Is there an annual spam cycle?

As CEO of SpamButcher, I can attest to a recurring bump in sales starting in early fall, peaking in late December, then slowing down significantly by the time summer starts. We're a fairly young company, so it's hard to say how reliable the pattern is, but it's certainly been this way for the last two years.

Having sales fluctuate substantially can result in an emotional roller coaster. I tend to get excited about how things are going in the fall, followed by a slight sense of despair in the late spring. There's no question that sales correlate strongly with traffic levels to the site. I've always assumed the level of traffic itself was primarily dictated by being in or out of favor with the "Google Gods."

However, there is another possible explanation. Perhaps spam levels themselves follow an annual cycle. More spam means more people searching for info on spam tool programs, which means more traffic and sales.

While I've been aware that spam levels surge leading up to Christmas, it had not occurred to me that spam levels may also pick up starting around September.

At least one security firm is predicting a 40 percent spike in spam levels come September. SoftScan claims they have seen the trend in prior years. What's the cause? Apparently returning students are prime targets both receiving spam, and falling victim to scams that can turn their systems into spam zombies.

So, while students don't comprise a large portion of SpamButcher customers, it may be that they do substantially contribute to sales indirectly. So kids - please, sign up for summer quarter next year! Our sales may depend on it.

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