You've Got ... Certified E-mail?

Feb. 6, 2006 — -- "You've got mail," and now you may have "certified" mail. AOL and Yahoo users will soon see it in their inboxes -- certified e-mail sent, at a price, with a stamp of approval.

The Internet (and e-mail) giants have partnered with Goodmail Systems, which will charge companies about ¼ cent to send a message that will bypass spam filters. It's expected that nonprofit organizations will pay less.

"This is an optional service," said Richard Gingras, CEO of Goodmail Systems. "Right now it's open to messages from businesses to their existing customers."

In a world of Internet scams, phishing and viruses, Gingras says it's necessary for companies to assure consumers that e-mails are authentic. He also emphasized that businesses will still be able to send e-mails but they will have to run the gantlet of spam filters.

Some Complain It's an E-mail Tax

But some e-mail service providers complain that "certificated mail" is nothing more than an e-mail tax.

"AOL and Yahoo, and especially AOL, stand to gain significantly from this arrangement," said Matt Blumberg, CEO of e-mail consulting firm Return Path. Blumberg, whose company assists businesses such as eBay and American Express reach their customers by e-mail, says "there are uses for certification but not to solve spam."

AOL spokesperson Lisa Gibby said the company will receive incremental payments from the premium service, but any profits will "be put back into our effort to fight spam."

In the next 30 to 60 days, AOL and Yahoo users will start seeing the certified e-mails, which will be marked by an envelope with a blue ribbon draped over it.

So far The New York Times and the American Red Cross have signed up for the service. Gingras says e-mail certification will be used for "transactions between businesses and existing customers, not for selling." E-mails sent with the "certified" stamp will cover things such as order and itinerary confirmations, monthly statements and newsletters that the customer has signed up for.

As part of its service, Goodmail will authenticate the business, evaluate the period of time the company has been in business, review its past business practices, and ensure that its following proper e-mail sending protocols.

But Blumberg said people don't really need e-mail certification if advertisers do their jobs correctly. The rules of e-mail advertising are simple, he said: "Send information to people who ask for it; send consumers something they want; and don't oversend."