Here’s a look at some of the ones I’m subscribed to (and dig):

Now I Know: NIK is a free daily e-newsletter by Dan Lewis, whose day job’s official title is “Director of New Media Communications for Sesame Workshop” (yes, the org behind Sesame Street!). On top of running this award-winning newsletter, raising young kids, and working with Cookie Monster and Elmo, he’s authored two Now I Know books. I’ve learned about all kinds of cool things from his daily fact-filled emails. For example, did you know there are hundreds of feral cats that come out at Disneyland after the guests leave? Now you do. Sign up here.

Wertzeen: Directly inspired by Rusty’s Electric Dreams, Oakland illustrator and printer Michael Wertz has his own emailed “zeen.” It’s got a distinctive voice, loads of lovely art, and I wish it were published more than once a month! Sign up here.

Porchland: This one is new to me and it’s penned by new-to-Portland Schlomo Rabinowitz, someone I don’t know IRL but enjoy the heck out of following online. Sometime last year I noticed he was inviting friends to join him for meals of ramen soup on Tuesdays. I never got the chance to meet him for these Ramen Tuesdays but I’m also not dead yet. Sign up here.

Just Another Crowd: Its author, seanbonner, is also an IRL stranger to me but as each of his emails hit my inbox, I glean more information about him (in that way that we do). He inserts interesting images into each email and some links to cool things. His friend mg wrote this testimonial about Just Another Crowd:  “Of the volumes of barely disguised viral marketing noise that stuffs my inbox, social media and RSS feeds, [Sean’s] newsletter is a rare oasis of fun, interest, and thought. I read each one end to end.” Sign up here.

Ok, so I know what you’re thinking, “Where are all the lady e-zinesters?”

I KNOW, RIGHT?!

Actually, there’s one I know of, Dan Lewis mentioned her in Now I Know a while back. Her name is Maggie Koerth-Baker (you may recognize her name from Boing Boing) and her weekly e-newsletter is called:

The Fellowship of the Three Things: It’s described as “a weekly collection of fascinating facts, cool photos, and intriguing short interviews collected by Maggie Koerth-Baker during her fellowship at Harvard University.” Sign up here.

Wished Upon a Star: Ok, this one is super special to me. I’ve been following this e-newsletter since the late 1990s. It’s a weekly dispatch from a retirement community in LA’s Koreatown called Wished Upon a Star. It is written by the residents, who are mostly failed Hollywood types existing on the fringes of the famous. Trust me, it’s as wacky/great as it sounds. Sign up here.

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR BLOGGERS & OTHER PEOPLE WHO SHARE STUFF ON THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY, INTERNET, OR “WEB”:

If you like something that I’ve shared in this inbox zine and want to share it to your “network,” I have made it easy to give me attribution (which helps me out a lot!).

Head on over to the Archives page and that’s where you’ll find every issue of Rusty’s Electric Dreams, just sitting there wishing and dreaming to be referenced.

I prefer to be credited as “Rusty’s Electric Dreams” but “Rusty Blazenhoff” works too.

Here’s some examples:

Blogger extraordinaire John Farrier liked the sweetcorn pillow from the last issue and picked it up to feature on Neatorama, as so:
http://www.neatorama.com/2015/02/05/Corn-on-the-Cob-Pillow/

And then Foodiggity’s Chris Durso saw John’s post and re-blogged it, crediting both of us:

Easy, peasy. (Asking for what you need is the new black.)

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