Julie Mass Mails Again
August 31st, 2005
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I should let this go.
But, I just can’t keep it to myself: I received another email from Ms. Julie. (See here and here if you are new to this saga.)
Frankly, I never replied to her previous email. I meant to, but I’ve had several deadlines that I was catching up on and didn’t get the chance to tell her that I took her question seriously and put it out for discussion before giving her a thoughtful response.
So, I was surprised when I heard from her again. This time, with an apology:
From: “Julie Stingham”
Subject: My sincere apologies[ at this point in the email, there's a broken image with the id "Microsoft" -- J ]
Dear Jared,
I am writing you in regards to the email I sent you on 8/25/05 with the subject “Microsoft User Experience needs your expertise.” In the first email I sent you, I addressed you by your last name and am responding to apologize for this mistake. It was an unintentional error and I sincerely am sorry. As you can imagine, we all run into technical difficulties now and then, and even those of us who work at Microsoft are not exempt! I personally value the relationships I build with people in the UX industry and want to make sure I am addressing everyone properly. If I have still addressed you incorrectly, please make sure to correct me for any future correspondence we might have.
Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.
Warm Regards,
Julie StringhamP.S. If you have already responded to my first email, I have received it. I am currently reviewing responses and will be back in touch with you in the next two weeks.
P.P.S- You have my personal permission to address me as “Hello Stringham” any time you wish!
At first I was confused. After all, she already apologized in the last letter. Then it occurred to me: This is another mass mailing! She’s apologizing for her last mass mailing by sending out another mass mailing.
Her letter says she wants to build a relationship with people in the UX industry. Can she (or any of us) build relationships through mass mailings? Is this an instance of a powerful tool in the hands of someone who doesn’t quite know how to use that power? Or is building a relationship through a broadcast mechanism an unattainable holy grail?
As someone who sends out a lot of broadcast mail (though only to people who have requested to get mail from UIE), I can sympathize with Ms. Julie’s dilemma. I just wonder if this type of approach is really that different that the hundreds (actually, approaching thousands) of messages I get every day to have body parts enlarged.
Update: Kevin Cheng, of OK/Cancel fame, points out that Ms. Julie misspelled her last name in the header. (She left out an “r”.) Between that and the broken link, we see Ms. Julie is more of a relationships person than a details person.
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August 31st, 2005 at 4:50 pm
Jared, I think the big difference between Ms. Julie’s mass mailings and your newsletters is that you’re not trying to pass your newsletters off as anything other than a mass mailing. Being up front about that, you still write very much in a very personable voice that comes off as very authentic.
Here, she’s clearly trying to make the note sound like she only sent this to you and you alone, and it just sounds phoney.
And check out that last PPS: “P.P.S- You have my personal permission to address me as “Hello Stringham” any time you wish!” It’s almost clever, but it sounds like she’s trying so hard that it’s mainly just painful.