Plan to charge businesses for e-mail triggers outcry

Marketers say AOL's effort to certify messages and reduce spam amounts to e-mail taxation.
America Online's plan to start charging businesses to send commercial e-mail messages is creating an uproar among some marketers, a newspaper reported Monday.

Some marketers argue AOL's plan to implement a certified e-mail system, which could charge advertisers $2 to $3 per 1,000 messages, is a form of e-mail taxation, USA Today said.


Quick VoteShould businesses be charged for sending mass e-mail messages?
Absolutely
No way
We'll get spammed anyway
or View results


Last October, AOL and Yahoo! both agreed to deploy a certified e-mail system designed by technology firm Goodmail Systems.

AOL is testing the program and plans to implement it within the next month or two, AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham told CNNMoney.com.

Yahoo! (Research), which said when it signed up with Goodmail that it would work with the company to certify messages containing bank statements, receipts and other "transactional" messages, is also expected to implement the system in coming months.

The certified e-mail system is designed to ensure users that messages arriving in their inbox are from a legitimate sender. Each message sent through Goodmail is embedded with a security token that must be detected before the message can be delivered to a user's inbox and identified as certified mail.

Goodmail negotiates the market rate it charges commercial e-mailers based on the volume of messages to be sent, and AOL receives a share of that revenue, according to AOL's Graham.

But some marketers say the system is merely designed to generate a new revenue stream for AOL, the Internet division of Time Warner. (CNNMoney.com is also a unit of Time Warner Inc.)

"It's taxation of the good guys with cash, and it does nothing to help the good guys who can't afford the cost or to deter the bad guys who spam anyway," Matt Blumberg, CEO of Return Path, an e-mail services company, was quoted as saying in USA Today.

Graham dismissed those claims as "competitive chatter" and said that any revenue generated from the certified e-mail system is "modest" and will be used to beef up the company's anti-spam efforts.

"This is an optional system, it's purely voluntary," he told CNNMoney.com. "The program benefits consumers as well as e-mailers."

Real estate deals: The American model

Unlike in India, many parties are involved in realty deals in the U.S. — the closing agent, title company, attorney, real estate agent, lender, appraiser, surveyor, pest (termite) and building inspection company and insurance agent. TRANSACTION RULE: Each new property buyer in the U.S. has to take a completely new policy regardless of how recently the seller had taken a title insurance. We were recently in the U.S. seeing our son, like other young Indian professionals, acquire a house of his own in California. I had also the opportunity to go through a very useful book, Your Real Estate Closing by Sandy Gadow ( @ Amazon ). Like in India, there was a boom in real estate prices in the U.S. also but it has now reached a plateau. A transaction can take, on an average, about 8-10 weeks for completion. In the U.S. investment in property, considered as the largest financial commitment for the majority, is treated with seriousness and with respect for law. Unlike in India, many parties are involved in such transactions- the closing agent, title company, attorney, real estate agent, lender, appraiser, surveyor, pest (termite) and building inspection company and insurance agent. The concerned parties take precaution at every stage and experts are engaged to handle various functions, like inspection of property and documents and insurance against possible and potential defects in title. One such protection, which can be considered as the most vital, is title insurance.

