I was once a shy engineer with a pathological fear of annoying people by contacting them. I eventually got over it (some days more than others, to be totally honest), but notice the same tendency in a lot of young engineers and other folks interested in the software business. So, here we go.

This is a standing invitation: if you want to talk software, I want to talk to you.

My email addresses are patrick@ any domain I control, including this one. My handle on most social networks and IM platforms is patio11. I strongly prefer email as a communication method.

I like getting email . I have never, not even once, regretted getting email from a startup, engineer, student, or person interested in our industry. There is absolutely nothing you can do in my inbox which will cause me to think poorly of you as a person or make fun of you to my friends. The worst thing that has ever happened from someone sending me an email is me being a bit busy that day and not replying. Feel free to send me email. My rough estimate is that I read approximately 90% of it and get back to over 70%. (See below for tips on that.)

. I have never, not even once, regretted getting email from a startup, engineer, student, or person interested in our industry. There is absolutely nothing you can do in my inbox which will cause me to think poorly of you as a person or make fun of you to my friends. The worst thing that has ever happened from someone sending me an email is me being a bit busy that day and not replying. Feel free to send me email. My rough estimate is that I read approximately 90% of it and get back to over 70%. (See below for tips on that.) I like reading things. If you write something worth reading, tell me. Again, the worst thing that has ever happened as a result of that is that I just don’t read it. All that cost you was a two-line email.

If you write something worth reading, tell me. Again, the worst thing that has ever happened as a result of that is that I just don’t read it. All that cost you was a two-line email. I like making and selling software. This is doubly true software which is relevant to my interests. A non-exclusive list of those would include A/B testing, analytics tools, and software for underserved niches. If you write software, SaaSes, etc that you think I would be interested in, feel free to send me an email. (n.b. Invites/license keys are nice, specific questions you have about the product are even better.)

This is doubly true software which is relevant to my interests. A non-exclusive list of those would include A/B testing, analytics tools, and software for underserved niches. If you write software, SaaSes, etc that you think I would be interested in, feel free to send me an email. (n.b. Invites/license keys are nice, specific questions you have about the product are even better.) I like meeting people at conferences. If I am at a conference as a guest or speaker, my explicit goal for being there is to talk to you. I’m easy to spot: tall geeky guy with glasses wearing (90%+ probability) a red Twilio jacket. Come up and introduce yourself. I have been told that people are afraid to do that because they are under the impression that I am a celebrity. This is totally not the case: I have the fortune of running a wee little business in our industry and having a wee little bit of a reputation as a result of writing. I also had a level 72 gnome mage at one point. I’m a geek just like you, trust me: say hiya.

If I am at a conference as a guest or speaker, my explicit goal for being there is to talk to you. I’m easy to spot: tall geeky guy with glasses wearing (90%+ probability) a red Twilio jacket. Come up and introduce yourself. I have been told that people are afraid to do that because they are under the impression that I am a celebrity. This is totally not the case: I have the fortune of running a wee little business in our industry and having a wee little bit of a reputation as a result of writing. I also had a level 72 gnome mage at one point. I’m a geek just like you, trust me: say hiya. I like meeting people in Tokyo. I live in the general vicinity of Nagoya. Should you find yourself in the general vicinity of Nagoya, feel free to invite me out for coffee. As of August 1st 2014, I live close to Nakameguro Station in central Tokyo. We’ll have to see if this is sustainable, given that I expect the number of people passing through Tokyo is rather larger than that passing through Ogaki, but for the time being my usual offer applies: if you are in Tokyo and want to talk software, I’ll buy you coffee, no questions asked. (もちろん、日本語も話せますから、ご遠慮なく連絡してください。東京に引っ越したばかりですので、日本の方とのふれあいのチャンスをぜひ作りたいと思いますから、よろしくお願いします。)

As of August 1st 2014, I live close to Nakameguro Station in central Tokyo. We’ll have to see if this is sustainable, given that I expect the number of people passing through Tokyo is rather larger than that passing through Ogaki, but for the time being my usual offer applies: if you are in Tokyo and want to talk software, I’ll buy you coffee, no questions asked. (もちろん、日本語も話せますから、ご遠慮なく連絡してください。東京に引っ越したばかりですので、日本の方とのふれあいのチャンスをぜひ作りたいと思いますから、よろしくお願いします。) I like meeting people when I’m on business trips. I periodically visit the United States and other countries on work. If I’m in your neighborhood on work, feel free to invite me to say hiya, get coffee, etc. If I’m not busy, I’ll say yes. If I’m busy, I’ll just tell you so. I will warn you in advance: “If you’re ever in $CITY give me a call.” is unlikely to result in you getting called unless I specifically want something out of you. I generally announce on Twitter (@patio11) when I travel on business. I don’t do that because I have an overwhelming urge to tell the universe, I do it so that people in the neighborhood will feel free to say hiya.

And, for completeness:

I don’t like telephones . If you want to speak to me by telephone, become a consulting client or marry a McKenzie. Proposals (no, no, consulting proposals) via email, please.

. If you want to speak to me by telephone, become a consulting client or marry a McKenzie. Proposals (no, no, consulting proposals) via email, please. I don’t do work via Facebook. Would you invite me to your wedding? Do you expect to be invited to my wedding? Then you should probably friend me. If neither of these are true, then you probably shouldn’t.

Generic Tips For Emailing Busy People