Here is a tip from Gabriel Weinberg who just got his company, Duck Duck Go, on Time’s The 50 Best Websites of 2011:

In Harry’s case, I checked my email and I don’t believe I ever wrote him personally, nor have ever met Harry in person (though I’d like to!), or even talked to him over the phone. We have communicated via Twitter, however.

Here’s a secret. Twitter is severely under-utilized as a communication channel. Lots of very influential people are on there, and some that don’t have big celebrity names or sites behind them actually have very few followers. That means that your interactions with them are more likely to be noticed (assuming they use/check Twitter).