Does a Lame E-Mail Address Really Matter?

theodp writes "Over at the Chicago Tribune, freelance writer Nancy Anderson makes an embarrassing confession. It's 2010 and she still has an AOL e-mail address. 'You've got to get rid of that AOL address,' her publicist sister told her five years ago. 'It's bad for your image.' Image, shmimage, Anderson thought. 'If I do good work,' she asks, 'does my e-mail address really matter?' Good question. Would an AOL e-mail address — or another 'toxic' e-mail address — influence your decision to hire someone?"

Comments

hell no!

[Anonymous Coward]

--
turdeater@sexual-perverts.net

Maybe

[Anonymous Coward]

Am I looking for a Cobol programmer or a .Net developer?

Re:yes

[iamapizza]

I agree.

Sincerely
iamapizza@BySendingYouThisEmailIHerebyConfirmYourAwesomeness.com

Re:Not the domain

[RogueyWon]

Actually, the best example of this I've heard didn't come from an application I was processing myself. It was one my dad received, for an engineering position in his small business. The e-mail address was cokefiend@isp.com

Needless to say, the applicant didn't get the job. However, this being a small business (where people tend to worry a bit less about form and procedure), the rejection letter included the following line:

"PS. I prefer Pepsi myself"

Re:Actually yes -- in some cases

[fl!ptop]

But I have to chuckle when I see a small business with a website and their own domain name, but still using @comcast or @aol on their business card for email.

i can go one better - an attorney client has on his business cards name@laywers.com. except that the correct domain is lawyer.com. so every time he gives out a card he takes a pen and scratches out the 's'. yeah, that looks professional.

Re:yes

[jimbolauski]

Probably not as much as if you had your resume hosted on geocities.

hey!

[potaz]

Hey, I've actually done a comic on this subject! I'm firmly in the "I'd rather you have a cool email address then a suck-up one" camp.

Re:hey!

[Fanboy Fantasies]

holy shit it's you.

Re:hey!

[halcyon1234]

Hey, I've actually done a comic (http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1416) on this subject! I'm firmly in the "I'd rather you have a cool email address then a suck-up one" camp.

Funny, but could you provide an XKCD reference instead? =)

Re:yes

[91degrees]

Truly, You have a dizzying intellect.

Re:yes

[mcgrew]

Lame addresses:

imalamer@aol.com
wtf@sex.com
dumbass67@dipshits.org
8675309@tmobile.com
urndrarrest@fbi.gov
throwingchairs@microsoft.com
cowboyneal@slashdot.org

Re:yes

[HTH NE1]

I really want an @compuserve.com email address. Retro-cool.

U WANT RETRO, GET BIFF@BIT.NET!

0xB1FF

Re: Okay

[TaoPhoenix]

"President@whitehouse.gov"

Re:yes

[Nimey]

Your mom does.

Re:yes

[HangingChad]

*@aol.com instantly kicks in my "dumbass...." reflex,

And that was true at one time. But now it's almost like an internet antique. A retro fashion statement more than a declaration of internet arrested development.

Re:yes

[mantis2009]

Excellent point. The labor market is so tight these days, workers can easily dictate their place of employment based on subtle criteria like email address prejudice.

Re:yes

[adamdoyle]

you are a genius... I'd hire you just for that