Chain emails

Why do people make up those untrue emails that are sent 'round and 'round the world? You know the ones - Microsoft is doing a beta test of Software X and if you send this email to 20 people, you will receive $10,000 I swear on my grandmother’s eyes! Or, forward this email to as many people as you can, and Big Car Company will eventually send you a car once a certain number of recipients is reached. Does someone really just find this amusing? That’s kind of chilling.

I’ve often figured that is was some idiots idea of a funny joke, and they get a power trip from it. After all, the idea of sending out a prank e-mail/ chain letter, and then having it come back to you years later would make your Ted Kazinski type loners of the world feel like they can make a difference.

In the case of, you will get free (pick a specific brand name item) for so many recipients received, I think this is an attempt to hurt the company named. Inevitably when you don’t get your free Levis, Donna Karen, Ms. Field’s Cookies, trip to Disneyland, or money, you will probably feel like company X that supplies the product of interest is “ripping you off” for your ‘hard work’ of forwarding their e-mail and you’ll have a negative image of the company. I doubt, however, that such rumors are started by ‘the competition’. It’s mostly pissed off customers, or those lame people I would run into in college who protested EVERYTHING and feel the need to get back at large corporation for no reason other than the fact that they MUST be up to no good since they are as big and successful as they are.

End diatribe.