E-mail addresses of the Rich & Famous
Godin
1994
Submitter: This is perhaps the most embarrassing offerings we’ve ever submitted to Awful Library Books, and we’ve offered up a few doozies! An email directory from 1994? We’ve hit a new low. I wonder if Al Gore still checks his email at vice.president@whitehouse.gov. I wonder why the author included page 20. The heading there reads, “CELEBRITIES (PROBABLY FAKES).” The page includes an email address for Howard the Duck, for crying out loud! Why did we buy this book?
Holly: I can actually see buying something like this, but you have to know you’re going to weed it within a few short years. I just love it when people ask for a celebrity’s personal email. You know their publicist handles all that, right? And yours may or may not ever be opened at all, let alone read, and I almost guarantee it won’t be read by the celebrity themself. Interesting to note that this book is by Seth Godin.
Side note: in this post, Seth Godin says he’s embarrassed about this book!
Wow. Good luck with contacting Jerry Garcia or Roger Ebert, may they both rest in peace.
A printed Email directory is about as useless as they come.
I think it was reasonable to include “fake” email addresses in 1994 to introduce the concept that there were people out there making up fake identities. A lot of us really had no idea back then.
The email to Howard the Duck is probably fake. You think?
My patrons would LOVE this book! I get so many calls from people trying to get celebrities’ contact information. If only it weren’t 25 years out of date…
Bob West, the voice of Barney? Wow. I’d sure be tempted.
Prodigy, CompuServe . . . and THE INTERNET!
It was a good idea at the time!
Back when this book came out, it was generally harder to find things on the internet than it is now. Lists of good websites and directories of email addresses were useful. And it was probably fun for people to see who they might be able to reach via email, at at time when not everyone had email.
But that was almost a quarter of a century ago …
My father-in-law still uses AOL for his email. God, I hope he doesn’t pay for it.
Hey! If it ain’t broke…
Does he rent his landline phone too?
My ex uses AOL for his email, too. And he doesn’t pay for it. Seems to work fine.
Vinton Cerf? Michael Spindler? Mary Claire Gumbleton???