Sixty-four percent of small-to-medium sized businesses coordinate email marketing with social media marketing, according to a new report iContact, the email marketing arm of digital agency Vocus. The report, which interviewed small and mid-sized business marketers, also revealed that 39% of SMBs email their entire list about once a week, with 6% sending daily emails. The average list size for SMBs is 3,489 subscribers. Overall, 91 percent of respondents said email marketing was either helpful or very helpful to their organization.

Google may have created tabs to help Gmail users feel less overwhelmed by "inbox overload," but it turns out that "inbox overload" might actually be a myth. As The Guardian points out, the numbers tell a different story. According to the DMA's Email Tracking Report 2012, 40% of consumers that get emails from brands get no more than 3 a day and 63% get no more than 6 a day. In addition, Merkle's metrics reveal that 74% of consumers prefer to receive email from marketers over any other channel.

The NSA has claimed that its unlawful access to tens of thousands of emails of American citizens with a technical error, not an intention violation of personal privacy. The response comes after documents that were declassified this week revealed that a secret court that oversees surveillance programs found that the NSA had illegally collected these communications back in 2011. "If you have a webmail email account, like Gmail or Hotmail, you know that if you open up your email program, you will get a screenshot of some number of emails that are sitting in your inbox," an intelligence source explained …

Dating site OKCupid regularly sends emails to users with suggestions on potential dates. The emails prompt the users to sign in to their accounts using a login instantly feature. The problem is that anyone that has a copy of the email can click the link and automatically log in to the account without even sharing the password. Once a person logs in, they can read the user's messages, chats and communicate on behalf of the member. This poses a huge risk to members that forward their OK Cupid emails or to members that ever have their email hacked.

Inbound marketing company HubSpot has released a new product that will help marketers learn more about potential customers based on their email data. The tool is a plug-in for Google Chrome web browser called Signals. The app monitors data on customers and sends alerts to customer service representatives when customers open marketing emails sent from Outlook or Gmail. It also updates sales people when a customer changes their LinkedIn profile or when their Salesforce.com status.

While email encryption services are closing left and right, Kolab is still open offering users the ability to send private email. The open source platform lets users organize their email and calendar services in a private and secure manner. All data is stored on a physical server in Switzerland, a country with tight privacy laws and data security. According to the site, a user's data "can not be accessed by spy programs such as PRISM, so there will be no spying."

The pro-independence group Yes Scotland have reported that an email account of one of their employees has been hacked. Scottish police are investigating the issue. The police advised the group to contact the British telecommunications company BT after it received journalist inquired about something that was based on private emails within the organization. BT found evidence that an outside party had accessed the Yes Scotland account.

While the Supreme Court may one day face cases related to electronic spying, the court itself does not use email or social networks to communicate. In fact, members of the Supreme Court communicate with each other through memos, the same way they have for years. Justice Elena Kagan made this revelation on Tuesday admitting that the group is not "the most technologically sophisticated people," she said. "The court hasn't really 'gotten to' email.

The Viacom-owned television station TV Land is using behaviorally targeted emails in order to send more relevant communications to viewers. The company has created personalized versions of its email digests to reach consumers based on the shows that they like and want to hear about. The emails remind viewers about the schedule and give information about upcoming episodes of their favorite sitcoms. Since they began personalizing these mailings based on subscriber behavior, the company's email deliverability has jumped from 90% to more than 99%.

The daily deal website Groupon has introduced a new affiliate marketing platform, as a new way to reach customers as the company moves to be less reliant on email marketing. The company recently reported that email marketing accounted for less than 40% of its North American transactions in the second quarter of 2013, which is down from 45% in the first quarter. The affiliate program will allow partners to add a Groupon widget to their website and earn a commission on sales. Groupon is also pushing deals through a mobile app, as the company moves to expand its presence beyond …