Unsolicited electronic communications (e-mail, postings in newsgroups & IRC, etc.) are generally considered spam IF:
a) the person receiving the communication is irrelevant because the message is applicable to a mass market; AND
b) the person receiving the communication has not given explicit permission for it to be sent to them; AND
c) the message information (From:, To:, Subject:, etc.) appears to the recipient to give disproportionate advantage to the sender.
Things such as electronic junk mail or excessively redundant newsgroup postings are considered spam.
Still others define spam more generally as any unsolicited electronic communication.
