When it’s my turn to introduce myself at parties, usually at around 2am in the kitchen to the girl who’s consumed two bottles of Malibu, even the most disinterested listener seems to be impressed by the fact that I’m a journalist.

I can’t think why; it’s hardly on the same scale as astronaut, brain surgeon or sex therapist. It involves a lot of listening, a fair amount of talking and then a good deal of writing. And sometimes an hour or two of trying to decipher shorthand notes. Simple.

But then again, the simplest things are often the hardest to get right, like making a really good risotto or rolling the perfect cigarette. And also, it seems, providing a popular, well-run service if you’re an ISP. Judging by the experiences of colleagues and friends, many of the big players in this market seem to have missed that whole “customer is king” concept.

In fact, according to certain reports, it sometimes seems like they’re all competing for the title of worst service provider ever. And yet to say that this is an overcrowded, competitive market is an understatement on the scale of, “That Steve Ballmer guy… thinning a bit on top isn’t he?” So much so in fact that ISPs are finally starting to abandon their traditional, “We only provide the pipes that deliver your internet, guv,” attitude.

There has been increasing pressure on them to do more to stop the spam bombarding our inboxes on a daily basis, although the service providers have traditionally insisted that the content of emails is not their concern. This stance is softening, however, according to Eldar Tuvey of managed security service provider ScanSafe, and will continue to do so in the coming months.

Indeed, security is emerging as a key battleground for ISPs, as competition drives them to seek new ways to make their packages more attractive to consumers and businesses. BT and TalkTalk, for example, have made great play of the security services they offer, and all the other ISPs have plans to follow suit, according to Tuvey.

For the health of e-commerce, it’s important that this trend continues. It is high time the industry started fighting back against the bot-net armies that help perpetuate the spam and malware, and the online fraudsters whose actions do so much to discourage users from shopping online.

In another positive development, Logica CMG is in discussions with several potential clients regarding Secure Mail: its fully managed service that guarantees the delivery and authenticity of the contents of emails. If sold to banks or ISPs, it could not only provide another means to differentiate themselves, aside from ad campaigns featuring the mulleted “Hoff”, it could also help to combat phishing attacks.

All I have to do is just sit back, see which service provider jumps in first, and then pick up the phone. Bit of talking, bit of listening, bit of writing – job done.