[Marketing Definition] Bacn is Not Exactly Spam

Bacn (pronounced like bacon) is an inedible Web 2.0 term that stands for the "email that you receive that you kind of, sort of, maybe, want."

Unlike spam, Bacn is legitimate email that has been subscribed to and is therefore not unsolicited, but is often not read by the recipient for a long period of time, if at all. 

Bacn has been described as "email you want but not right now."Some examples of common bacn are Google news alerts, periodic messages from e-merchants one has made previous purchases with, messages from social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn,  and blog posts, like this one, among others.  Notifications you might want. 

The name bacn is meant to convey the idea that such email is "better than spam, but not as good as a personal email."  The word has also attracted attention in the professional email marketing community.

Commentators have welcomed the distinction from spam and used the term to focus businesses on the need to improve the quality and value (to the recipient) of these kinds of transactional messages.

By most accounts, the term was coined — or at least gained traction — during a 2007 PodCamp in Pittsburg.  

Possible bacn solutions could include smart e-mail filtering and personal discipline. “Once or twice a day while I’m taking a ‘brain break’ I’ll flip through my labels and take care of any pending friend requests, comments, and any other bacn that’s come in during the day,” writes one blogger.

Already, a Website, bacn2.com, has appeared to help “spread awareness” of bacn and to help people cope (plus buy t-shirts).

How do you feel about your daily bacn?  Do you enjoy it?

Image credit: RBerteig