I’m getting snowed under with communication from e-mail, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc. I think it’s time to do a post on the best ways to communicate with me.
The best way to communicate with me is e-mail. My main address is paul@paulryburn.com. You may have seen e-mail from paul.ryburn@gmail.com as well… it all goes to the same place, so use either one.
You are more than welcome to send me stuff to mention in the blog, or sites you want me to look at… however, please understand that it’s on an “as I get to it” basis. I started a full-time job on March 23, so I have 40 hours a week less free time than I used to. It’s also outdoor festival season, and I’ve been super busy and have had very little time to catch up on e-mail and stuff has slipped through the cracks. If I don’t respond within a reasonable time, send it again.
I use Facebook regularly. If you’re a reader of this blog, you’re welcome to friend me on Facebook. However, if I won’t immediately know who you are when I see your name/profile pic, you might want to include a message with your friend request saying who you are (just “hey, I’m a regular reader of your blog” is a good start). I tend to ignore requests where I don’t immediately recognize the requester, there’s no message, and I don’t see that we have friends in common.
You’re welcome to communicate with me via Facebook messages (both Wall and private messages), but if it’s important and if it’s not something related to other material on Facebook, your best bet is to send it to my regular e-mail. That will funnel it to my Gmail, where I can put a star next to your message so I’ll be reminded to respond when I get a chance.
I do look at the Facebook Events quite often, and use them as material for my blog, so if you send me an event invitation to a public event, there’s a good chance I’ll see it and post about it.
MySpace
MySpace sucks. Plain and simple. I don’t know why I haven’t bothered deleting my account yet. If you’ve sent me a friend request on MySpace within the past 2 months, I’ve probably ignored it. Same goes for messages. Nothing personal against you if you have – it’s just that I don’t see the point in having a MySpace account anymore. Try contacting me using one of the other methods.
I have a LinkedIn account. As with Facebook, you’re welcome to add me as a professional contact if you’re a regular blog reader. Again, if we don’t know each other well personally, you may want to leave a note telling me who you are.
You can message me on LinkedIn, but you’re more likely to get a response if you use e-mail instead.
I have good relationships with recruiters here in town and get LinkedIn messages about jobs all the time. I post some of these to my blog to help my recruiter friends out. You’re welcome to respond if you’re job hunting. However, if the post is more than 3 days old, I’ve likely forgotten about it and will have no idea what you’re referring to when you respond. In this case it’s best to say “the position you mentioned in your Monday Update post from April 20.” That way I can go look up the post and what job you’re referring to.
I’m @whatsthefiresale on Twitter. I use it to broadcast the $2.75 Fire Sales the Flying Saucer runs Tuesday through Sunday. They don’t pay me for this – it’s just a service to my fellow beer drinkers. Although, now that I’m working it’s sometimes 6 PM or later before I get the Fire Sale up. If you see it before I do and have my phone number, text it to me and I’ll text it to Twitter. I only broadcast Fire Sales, not personal tweets. I just started following other people and believe Twitter will be a source of blog material in the months to come.
And that will wrap it up… the best ways to get in touch with me in this era of communication overload. Maybe one day this blog will produce a full-time income and I’ll have ample time to follow up on everything that hits my Inbox and all the social media sites, but I’m not there yet.
I’m skipping trivia tonight… actually, I may stop by for a Happy Hour beer or two, but I plan on leaving the Saucer around 7 for Cinco de Mayo parties. The Silly Goose (celebrity burrito eating contest, 8:30) looks like it’ll be a stop on my route, and possibly Bardog (air guitar competition, 8:00) and Kooky Canuck ($2 34 oz. margaritas all day) as well.