I think the problem has more to do with email than getting people to pay attention. Example: the major thing that got me really into twitter was when quotably

I think the problem has more to do with email than getting people to pay attention. Example: the major thing that got me really into twitter was when quotably launched. First thing I thought to do was show it to someone who had a huge list, so I messaged the url to Scoble. Even though I've never had any contact with anybody in the Web 2.0 / blogosphere world, he checked it out, linked to the site in his feed, and even messaged me back saying thanks. This is with only having an account for a few hours and nobody on my followed list. Not everyone will always react so favorably, but there will always be alternative channels to get the word out to somebody if you really want to. To me, email just isn't the best form of communication for initially attracting attention, especially in this industry.