Despite all of the buzz about social media, I’m still convinced that e-mail is the most effective way to communicate with people online. Unfortunately, e-mail can become a headache very quickly. I probably get somewhere between 50 and 100 messages a day, and I sometimes find it overwhelming (but feel free to add to it if you have a question – willy@onedayonejob.com). I don’t know how people who get way more e-mail than I do are able to deal with it. There are lots of e-mail productivity tools, but most of them don’t work for me. I was starting to get desperate for a better way to manage relationships through e-mail, and then I came across Etacts. They’re a really young startup based in San Francisco, CA, and they built an e-mail tool that is exactly what I always wanted. I even went through the hassle of moving all of my accounts to Gmail just so that I could use Etacts. Their web-based software goes into your e-mail archive and pulls out a ton of data, then it gives you a simple interface where you can see things like who your top contacts are, how many messages you’ve traded with them, how long it’s been since you contacted them, and a few more simple features. You can even tie in your AT&T phone bill, although I haven’t figured out how to make that functionality work yet.

Grow Your Relationships

Etacts is so clutch for me. It helps me remember people that I’ve forgotten. I can follow up on conversations that I had six months or a year ago without having to dig through thousands of e-mails. That may mean scoring a new ad deal or getting a success story from a reader (send me your One Day, One Job success stories!). E-mail is the lifeblood of my business, and Etacts makes the data hidden in all of my e-mails much easier to digest. You can probably find some great uses for Etacts when it comes to managing your job search. It will help you remember which employers you need to follow up with, and it may help you rekindle some relationships that provide great networking opportunities. Etacts has built an amazing product, and it’s only in its infancy. They have a shot at being a really great company, and now that they have funding, they’re starting to hire. Right now all of their jobs are on the technical side—Startup Software Whiz, Hotshot UX Designer/Engineer, and Lead Engineer—but they also have a Community Manager Internship open which indicates that they may be hiring non-techies full-time in the not so distant future. Give Etacts a look and see if you can help them build an even better product.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• Etacts.com
• Jobs at Etacts
• About Etacts
• Etacts on Twitter

Do you use Etacts?

We've identified Etacts as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• all employers
• California
• design
• e-mail
• engineering
• software development
• user experience
• web development

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