Updated.This morning, we had an unexpected issue with our bulk mail server and inadvertently sent a massive amount of our weekly email newsletters out to people, perhaps to people who don’t even subscribe to the newsletter in the first place. We have halted the email delivery and won’t turn it back on until we understand and can fix what happened.
For those whose inboxes we flooded, we’re sorry. Those whose mobile phones are blowing up, we’re really sorry. Our development team tells me that a few straggler emails may get through, but the bulk of the mail has been turned off as of 6:53am PST.
We will update this post if we expect or experience any more oddness, and we continue to value our trusted relationship with you, our readers.
Update: MailChimp has gotten to the bottom of the problem, and posted an explanation (and apology) on Twitter and on their blog. Thanks, guys.
Update 12/13/2011: We’ve spent the past 5 days working with our email service provider to correct the error that caused our newsletter distribution lists to go haywire: the culprit was an errant piece of code that misinterpreted recipients’ newsletter preferences, and sent multiple versions of our newsletter to the same address. We are now confident that this error has been fixed, and will be re-starting the delivery of our daily newsletters as of today.
The GigaOM community has shown incredible patience over the past week, and we’re truly grateful to have such understanding and loyal readers. Thanks again for sticking with us, and if you experience any additional newsletter wonkiness, let us know via email.
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/iO7H2qMY Our ownership of the issue as well as our sincere apology.
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/gx5gJwWp #Apple #iPodtouch
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/Yylc1hez
RT @gigaom: Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/Yylc1hez
RT @gigaom: Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/Yylc1hez
RT @gigaom: Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/Yylc1hez
Luckily Gmail wrapped it all up into one “conversation” in my inbox =)
I can’t help but love this apology. It’s just so honest without any bs in it. http://t.co/ht8Mktwp
RT @gigaom: Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/swpZ1AB4 That explains iPhones exploding on airplanes. #justlaugh
RT @gigaom: Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/UppTO8Bs…
RT @gigaom GigaOM
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Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/lk53o6lh @GigaOM
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RT @gigaom: Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/XE9ce6F5 Too funny!
#facepalm RT @gigaom: Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/gjWHFZwN
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter?: This morning, we had an unexpected issue… http://t.co/T24Kq8XS
I just thought it was REALLY important to you that I read that specific email.
It was a good email, but not THAT good.
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/m9P0LzLz via @gigaom #tech
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/VL9QIVoi #business #midlandsconsultingcentre #
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/kWba9YjL via Stacey Higginbotham
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? #socialmedia http://t.co/GQIcd0uc
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/hrbu2F0g #webdevfeeds
RT @gigaom: Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/4E1SUvx5 ME: And I was ready to blame the new Gmail!
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Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/jrK95VBI <– now, this is great DCS!
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If only you had sent it via USPS, you might have bailed them out!
and perhaps done us in. Have you seen the cost of stamps? :)
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I got about 10 of these, feel bad for them, http://t.co/t76K9YQc
If you got multiple emails from our over-eager Newsletter script, we are very sorry & are looking into the cause, http://t.co/uNV8CCS6
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Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter?: 7, 2011, 7:54am PT No Comments This morning, we had an unexpect… http://t.co/WraaeO0q
My operations manager noticed all my incoming emails and escalated the issue to my boss, who fired me for reading non-work-related emails at work.
I hope you’re happy, GigaOM.
Okay just kidding. I’m not even signed up. :) But I will add you to my RSS now. Heard about GigaOm on HackerNews and was impressed with how Stacey put out this fire with transparency.
Welcome. We’ll try not to do it again :) And it wasn’t just me, our dev team has the real firefighters.
They did the bulk of the work, no doubt, but that’s are expected to do. For a company rep to respond to a problem with transparency, though, is a fairly new thing. You said, “For those whose inboxes we flooded, we’re sorry. Those whose mobile phones are blowing up, we’re really sorry.” And I really appreciated the directness. I just want to acknowledge you for sticking your neck out and handling this in a very modern way. Bravo!
