Brian Shaler

Let’s say there is someone you want to communicate with online. In some situations, an email might not work because it might slip through the cracks or come off as too much of a sales pitch. Maybe you do not have anything in particular to say, but need a way to catch their attention.

You might consider connecting with them on a social network. You are interested in what they are up to, so you should probably ‘follow’ them on Twitter anyway. Unfortunately, following someone on a social network does not mean that they are following you. They might receive a notification email after you connect with them, but if the person you want to connect with is similarly targeted by others, that notification email is likely to go ignored.

There is, however, a way to stand out without being too intrusive. By doing a small amount of research, you should be able to find other instances of the individual’s web presence (other social network profiles, blogs, etc).

By adding an individual as a friend on multiple networks at the same time, or AcmeAdding, the potential contact will receive a few notification emails saying “John Smith is your newest contact on __.” Generally, the reaction begins with confusion and results in intrigue, leading to investigation. They will ask “Who is this?” and try to find out who you are and why you’re adding them. If who you are or what you do is relevant to them, then they are likely to connect and/or open the door for conversation.

The term “AcmeAdd” was coined after an observation of social networking expert and Phoenix photographer Adam Nollmeyer of Acme Photography. He usually uses the name “AcmePhoto” on social web sites.

Personally, I am not extremely “popular” but I do receive 15-20 notification emails per day regarding new contacts on various social networks. They do not get opened and I have them filtered so they do not distract from more important email. However, I do see them. Whether or not I take notice of who connected with me, skimming over the names makes them more familiar the next time I see them (in another notification email, in a comment on my blog, or anywhere else).

This week at Phoenix Social Media Club, one of the people I talked to was Erin Atherton, the owner of a local business, “Durtbagz” (They sell satchels and messenger bags with street signs on them, including “Slow School Zone: Watch For Slow Children” and “DON’T DRIVE DURNK“). I had never met her, but I had known of her thanks to a lunch I had in Santa Monica in November.

Travel back, back, back in time to November of 2007…

I was in the Los Angeles area for a few days to see family. While in town, I sent out an open invitation to my social network friends (people I know and people I don’t know YET) to have lunch by the beach in Santa Monica and some bowling afterward. Six people I had never met in person showed up, despite relatively short notice.

One of the individuals I met at lunch, Serena, is an employee of BusinessWire, resulting in some good conversation about public relations and the press release, misconceptions of PR vs. marketing, and the future of the press release on the internet. Serena recommended that I get in touch with Malcolm from BusinessWire’s Phoenix office.

Within a week or two, I sat down for lunch with Malcolm Atherton and we discussed the future of PR on the internet, social media, and even some search engine optimization. During our discussion about social media and marketing, he brought up his wife’s company, Durtbagz.

Several weeks after that, I attended Social Media Club and bumped into Malcolm’s wife, Erin.

None of these introductions or conversations would have been possible if it weren’t for my relatively open social network friend-adding philosophy.