Chris Brogan: The Importance of Your Own Email Account
Patrick Allmond
· 11 months ago
Absolutely! I usually maintain two email addresses for just about everybody I connect with. I also encourage to people to start developing themselves as an individual outside of work. Work is one of the many things they do, but it is not their entire person.
I am still stuck on Outlook for contact though. Will check out your online options.
Jay Philips
· 11 months ago
I have always followed these rules:
- Use one e-mail account that I always give to people to contact me friends & relatives. (It's the same email address I've had since college.)
- I never give my work email out to friends or sites/forums, mainly because I don't want to mix my work with play.
- I make a copy of my contacts in more than one area just in case the computer or email server or soemthing goes bye-bye one day.
Instead of giving everyone different email addresses, I save everyone's contact info for saving keeping. If I were ever to change emails (or lose it), then I email everyone and tell them of the change and also to spark conversations again.
Isn't this what we used to do in the old days? Calling everyone to tell them we changed pager numbers?
ckanal
· 11 months ago
Smart. Same goes for students too because those .edu addresses don't last forever! In this economic climate and with so many unknowns in '09, you're absolutely right; it's essential that people stay organized with their networks and forms of correspondence!
Greg Cryns
· 11 months ago
Well, I own LOTS of websites. Which one should I choose?
Really, this is a good thought.
Joe Manna
· 11 months ago
I personally run into this problem all the time between my multiple e-mail accounts. I finally swallowed my pride and spent all of a Sunday on migrating them to Google, then exporting those into a CSV for long-term keeping.
~Joe
Carl Griffith
· 11 months ago
Good stuff. Could I suggest that for the average person Gmail would be a sound bet. I have several other pop3 accounts and use Gmail as my 'email portal' if you like - my gateway into all my email accounts. Needless to say this all works very well in Gmail.
Jacob
· 11 months ago
I have had the same old personal e-mail address for years. Every once and a while I will get a message from an old buddy in between the mountains of spam.
Andrew Hyde
· 11 months ago
That is one of the benefits of starting up as a freelancer, you protected that permanent email.
Now everything forwards to that email via gmail hosted apps, and I am able to reply as the address the email was sent to. Works out very well.
花蓮
· 11 months ago
I also encourage to people to start developing themselves as an individual outside of work. Work is one of the many things they do, but it is not their entire person.
Michael fitzGerald
· 11 months ago
Irrespective of the technology, contacts are the equivalent of flint and tinder - they are the one thing between you and the cold,cold darkness. keep your contacts lists close. I make sure I keep my contact details in a way that is easily exportable and I keep an offline copy.
Christopher Rollyson
· 11 months ago
Chris, thanks for an extremely valuable point: I bought my domain in '94 and have been working in tech since. I know so many CIOs and other techies who don't have their domains or permanent emails, and I've never understood that. It's fundamental to being on the grid; it'd be interesting to study how many millions are lost each year because a former colleague tries to reach out with an oppy, and the transaction cost can be prohibitive when you lose touch. Since I really can't expect someone to have their own domain, the next best is school emails. Thanks for mentioning the tools you use; I'll check them out, too. Cheers-
randulo
· 11 months ago
Good advice indeed, Chris. We in VoIP are going through problems with phone numbers. If your telco goes away, you can ask for that number you've given to people for years but you don't always get it. With email, it's much easier. For $10 a year you can own a domain name of you choice and keep it forever. You can lock it in 10 years at a time if you like. My own strategy is more complex. I have my own domains which I control for business and close friends. I also have trademark accounts at every major email provider. I also use Gmail for those whose sheer quantity and weight of email requires a lot of filing. Finally, I have Sneakemail.com to invent new throw away emails for subscriptions and travel inquiries, where it's sometimes impossible to unsubscribe. With sneakemail, you just turn it off.
Ricardo Bueno
· 11 months ago
Re: "And work often on your own databases. Repeat after me: you live or die by your databases."
When I was in lending I set about building my own database and started an email newsletter using the web-based program provided through the packaged site I purchased. I used it a lot! And for all intended purposes it worked out well. Except for one thing: my contacts were stored via this web-based program with this company who decided to not offer their product anymore. So I lost all my contacts and had to start all over again.
Lesson learned (the hard way). I used to use ACT (I liked it a lot but it was a company account). I keep and update my contacts regularly through Address Book on my mac and I have a newsletter account through madmimi for my site and to manage the newsletter for the REBarcamp LA event I'm putting on in April.
John Bradford
· 11 months ago
I ran into this exact issue a few years back (moving jobs without a personal email). Then it was a matter of exporting - importing - bulk mailing. Cludgy and I'm sure it pissed a few folk off as I was moving every couple of years.
