Over the past few months, I have been writing a lot of content (including this article) in an effort to expand the branding of my personal social networking platform, known as Coffee With Ian. Initially, I was utilizing my ambient energy, churning out articles with no specific distribution in place.
What I decided to do was publish thse articles, create a videoblog (yet to launch at press time) and send a weekly email newsletter, in a way that will tie things together. I had finished my first newsletter and then realized I had a major choice to make. How do I distribute this list to my contacts, in a way that expands my relationships with them and not burn bridges? I personally don’t see my presense as a Trojan Horse, but others just might!
Last Monday, I attended a monthly breakfast hosted by social media rock star Jeff Pulver. His breakfasts (which warrant many other articles due to their brilliance) utilize a social media icebreaker. Participants are expected to treat fellow guest as walking, talking Facebook pages, by "tagging" each other with Post-It notes and writing on their "walls" with labels. I decided to use these tools to open up a public vote. Half of my shirt was dedicated to "opt-in" and the other half was for people who thought I should blast all 6000 emails in my address book, and continue to send them emails which they may or may not read them. Perhaps some emails would go into spam, and those recipients might not even know I have a newsletter!
Therefore, I have made the decision to opt-in. If that is something you would like to do, please visit http://www.coffeewithian.com/newsletter
Ian Isanberg is the founder of Coffee With Ian, a professional networking initiatve focused on bringing virtual connectivity into the real world. More info at http://www.coffeewithian.com.