Press reports and first-hand accounts have detailed the problems seen on some instant messaging networks, including AOL Time Warner's ICQ. Because ICQ uses numbers and not usernames that can look more like normal names, IM spammers can deliver their messages -- mainly pornographic in nature -- to users.

There's at least two applications out there that use some of the public IM networks to send spam. MassMess, a Russian company, offers its mass IM delivery service for Yahoo Messenger as either a hosted solution or as a stand-alone software title. The company sells the opportunity to send unsolicited messages to Yahoo Messenger users at $100 per 200,000 delivered, and $450 for 1 million delivered. The software, meantime, can also be bought for $800 -- and that comes with 1 million of active users in Yahoo's database. For $300 more, a potential spammer can buy a "set of harvesters to create your own unique users database."

The other program is a shareware title called ICQ Interest Search (ICQIS). The site for the software, at www.icqis.com, is not accessible, but can be seen via Google's cache. It can be bought from at least one e-tailer found by InstantMessagingPlanet for $99.

An entry in Google's directory says ICQIS can be used to "(f)ind other ICQ users who have the same interests as you and send them instant messages." But IM spammers can use the software to send unsolicited ads to a group as small or as large as they wish. As one person who posted to the ICQIS site said:

ICQ Interest Search will take a message you specify and send it to online ICQ users that fit your specifications. You can filter out the people who will receive your message with these specifications: Country, City, Age, Gender, Occupation and Interest. ... Not all of the fields have to be filled out to send if you want a broader target. ... The message you send with ICQ Interest Search will show these fields: From, From Email, Subject and Text. You can put anything you want in these fields, giving you the option to remain totally or just partially anonymous.

What to Do

In short, if a company is connected to one of the public IM networks, there's not a lot they can do to protect themselves from IM spam. Basically, it's a matter of all or nothing -- unless a firm or organization uses a completely closed system that has no access to the public IMers. If a company has walled itself off from that outside world, there's no need for worry.

If a company has committed to using IM for internal and/or external communications, though, it will just have to put up with it. A user can try to "block" the sender of the IM spam (if your IM client allows it). But programs like ICQIS can send messages anonymously, making it essentially impossible to block them.

Technological innovation may help the situation in the future. But nothing yet is appearing on the tech radar scope. If and when interoperability becomes a reality, look for enterprise IM firms to scramble in developing anti-IM spam technologies similar to filtering for e-mail spam.

Marketing Implications

As for any company that is tempted to try marketing their product or service by IM spamming -- beware. IM technology is very interruptive, so it is much more difficult to ignore IM spam than unsolicited messages that are delivered by e-mail. While a typical spammer would sit up and take notice at that statement, chances are the IM's recipient would only become very angry at the message -- and the sender -- and not be very enthused to make a buy commitment. And that's not good for business.

Of course, the unscrupulous porno Web site operators, the scammers, the barely-legit Viagra sellers and others who think it is not big deal to use e-mail spam will be attracted to spamming via IM. It will be up to the corporate community at large -- especially the ones who consider themselves to be legitimate businesses and respectable advertisers/marketers -- to "just say no" to IM spam.

Marketing via IM is truly in its infancy as of now. Companies like ActiveBuddy and Scan Inc. are leading the IM marketing charge with innovative services. But remember -- they're not pushing unwanted and unsolicited messages to consumers. You have to "opt in" to use their services.

And using IM spam to get those opt ins isn't recommended, either.

What It All Means

As the debate rages on about enterprise IM systems and interoperability with public IM networks, the issue of spam will undoubtedly be raised. The anti-interoperability crowd will use the issue of IM spam to bolster its belief that enterprise IM systems should not work with the public networks.

While IM is just a "channel" for communication right now, many project that it will become a primary means of talking via the Internet. As those who subscribe to the Cluetrain Manifesto would say, any form of communication is a good. A note at the Cluetrain Web site says:

Corporate firewalls have kept smart employees in and smart markets out. It's going to cause real pain to tear those walls down. But the result will be a new kind of conversation. And it will be the most exciting conversation business has ever engaged in.

While that paragraph applies to the Internet as a whole, the same can be said of IM. And after all, IM is a part of the Internet, right?

Hopefully, those firms will discover that the value having access to customers and suppliers via IM will outweigh the nuisance of dealing with IM spam. After all, spammers use e-mail as well, and most every business nowadays uses e-mail.

In the meantime, companies can be somewhat assured that IM spam has not really taken off -- yet.

Next week, we'll speak with a leading industry figure on the matter of IM spam.

Bob Woods is the managing editor of InstantMessagingPlanet.