GMail gets my vote for personal account, I also use it for the back-end heavy lifting on my hosted domain email. I (try) to get on socially with everyone I work with so although my personal email is obviously not on work business cards, I usually ask if we can connect through other sources (LinkedIn is great for this).
I use Plaxo as my global address book (backed up on cvs regularly). The blog & twitter are also great ways of staying in touch and maintaining conversations with people even if I can't always be down the pub with them! :)
Ian D. Nock
· 11 months ago
This is so right, and it is also very important to keep a place on the Internet where people can find you - something more permanent that each new social network... somewhere people can ALWAYS find you. It sounds redundant, but social networks come and go. You keep chrisbrogan.com for example... great for mail address changes and better than Plaxo because so many people avoid Plaxo like a plague (even though i am a user).
Rufus
· 11 months ago
Hmm. Is this another way of saying own your own space? What if Facebook just went away today. 11:22 am, Facebook ceases operations. Or Twitter just disappeared due to lack of funding. Or what if Google stopped Gmail. Just gone. Sorry, folks, you didn't pay anything for our services, so we don't owe you anything. Didn't you all read the fine print?
If an email address or a web site is a lifeline to YOU, make sure you own it.
science of identity foundation
· 11 months ago
I do the same thing. I have one personal email for my friends and family and another for other stuff.
Ray
· 11 months ago
Fantastic advice. While you are employed save at least 6 months living expenses and have your own email to be ready for career transition!
Already in transition, remember Linked In is a powerful tool as well. People who get their email bounced at your old work address can always find you on Linked In. It's been a lifesaver for me.
-Ray
Hendry Lee
· 11 months ago
Free email used to appear less credible, but gmail changed it. Now I regularly use my gmail account as the main contact address.
I created many email address under the company's domain for different departments from the start, even if I don't have that department yet. Not to create a "huge" impression, but to compartmentalize email properly - using Google Apps.
I have a domain name which I'm going to take with me forever, just like yours but my gmail account sticks.
Rufus
· 11 months ago
@Hendry Lee Pufferfish Marketing, I love it. Another thing to do is use Skype or Grand Central to have different phone numbers for different divisions.. and if you select area codes like 718, 612, 202, etc, you can have different "offices" as well... with Skype, different country codes now, your company is international... and make sure to grab the domains (.eu, but partner up with someone in the EU for an "office" address....)
Jeremy LeRay
· 11 months ago
I have been moving most of my personal email to Gmail. I got tired of my ISP being sold and changing names (and my email address) every couple of years. Rufus makes a good point though. May need to rethink my strategy again. Going to take a look at BatchBook too. Hard to beat a good .csv file if all else fails.
Dmitri Eroshenko, Relenta
· 11 months ago
Interesting timing. Just today we at Relenta, email-based contact and task manager are starting to test a new feature that allows people in your contact database to keep their own contact details up to date. You send a personalized email to individual contacts, groups or entire database which contains a unique link that each person can follow to update their contact info (and enter alternative/personal email address among other fields).
I've heard many good things about BatchBook and BlueSkyFactory.
Relenta differs from all these great standalone apps because it's a hybrid between a contact manger, email client, task manager, and email marketing application. So instead of using four different apps you can use one.
Chris, many hanks for validating our approach to email management :)
Rufus
· 11 months ago
@Jeremy LeRay hey, thanks! Yes, concurrence on the CSV.. text only files never fail... amazing how in the midst of the greatest technology in the world, the basics are what never fails. A pencil, piece of paper, text-only file, a human conversation over a beer... hmmmm.....
williamarruda
· 11 months ago
Hello Chris, Having your own email address is also important for personal branding. Having firstname@firstnamelastname.com is far more professional (expecially if you are looking for a job) than happymama98765@hotmail.com. Your email address sends a little message about your personal brand. Make sure it is on-brand for you - or at least professional.
"... a human conversation over a beer..." an oft overlooked social networking principle!
Melanie Thompson
· 11 months ago
I use an e-mail through my university for day-to-day contact with people and my personal development strategies (i.e., the e-mail listed on my blog). This is an alumni account that not only shows I graduated from a fantastic university -- Hook'em Horns -- but it is also automatically forwarded to my work account, so I don't have to worry about checking more than one e-mail. Then if I leave my current place of employment, I just have to change the forwarding address. It is nice and simple.
