A Plea on Behalf of Email 2.0

The talk about Web 2.0 seems endless, and a couple of Sundays ago the New York Times' John Markoff published this interesting look at what's being called Web 3.0. But Nick Usborne, a prominent Vancouver-based web copywriter, recently made a good point about the need for the second version of email, and about all the missed opportunities he sees in email marketing. In his newsletter, Excess Voice, he wrote:

'Every company I do business with online has my email address and permission to email me. But when I do receive emails, they are either bland confirmations of a recent purchase, or equally bland suggestions that I buy more. Why the total lack of imagination? Why don’t companies attempt to engage my attention? Why don’t they entertain me? Or get to know me? Or make me smile, or laugh even? And why don’t they involve me, as apart of a community of people who have an interest in their products or services?'

If you're interested, you can read the entire piece here.