Maybe this doesn't apply to you... maybe it does and you don't know it... I didn't think it applied to me until this afternoon.
I don't know how many email addresses I have. That is ok, because as long as I get all of the mail, there isn't a problem. But, I had forgotten about one of my email addresses... and I wasn't getting the mail from it. And that would be 2,453 messages since Dec. 17th, 2007. 2,453 messages.
At some point, that email address got dropped from my Outlook pulls... Outlook stopped pulling the messages from it at some point priot to Dec. 17th, 2007. I didn't notice... I mean, I noticed, but I didn't notice. I noticed that I wasn't getting a few email newsletters. I wasn't getting messages from a group I was in. I wasn't getting notifications from a forum I belong to... But I really didn't pay attention.
Today, I needed to move a domain. When I needed the EPP code, I had to go find it via webmail. When I logged in... there were 2,453 messages.
I have rectified the situation. I have added the account to Outlook. And while I never forgot the address, I have made sure to never forget to collect the mail.
What about you?
How many email addresses do you have? Are you sure?
And another thing... Do you have control over your email addresses? Are there people looking for you with a former brokerage? Are there people looking for you at addresses you don't have anymore... and that you can't forward? You should only promote addresses of which you have control. Own your domain. In addition to LaneBailey.com, I have also purchased LaneBailey.info... it will be just about social networking and a curriculum vitae.
The final thing... Don't be afraid of having disposable addresses. Part of the reason I have so many addresses is that I use "disposable" email addresses tied to my domains. These are specifically tasked addresses... like one for FaceBook, one for Flickr, etc. That way, if the address is sold to a spammer, I can drop it and apply a new address without having to change it in dozens of places.
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