Title Insurance

This system is something unique. Title Insurance (TI) is a guarantee that the buyer gets what he pays for in a transaction for real estate. It guarantees that the real ownership of the property in concern is exactly as stated in recorded documents. It does not, however, cover personal property like furniture, curtains and refrigerator.TI protects against all imponderables like incompetent past action, clerical errors, an insane or minor person having signed an earlier deed, undisclosed heirs, incorrect interpretation of wills, signing by someone without authority, or any possible forgery in the entire past chain of title signatures. In sum, it insures against claims made by third parties against the title. In the U.S., marital status not correctly stated, can also lead to problems.In India we do not have this system and it is hoped that with the entry of new players in the general insurance field (including foreign entities) this coverage may be available soon.The protection provided by an owner's policy continues until he has an interest in it. When he dies his heirs or devisees (beneficiaries to whom the property is willed) remain protected. However, the policy is not assignable or transferable to subsequent purchases of the property. Each new buyer has to take a completely new policy regardless of how recently the seller had a title search conducted and had taken a title insurance.The insurer may list certain exceptions, that is, things that will not be covered and the purchaser has to find out ways to deal with them. There could also be some easements attached to the transaction, that is, the right of one person to make limited use of another's property, for example the right to cross it or maintain a road or right-of - way or the right to install and maintain public utility services. In such cases the insurer is asked to draw the relevant `plot-map'. The TI policy availed of by my son, is `forever', even after he relinquishes his title, but he cannot assign or transfer the policy to anyone else. The policy insures `i) any one who inherits his title after his death, ii) his spouse who receives the title because of the dissolution of his marriage (typical U.S. prescience); iii) the trustee or successor trustee of a trust to whom the title is transferred after the policy date; and iv) the beneficiaries of the trust upon his death. The premium paid on the policy was just three percent of the insured value.Termite inspectionAnother vital element in sale closing is termite inspection. The parties to a sale transaction in the U.S. will include expert termite inspectors also. It is essential as wood is one of the main building materials there. Even a relatively new house can cause termite problem.Earlier inspection for termite was confined to the ground floor of a building and its underside. However the process, presently, is more comprehensive; it involves checking for signs of wood damage throughout a building, no matter what the cause.Inspectors will look for signs of fungus, dry rot, faulty grade levels, earth-wood contacts, water leaks, scattered wood scraps and cellulose debris in the subsoil, and excessive moisture conditions, evidence of subterranean termites, dry wood and damp wood termites and other wood destroying pests such as certain varieties of beetles. The inspection report would advise two types of action to be taken, namely, corrective work to remedy current infestation and preventive work to prevent future or threatened infestation.Like in India inspectors can take their clients for a ride. A few will not take up inspection unless they are also assigned the job of termite control. When there is more than one way to remedy a problem, some not expensive and others expensive, an unscrupulous inspector may recommend the costlier option. Ms. Gadow cites in her book two revealing instances — an inspector calling for $4,000 worth of work to be done, later satisfactorily completed in another way for just $5.It is to be noted that neither termite inspection nor clearance of the inspection is required by law. Pest control companies that undertake termite inspection are licensed and regulated by a State Structural Pest Control Board. The Inspection Reports are filed with the Board and the copy filed on any building in the preceding two years, are made available to the public.

San Francisco, California

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth-largest city in the state of California, in the United States.
The city is a focal point of the San Francisco Bay Area, and forms part of the greater San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area (CSA), whose population is over 7 million. U.S. census data show that San Francisco has the highest population density of any major U.S. city aside from New York City.
The first Europeans to settle in San Francisco were the Spanish, in 1776. With the advent of the California gold rush in 1848 the city entered a period of rapid growth.
The best-known, as well as biggest, park is Golden Gate Park which is 174 acres larger than New York's Central Park. Another notable park is The Presidio at the south edge of the Golden Gate. The Presidio is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which includes Alcatraz, and many other large local parks. Buena Vista Park located in the Haight-Ashbury, is the city's oldest, established in 1867, nearby Alamo Square is famous for its views of the city and the famous Victorian houses known as the Painted Ladies. A large fresh-water lake, Lake Merced, is located in the south west corner of the city near San Francisco State University and Fort Funston.
Sister cities
San Francisco has fourteen sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Assisi, Umbria, Italy
Caracas, Venezuela
Cork, Ireland
Haifa, Israel
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Manila, Philippines
Osaka, Japan
Seoul, South Korea
Paris, France
Shanghai, People's Republic of China
Sydney, Australia
Taipei, Taiwan
Thessaloniki, Greece
Zürich, Switzerland

SeaWorld

Sea World, San Diego

SeaWorld is a chain of theme parks in the United States, with operations in Orlando, Florida, San Diego, California, San Antonio, Texas, and previously Cleveland, Ohio. The parks feature killer whale, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. The parks' icon is Shamu the killer whale.
SeaWorld has made many contributions to wildlife conservation. SeaWorld scientists, zoologists, trainers and rescue teams participate in research and wildlife preservation. Recently, SeaWorld teams have helped saved beached whales, dolphins, seals, and sea lions and helped raise the awareness of endangered manatees.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas Strip

Las Vegas is the most populous city in Nevada, United States. The city was founded in the first decade of the 20th century, and is a major vacation, shopping, and gambling destination. Las Vegas was given its name by Spaniards in the Antonio Armijo party, who used the water in the area while heading north and west along the Old Spanish Trail from Texas.

The primary drivers of the Las Vegas economy have been the confluence of tourism, gaming, and conventions which in turn feed the retail and dining industries. Several companies involved in the manufacture of electronic gaming machines, such as slot machines, are located in the Las Vegas area, draws numerous legal service industries providing bail, marriage, divorce, tax, incorporation and other legal services.