Zach Heller
· 11 months ago
This is a good point to touch on, one that I have often thought about but never seen anyone write about. It is so important in this day and age to keep a personal email address for a few reasons. Getting fired or leaving your job is definitely one of them. You are always going to want to keep your contacts, some professional, some personal. Think ahead and plan for that.
Tony C
· 11 months ago
Yes and it's time many web sites, allow you have two email address's. LInkedin, is one of the few that has a solid system for a office email and secondary email.
Lorilee Rager
· 11 months ago
This is very valuable and helpful. Thank you for always sharing how do to what you suggest. Your links and tips and thoughts will be what keeps my company a float in 2009!
Thank you!
Avil Beckford
· 11 months ago
I agree with you, though I have never given out my secondary email because I own my own company. Now that you have raised this issue, I should give out my gmail email address because there were times when I had problems with my service provider and my emails bounced. Thanks Chris, I always learn so much from you. I hope that one day I can return the favour. Avil http://www.twitter.com/avilbeckford
Eric_Hoffman
· 11 months ago
Chris, As a business, we are trying to collect 'secondary' email addresses for our email lists, so that if we do get a bounce on the primary address, we can send a follow up email to the secondary email list. Ideally, I'd even like to have our system set up to send a postcard to the contact's physical address checking in case the secondary email is no longer valid too. Very timely tip!
I think this is a great piece of advice. It is something I've been doing since my last "job upheaval" about eight years ago.
I'm always surprised to find out that this is not the norm - that people actually just use their work email as their primary connection point.
I changed that in my own office, I think, when I "infected" the place with LinkedIn. I tried hard to get everyone to use, as you suggest, a 'go-anywhere' address for their primary LI contact.
The reason that this is an advantage became much more clear to everyone as they were filling out their LI profile because, after all, if this thing becomes useful it might be due to a downsizing!
Leslie Poston
· 11 months ago
In which Chris reminds Leslie that she has been slacking on her contact list backups lately.... ;)
Mike B.
· 11 months ago
This is a problem I have ALOT. I have made some really great contacts over time and I have lost most of them because either myself or them would lose access to the contact info. Backing up is useless if the email address is gone. Great post. @bookerx3
... I put my blog in my name, and email in the blog domain, and I can move those as you suggest. Am I pleased my online identity isn't irrevocably tied up with my employer? Yes, for sure. So thanks.
Christine Gallagher
· 11 months ago
I've been using GMail for almost 5 years and couldn't live without it. The forwarding and multiple account capabilities are so useful.
Grant
· 11 months ago
While this is all great advice don't forget about your phone! I always synchronise my phone with Outlook and also make a backup file of the contacts and numbers.
Keith Burtis
· 11 months ago
As a community manager, I would love to learn more about batchbook! I am heading there now. Hoping they have a 30 day trial. I am incompetent when it comes to organization. Thanks for the lead Chris!
Luigi Cappel
· 11 months ago
I think it's more about what you do with your database or your network rather than the database itself. Like you are doing, if you add value to someone's life, their business etc, then you matter. Plus the more you give, the more you get, which is not consistent with the traditional economy. I have several email databases and have never aggregated them as such.
The issue to me is then the quality of your touch. If I send you an email saying blah blah blah, I'm good, having fun, it's hot, hope you are hot. I'm not adding any value. If I send messages to a group, it needs to add value to their day, or it just adds to the perseption that email is one of the biggest time wasters ever and if you send me time wasting email, I don't need to hear from you. If you send me value, then I will keep an eye out for your messages and read them first.
I'm in danger of getting on the soap box so thanks for the discussion:D
Tom
· 11 months ago
I started rolling all my email accounts onto gmail, where I can easily check them. I love the tagging feature. I'm trying to get more into 'Cloud Computing' ... I like the idea of a centralized web-based place to keep all contacts - I've heard Plaxo is good, too?
Paul
· 11 months ago
Its one reason I love LinkedIn. You never lose track of people as long as they keep updating their LinkedIn account email address.
Costa Rica
· 10 months ago
In my case, after two shameful logins in Yahoo and Gmail, I bought rica.cr and started costa.rica.cr, being my main driver to have an email address like firstname@costa.rica.cr Something else I did is to buy another domain and set a catch-all rule towards a single account - which I import from my costa.rica.cr account. Why? When I go to a site that needs my email but I do not trust enough to sell it, I make up an address in this domain (something like suspicioussite@mydomain.com) If they ever sell the address I would quickly tell because of the email address.
All Comments
I am still stuck on Outlook for contact though. Will check out your online options.
- Use one e-mail account that I always give to people to contact me friends & relatives. (It's the same email address I've had since college.)
- I never give my work email out to friends or sites/forums, mainly because I don't want to mix my work with play.
