. It would probably run about
a half-hour and appear on public television.

The film would focus on spamfighting tips (do not unsubscribe, do not
use your e-mail address in online conversations, do not click on links
and, of course, report through SpamCop) and would include interviews
with spamfighters (how do you do it, how far do you take it, etc.).
Let’s dissect each of the common types of spam and come-ons, point out
the warning signs and tell folks where to report it. We would have some
fun, too, detailing the 419 reverse scams such as 419eater.com and
featuring a scene, done with professional actors, created entirely from
spam gibberish.

Though spammers may be viewed by the public as a bunch of small-time
hucksters, I’m not letting the big guys off the hook. It’s important to
hold Qwest, UU, Sprint and other big providers and domain brokers
responsible for their role in UCE. I’d like the film to raise bigger
issues, too, such as the rights to privacy and free speech.

Questions:

1) Are there other films about spammers?

2) Does anyone have a demographic profile of spammers (age, gender,
etc.)?  This would come in handy since I plan to bring in actors to read
some of the most outrageous spam lines I’ve received (among my
favorites: “powerful enlargement: How A Man can do it like a lesbian”).

3) Know where I can find an ex-spammer, one who’s been jailed or has
reformed?

4) I’m looking for spamfighters to inverview within a 300-mile range of
my home bases, Iowa City, Iowa and Joplin, Missouri. Any leads or
volunteers?

5) Any thoughts as to what angles you feel a film on spam should cover?

If you’d prefer to contact me offline, try sigerson at shpvideo.com.
Thank you.

--
Steve Holmes
Executive Producer
"The New Ball Game"
"RailFAN"
319-337-9507