[pashakym]

Sure, try to finds twitter/facebook/blog/video/presentation activities. And do some research about discussed topic. Then your "cold" email will be much more "worm". foe example : "Hey Jeff, I read you latest blog about BART strike and I agree that we need to increase number on car-pool lines when something like that happens in Bay Area I made a simulation that it will decrease bla bla bla... " If "Jeff" answers, you will have an amazing chance for a personal conversation.

[zenlikethat]

I like this idea... I may not make it the exclusive purpose of my e-mail, since ultimately I'm asking for an interview, but mentioning an interesting shared topic of conversation from a tweet or blog post seems like a good idea.