More on the continuing art of The Double Opt-in Intro

As I’ve blogged previously, I have almost ~65k contacts spread across contacts+, apple, five google accounts, and some cell phones and tablets. Given I know, at last count: 65k+ people across Venture Capital, startup, blockchain, AI/ML, FinTech, Space, Advertising, journalism (or just media in general), gaming, entertainment, burning man, ladies I’ve, um, dated, people I’ve dined with, or chatted up, I met on layovers or heliskiing; I have become a person that others regularly ask to make introductions.

Usually, it’s “I noticed you know (insert name of VC/founder/ladyfriend/dude) on Twitter/Linkedin/Facebook/Instagram/at a conference/etc. — would you introduce me to him/her/them, share my business plan, ask him for money, give me his private information?” You get the idea.

Since I believe in the spirit of GDPR, if not the letter — and generally am a strong proponent in personal privacy: I use an introduction system loosely based on the one I first learned from Fred Wilson, a Venture Capitalist I’ve idolized for years. Here’s Fred’s original blog on the DOUBLE OPT-IN INTRO or the (DOI-Intro)

The principle is pretty simple. One party (the Reqestor) requests to meet a second party. So you (the intermediary) check with that person (the Tobeintroduced) first and then upon receipt of their tacit consent you make the connection.

There are a ton of websites and blogs on the DOI-Intro topic. I use the (DOI-Intro) because it’s polite; it helps frame the…