I just noticed that our Twitter “follow notifications” are in HTML email format instead of the old plain-text format (cnet noticed too). HTML email has many advantages over plain-text, so whenever companies make this move, they tend to go nuts with all the bells and whistles, just because they can.
Twitter did a much smarter job (imho), by showing restraint and focusing on usefulness. Here’s what I mean…
I’m trying out a service called Skribit. It’s this thing where readers can tell me what they want me to write about, and then other readers can vote those suggestions up or down (Digg-style).
They call it a “cure for writer’s block” but that doesn’t do it justice imho. My problem is the opposite of writer’s block. I can write stuff all day long, but I have no idea if it’s the stuff our customers actually want to hear about. Some customers contact me directly with questions. Our customer svc team gives me topics too.
But Skribit is finally a way for me to see how many other readers are interested in that topic. Suggest a topic for me to write about
A lot of people who are checking out MailChimp will call or email us and ask, “Can I use a purchased email list with MailChimp?”
So we created this: http://caniuseapurchasedemaillist.com/
If you run an abuse desk somewhere, and you’re tired of answering that stupid question over and over, feel free to link people to it. If you’re not sure why importing a purchased email list into a 3rd party ESP is a bad thing, then promptly turn off your computer and unplug it from the wall. Thanks.
Here’s an interesting email I got from Ad Age:
The keywords, “Great Depression” and “deep recession” got my attention (they appeared in my preview pane), so I scrolled down to read about this report.
The first thing I thought was, “I bet the gray VIEW-A-SAMPLE button got way more clicks than the red BUY-NOW button” Nice idea. Then I wondered what kind of effort they actually put into converting people from “sample-to-trial.”
One thing we like to do at MailChimp is buy stuff from our customers. We buy t-shirts, art, candy, coffee, food — anything we can to support our small business users. It also reminds our team of “who we’re serving.” Nah, it’s just cool free stuff for everybody. 
Being a car nut, I recently purchased a 1953 Corvette Autoart replica from MailChimp user ZIp-Parts (who we just showcased here).
When I opened up my box, I noticed they packed it with old newspaper. More specifically, the car classifieds section. Nice detail for a car nut. And you bet I actually read what’s for sale in Mechanicsville, VA.
If you sell sporting goods online, why not pack it with your local newspaper sports section? Sports fanatics would probably love reading about your local high school football standings. Sell comics? Use the funnies. Sell collectibles? Use the classifieds.