A few notes about PostalProfiles.com:

First, PostalProfiles will be developed in three steps. In the first "beta" step, I am asking for 100 postal people to sign up to use and test the site. Soon after, I will open the site to unlimited registrations. After the site reaches 1,000 members the site will be redesigned professionally (the same features and format, but with professional graphics and also an ad engine where advertisers can specifically target the site with custom advertisements).

Second, I want to say a note to postal workers concerned about signing up and having a public postal profile on the Internet. Many postal workers have been very wary of leaving comments at PostalMag.com because they are afraid their comments can be used against them by the USPS or others. That's one reason why PostalMag's QuickTopic forums continue to be popular, because no registration is required. But I think that people are becoming more comfortable with the Internet and will be more comfortable in knowing that hundreds of thousands of messages have been left by USPS workers at PostalMag and the "authorities" have contacted me only twice. In one case, the messages were very threatening and needed to be investigated in my opinion. Overall, niche "myspace" style sites exist for many subjects, including sites for bowlers, amputees, police, cyclists and many more, and I think it's time for a "postal myspace" to help postal people to better communicate and network. By the way, I also bought the domain name www.postalmyspace.com that I might use to promote PostalProfiles.com.

Speaking of helping postal people better communicate and network, the power of PostalProfiles is great. This site will allow postal people and also postal companies to have a blog with their name (for example, my page is www.postalprofiles.com/tom). Moreover, the Groups feature holds great promise as it will allow users to create groups for every conceivable postal subject, for example a REC group, a letter carriers' group, a direct mailers' group, an NFL enthusiasts group, etc. In fact, smaller groups could be created, for example a group for Chicago APWU members.

I plan to post an icon for each group and for each "notable" PostalProfiles blog on the Home page at PostalMag.com. If you think your blog is notable, send me a message and I will post your icon with link.  

Also, I want to say a note about identity theft and social networking sites. Before you register a profile for (example) John Potter and create a profile pretending you're the Postmaster General (unless you really are PMG Potter), I want to remind you that some new laws concerning identity theft may apply to such cases. On a similar note, if you are considering signing up at PostalProfiles.com, it might be a good idea to do it sooner rather than later before your desired page name is taken.

Overall, I see great promise with this site and invite you to join and start using the power of PostalProfiles.com.

Thanks,

Tom Wakefield

PostalMag.com
PostalProfiles.com