Must… try… Flipboard. Can’t think of anything else, really. It’s like listening to It’s a Small World After All a few times. You have me reaching for the liquor cabinet at 9:30am.
I once got stuck for 30 minutes on the It’s a Small World ride at Disneyland. Sadly, I had no liquor. I feel your pain.
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/ckdrQ3D5
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Oh, dear: Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/3wKjtzW2
You will find very few people these days who will say they are sorry. Nice to know that gigaom is one of them.
There is a good way to deal with this that lets everyone learn: http://youtu.be/uB9DioUQqEo#t=2m0s
Did Someone Order 500 Copies of our Newsletter? || Email snafu (I got 42 copies!) handled well by @GigaOM. http://t.co/2L0OjRdS
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter?: This morning, we had an unexpected issue with our bulk mail ser… http://t.co/srfrdjf0
Apology Accepted
Interesting that this article comes from someone whose job title is “Senior Writer,” not an editor, not Om, or anyone from the technical side of the business.
Anthony, Om is in Europe and our managing editor is out sick today. We’re a writer-driven staff, but if it makes you feel better I have been an editor here in the past. Plus, we’re the type of business where everyone takes responsibility for delivering a quality product.
Aw. And here I felt all special, like Om missed me or something.
Stacey -
What is up with your servers? I subscribe to over 200 RSS feeds, nine of which are GigaOM feeds. RSSOwl, the news reader I use, reports which feeds are broken and non-responsive. That’s usually three or four feeds a day and they’re usually all GigaOM feeds.
I’ve checked repeatedly to be sure that the feed’s URLs are correct. No problem at this end.
I think GigaOM’s server problems are deeper than you know. Have you considered the issue may be in those running them?
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter?: This morning, we had an unexpected issue with our bulk mail ser… http://t.co/Qt0v3wV3
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/a6Vz5aef
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/sfOx4qnH
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/fwraYub3 #Tech
RT: Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter?: Updated.This morning, we had an unexpected issue with our b… http://t.co/nsj9CtI1
It happens
had to laugh: in google reader the ad that showed up with the rss item of this story was…(wait for it)…an ad for Mailchimp!!!
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter?: Updated.This morning, we had an unexpected issue with our bulk … http://t.co/AGZZq6WV
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter?: Updated.This morning, we had an unexpected issue with our bulk … http://t.co/3QYonv70
@gigaom – A mea culpa goes a long ways, thanks for owning up. Mailbox is cleaned out – cheers http://t.co/3q4bjLGl
@webwisedesign Sincere apologies! @gigaom email provider had too much coffee. Details on what happened http://t.co/xGSMOsFa
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? — Tech News and …: This morning, we had an issue with our bulk… http://t.co/mu8xbSCr
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/mKOSNsl8
In case someone didn’t hear about why they got 500 emails from us this morning: http://t.co/VWhNtc1u
RT @michaelwolf: In case someone didn’t hear about why they got 500 emails from us this morning: http://t.co/VWhNtc1u
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/lQKVmYtn
Did someone order 500 copies of @gigaom newsletter? http://t.co/4Ei5d57P #thanksfortheexplanation more by @mailchimp http://t.co/yowaIO6W
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/GvtOCI4l
@boyadamsam http://t.co/2iWMs8FZ GigaOM apology to the people they spammed.
Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/gYHk2AOa
We just re-booted the @GigaOM daily newsletters. Thanks for your patience! Here’s a quick update: http://t.co/mhTwdTme
gigaom: We just re-booted the @GigaOM daily newsletters. Thanks for your patience! Here’s a quick update: http://t.co/CaEZqJRw
Update on our newsletter snafu: Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/VWhNtc1u
Glitches happen. Every the service I use – AWS, Apple, Ebay, Facebook have had problems at one time or another. I wasn’t worried when I saw all the emails. I figured that you would be on it quickly. Even if it happens again (as it does sometimes in these cases), I’m sure your team and (mail chimp)will address it. Keep those emails coming (but just one at a time).
Here’s an update on our newsletter snafu: Did someone order 500 copies of our newsletter? http://t.co/k2p47Zz9 Thanks for your patience.