Email Luminaries Promote Email Accountability

StrongMail, AOL, JupiterResearch and Other Influencers Converge at DM News Roundtable to Examine the Challenges Posed by Email Abuse and How the Industry Can Solve Them Through Email Accountability

WebKnowHow
Tuesday, September 5, 2006; 05:55 AM

StrongMail Systems, Inc., provider of email infrastructure software, announced its involvement in the recent DM News industry roundtable on email accountability, which is being covered in a four-part series that began in the publication's Sept. 4 issue.

The forum, entitled "DM News' E-mail Roundtable: A Discussion of the State of E-mail," brought together email thought leaders from the sender, receiver, provider and analyst communities to discuss how the email channel is evolving and how accountability is changing the way direct marketers use it. DM News associate editor Dianna Dilworth and editor in chief Mickey Alam Khan co-moderated the roundtable, which featured the following panelists:

-- David Daniels, vice president and research director of CRM, retail, site operations and marketing operations for JupiterResearch, an industry analyst firm

-- Dave Lewis, vice president of market development for StrongMail Systems, an email technology provider

-- Greg Martz, director of new member experience and email strategy for The Motley Fool, an investment advisory web site

-- Matt Seeley, president of CheetahMail, an email service provider

-- Charles Stiles, postmaster at AOL, an ISP and online media company

Held on August 3, 2006 in New York City, the roundtable addressed the threats to the email channel posed by spam, spoofing and phishing and how the combination of legislation, technology and self-regulation is changing the email landscape today.

"AOL, like other major ISPs and enterprises that send email, has an important stake in enhancing the reliability and trust of email as a vital channel for communication and commerce," said Charles Stiles, postmaster at AOL. "We are committed to providing the best email experience for our customers, and this roundtable is a perfect example of the kind of dialogue and cooperation that needs to take place between senders, receivers and technology providers to ensure the effectiveness of email for the long term."

The roundtable was precipitated by current industry momentum towards the adoption of email authentication technologies and other accountability measures. This momentum is being driven by the need to hold email senders accountable for their actions, which is beginning to unfold on many fronts: ISPs are enforcing email authentication; major trade organizations, such as the DMA and ESPC, are rallying around their efforts; reputation systems are gaining traction; and, the FTC is vigorously prosecuting spammers and others who violate CAN-SPAM provisions.

"In order to be successful, senders need to maintain trust with their customers and prospects, and email accountability provides a mechanism for making that possible," said Greg Martz, director of new member experience at The Motley Fool. "Having the right email infrastructure that supports email authentication and other best practices is the critical first step, which is why we use StrongMail to send our email communications to millions of Motley Fool subscribers. The second step is to engage in email best practices, which is what email accountability is all about."

"Much has been said about the importance of best practices for ensuring customer satisfaction and maintaining a good reputation in this new era of sender accountability; yet, the often overlooked fact is that many of these best practices are enabled by the underlying technology," said Dave Lewis, vice president of alliances and market development for StrongMail. "StrongMail is proud of its role in both driving the industry changes to enhance the email medium and providing the senders of email with technologically advanced solutions to ensure their success."

Beginning with the September 4 issue, DM News is publishing a month-long series of articles on the topics and discussions that came out of the email accountability roundtable. The September series is part of "Celebrate E-Mail Month" for DM News. The articles will be available at the DM News web site at www.dmnews.com.

For more information on email authentication's role in email accountability, you can download the recent StrongMail white paper, "Email Authentication: The Time is Now," at www.strongmail.com/emailauthentication.