Nice story of the Dropbox panda:

When employees of Dropbox walked into their new San Francisco office this spring, they came face-to-face with a 5-foot-tall chrome statue of their mascot, a panda—rumoured to have cost the tech company $100,000. However, posted on the wall right next it was also an unexpected note. Here’s what it said:

“Pandas have meant many things to Dropboxers over the years, and the idea here was to commemorate the original … it wasn’t the right call. When it comes to building a healthy and sustainable business, every dollar counts. And while it's okay for us to have nice things, it's important to remember to ask ourselves, 'Would I spend my own money this way?'"

The message was loud and clear: The panda was a mistake and would now serve as a glaring reminder of the dangers of excess. This new mentality went hand-in-hand with other recent company cutbacks, including the cancellation of a free employee shuttle and laundry services.

This sort of thing isn’t just happening at Dropbox. Across the tech industry, the trend away from decadence and toward greater financial responsibility is more widespread than ever. Money-conscious is the new cool. Economical and efficient is in. And the real unicorns are actually profitable.

Panda: http://pandawhale.com/post/1221/a-panda-rides-a-dinosaur-at-dropbox

"You’ve got to take in more than you spend … otherwise the house of cards inevitably crumbles."

How, in the end, do internet spammers make a profit (or the businesses who hire them), even if there's only a few people behind the thousands of names/postings?

They're a gateway to businesses that collect personal information so they can commit other frauds on a bigger scale. 

I figured as much, Adam, but even then, someone has to see a paycheck to keep it up. How long, usually, before actual money is collected by the "businesses that collect personal information so they can commit other frauds on a bigger scale"? 

I would imagine pretty fast or they would be using a more efficient method. 

One funny thing is that they never read when we are talking about them.