- I make a copy of my contacts in more than one area just in case the computer or email server or soemthing goes bye-bye one day.
Thanks for the great blog.
@jayphilips
Isn't this what we used to do in the old days? Calling everyone to tell them we changed pager numbers?
Really, this is a good thought.
~Joe
Now everything forwards to that email via gmail hosted apps, and I am able to reply as the address the email was sent to. Works out very well.
My own strategy is more complex. I have my own domains which I control for business and close friends. I also have trademark accounts at every major email provider. I also use Gmail for those whose sheer quantity and weight of email requires a lot of filing. Finally, I have Sneakemail.com to invent new throw away emails for subscriptions and travel inquiries, where it's sometimes impossible to unsubscribe. With sneakemail, you just turn it off.
When I was in lending I set about building my own database and started an email newsletter using the web-based program provided through the packaged site I purchased. I used it a lot! And for all intended purposes it worked out well. Except for one thing: my contacts were stored via this web-based program with this company who decided to not offer their product anymore. So I lost all my contacts and had to start all over again.
Lesson learned (the hard way). I used to use ACT (I liked it a lot but it was a company account). I keep and update my contacts regularly through Address Book on my mac and I have a newsletter account through madmimi for my site and to manage the newsletter for the REBarcamp LA event I'm putting on in April.
GMail gets my vote for personal account, I also use it for the back-end heavy lifting on my hosted domain email. I (try) to get on socially with everyone I work with so although my personal email is obviously not on work business cards, I usually ask if we can connect through other sources (LinkedIn is great for this).
I use Plaxo as my global address book (backed up on cvs regularly). The blog & twitter are also great ways of staying in touch and maintaining conversations with people even if I can't always be down the pub with them! :)
If an email address or a web site is a lifeline to YOU, make sure you own it.
Already in transition, remember Linked In is a powerful tool as well. People who get their email bounced at your old work address can always find you on Linked In. It's been a lifesaver for me.
-Ray
I created many email address under the company's domain for different departments from the start, even if I don't have that department yet. Not to create a "huge" impression, but to compartmentalize email properly - using Google Apps.
I have a domain name which I'm going to take with me forever, just like yours but my gmail account sticks.
I've heard many good things about BatchBook and BlueSkyFactory.
Relenta differs from all these great standalone apps because it's a hybrid between a contact manger, email client, task manager, and email marketing application. So instead of using four different apps you can use one.
Here's our elevator pitch at TechCrunch.
Chris, many hanks for validating our approach to email management :)
Having your own email address is also important for personal branding. Having firstname@firstnamelastname.com is far more professional (expecially if you are looking for a job) than happymama98765@hotmail.com. Your email address sends a little message about your personal brand. Make sure it is on-brand for you - or at least professional.
Best.
William
www.williamarruda.com
Thank you!
As a business, we are trying to collect 'secondary' email addresses for our email lists, so that if we do get a bounce on the primary address, we can send a follow up email to the secondary email list. Ideally, I'd even like to have our system set up to send a postcard to the contact's physical address checking in case the secondary email is no longer valid too. Very timely tip!
I'm always surprised to find out that this is not the norm - that people actually just use their work email as their primary connection point.
I changed that in my own office, I think, when I "infected" the place with LinkedIn. I tried hard to get everyone to use, as you suggest, a 'go-anywhere' address for their primary LI contact.
The reason that this is an advantage became much more clear to everyone as they were filling out their LI profile because, after all, if this thing becomes useful it might be due to a downsizing!
@bookerx3
... I put my blog in my name, and email in the blog domain, and I can move those as you suggest. Am I pleased my online identity isn't irrevocably tied up with my employer? Yes, for sure. So thanks.
The issue to me is then the quality of your touch. If I send you an email saying blah blah blah, I'm good, having fun, it's hot, hope you are hot. I'm not adding any value. If I send messages to a group, it needs to add value to their day, or it just adds to the perseption that email is one of the biggest time wasters ever and if you send me time wasting email, I don't need to hear from you. If you send me value, then I will keep an eye out for your messages and read them first.
I'm in danger of getting on the soap box so thanks for the discussion:D
I'm trying to get more into 'Cloud Computing' ...
I like the idea of a centralized web-based place to keep all contacts - I've heard Plaxo is good, too?
Something else I did is to buy another domain and set a catch-all rule towards a single account - which I import from my costa.rica.cr account. Why? When I go to a site that needs my email but I do not trust enough to sell it, I make up an address in this domain (something like suspicioussite@mydomain.com) If they ever sell the address I would quickly tell because of the email address.