As I’m writing this, it’s a little after 10 p.m. Monday evening. I’ve been searching for an email address for a while now — and I can’t find it. I’m no super-sleuth spy, but I know how to find information on the Internet and I can’t find this person’s contact information anywhere. Not on a LinkedIn profile, not on the organization’s website. Not on some random web page somewhere. Nada.
In theory, I understand why people don’t want their email addresses plastered all over the Internet. Just think of all the spam. But, do you ever stop to think about what you might also be missing by not sharing your contact info?
I am passionate about nonprofits. Having recently moved to Columbus, there’s a specific organization I’d like to reach out to. I used to volunteer with a similar group in Florida. Perhaps I’d even be willing to donate some of my time to help this group improve it’s PR and social media activities. (That’s how much I believe in this cause.) I don’t want to fill our a templated form on a website or send an email to some “info@” email address. But, it’s almost impossible to easily get a hold of a specific person. And, this organization isn’t the only game in town. So, I’m going to move on and find a similar organization to contact. Maybe we’ll work together … maybe we won’t.
Here’s my point: In this day and age, when people so readily expect access to contact information, do you gain that much by hiding your email address? Or, do you risk losing more? Sure, this organization probably doesn’t get as much spam in its inbox as others, but they’re also missing out on at least one person being willing to help them. (And, I bet I’m not the only one!)
What do you think? Is this just me being impatient, or should people be more accessible? Taking it one step further, if someone protects thier tweets, hides their email address or refuses to be “found,” are they missing more than they’re gaining? How do YOU draw the line?