How’d you like to get a follow-up to an e-mail originally sent in July of 2006?

I was ready to simply delete the pesky and unsolicited spam when it occurred to me the Who’s Who organization needed to be made aware of the image-impact its snail mail-like e-mail was causing.

What business waits 20 months before following up on a lead? Your dentist or doctor might.  And, maybe insurance and medical supply salesmen do.  But, if you want to grab my attention (in a positive way), personalize your initial inquiry and then follow the damn thing up in a timely, courteous fashion. I may not be interested, but I’ll appreciate the professionalism.

While it’s true that haste makes waste and the tortoise ended up beating the hare, speed is a prerequisite to success in the Web 2.0 world.