At first I was a bit shocked by the news, ExactTarget and CoTweet? Email and Twitter? They seemed like distant cousins to me, I didn’t exactly get it.
Tonight I spoke to Chris Baggott, co-founder of ExactTarget and now CEO of Compendium Blogware. Chris couldn’t say enough great things about the move, was incredibly excited for Scott Dorsey… and explained how it really does make sense:
- Email and Twitter are not unlike one another. They are both opt-in and push-style communication methods.
- CoTweet is an enterprise management system for Twitter, ExactTarget is an enterprise email marketing platform. The businesses that have been attracted to each are prospects for one another.
- CoTweet and the Social Media Lab provide a Silicorn Valley company with Silicon Valley visibility.
- CoTweet allows ExactTarget to dive into Social Media without the huge risk or expense of purchasing one of the other social applications out there.
Email Marketing Meets Social Media – ExactTarget & CoTweet from ExactTarget on Vimeo.
It’s a great way for ExactTarget to dip its toes into social media. Some might argue that email was the original social medium… I can’t argue with that. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next with ExactTarget and am personally excited that CoTweet now has roots in Indianapolis! I’m also happy it won’t be rebranded ExactTweet! 
I’m also excited for Scott Dorsey! Scott was who I interviewed with at ExactTarget back in the early days – and he never lost his passion, enthusiasm and excitement for the company. No doubt this is only a first chapter in many to come! Congratulations ExactTarget and CoTweet!
