Debbie Weil is a corporate blogging and social media expert, online marketing consultant, speaker and author of The Corporate Blogging Book (Portfolio). She consults with large companies, CEOs and senior executives on how to create blogs that connect with customers and attract media attention.

I’ve been touting the advantages of adding audio clips to your site or emails to humanize them. But how do you know where to draw the line between effective and over the top?

Judy Gombita sent me the following link: CLICK HERE to hear a holiday audio message from the CEO of a technology company. Waddya think? Weird or wonderful?!

Coincidentally, I created a bizarre voice animation today, courtesy of Hanes’ ComfortSoft Underwear site. I don’t sound like this, really! And I have absolutely no relationship with Hanes. (My free holiday gift in the WordBiz Store is not wrapped in pantyhose… ) I just wanted to test how this worked. Clever idea for a viral campaign, isn’t it?

Add your 2 cents by using the comments link below.

P.S. I think the CEO’s greeting (link above) is weird…

The CAN SPAM Act of 2003 was passed by Congress yesterday. It awaits a signature from President Bush.

Is it strong enough? Probably not. Good overview in today’s CNET story about the new anti-spam bill.

Yeah, you guessed it. It’s spam. I know I shouldn’t be putting my head in the sand, but I find myself unwilling or unable to follow every twist and turn of the anti-spam bill which has (finally) been passed by Congress.

Will it be the antidote to your flood of unwanted messages? Perhaps a partial panacea. Although some are saying it will be an invitation to spammers to work even harder.

I may not be the only one who feels this way. A recent survey of email marketers by Jupiter Media and EmailLabs revealed that 31% regard blacklists and potential filtering as their greatest concern when it comes to email delivery. Only 8% cite potential legislation as their biggest worry.

Thanks to Janet Roberts of Ezine-Tips for a pointer to a detailed article in CNET News about the Senate version of the anti-spam bill.

Finally, here’s an up-to-date article by Ralph F. Wilson on how to comply with the “CAN SPAM Act of 2003.”