[eli]

Many people sign up for email newsletters -- in fact lots of people spend their whole day in Outlook or on their Blackberry, so it's far more convenient than configuring an RSS reader. More people send/receive email in a given day than run a Google search or check Facebook.

Ads in an email newsletter that you intentionally signed up for is no more "spam" than ads on a website you routinely visit is "spam."

[rcavezza]

I'd also like to add that well targeted magazine ads can even ad value. Who is to see this can't translate to email newsletters?

[jasonlynes]

sending email in a day isn't the same thing as reading newsletters. and ads on websites are spam. they usually don't engage, add value, or do anything worthwhile.