Tumblr just announced a new private messaging feature called Fan Mail. It’s a more personal means that’s not email, which requires you to know your favorite blogger’s email address (do you?) or the handwritten form of the 20th century, snail mail. That leaves two social network-y means of contact: Facebook private messages and Twitter direct messages. Depending on the blogger’s comfort level, however, they may not make Facebook messages on profile pages an option. Similarly, not every blogger follows fans back on Twitter.
On Facebook, you can’t send a message to someone you’re a fan of – at least not yet. Facebook has been testing private messages for pages, but nothing’s official right now.
Some Facebook users do leave the message option public on their personal profiles. It’s more likely that if you’re not Facebook friends with that person, you won’t be able to privately message them.
If you’re a fan of a blogger on Twitter, you can only send a private direct message if the blogger follows you back. Otherwise, a public @ message is your best bet. Still, Twitter users do not always feel obliged to return those @ messages.
Sending fan mail via Tumblr ensures that your favorite blogger sees your note.
You can customize each piece of fan mail, and there is no limit to how much fan mail you can send. Tumblr rolls out this feature over the next few days.
How do you send fan mail to your favorite bloggers? Tell us about it in the comments.