All Internet users claim to hate them. The annoying animals that pop-up on your computer ready to give you a million dollars if you can shoot the duck, the monkey, the Ogre. Or, there are the mass e-mails all of which claim that their company has the least expensive Viagra and Cialis on the market. Users click their way through the pop-ups and delete their way through the e-mails, but somewhere along the line they have to wonder: Are they working? Companies of all shapes and sizes are using these annoying advertising tools for a purpose. These companies must find them profitable to some extent to keep using them. So how do pop-ups and spam work, and are they effective?

Pop-Up Ads: They Keep Going, and Going, and Going

It seems like no matter how many clicks of the mouse your finger can take the pop-ups just keep popping. Most internet experts suggest that these pop-up ads are simply too annoying to work. People become so aggravated that they click right through, and even the appeal of winning a million dollars does not work. However, some experts claim the annoying advertising tricks do, in fact, work.

Spam: More than Processed Meat

Spam was once known only for its unique addition to a sandwich. Now, the term “spam” refers to the annoying repetitive e-mails that many internet users receive on a moment-by-moment basis. These e-mails often focus on a product that companies claim to be selling cheaply and often include prescription drugs and software. While many e-mail providers these days have specific boundaries that are meant to inhibit spam from entering a person’s inbox, the sneaky devils do manage to squeeze through.

But do these e-mails work? Microsoft claims that spam is a “lucrative business.” The company suggests that the cost of sending billions of e-mail messages is zero to none, and even if a small fraction of millions of people purchase, that is enough to create a profit. Some studies seem to suggest that a surprising number of Americans have purchased internet items as a result of spam. And that is why spam works.