Email encryption is one of those pleasures that can't be enjoyed alone. Sending yourself messages secured with 4096-bit RSA is great for proof of concept, but meaningful communication requires two parties. GnuPG requires both those parties to have their own keys.

Less than 1% of all email traffic is PGP encrypted, meaning that those of us who do make our messages private routinely find ourselves in the frustrating predicament of having to share our thoughts insecurely, even though we know they're being intercepted, even though this is easily avoidable, and even though we've already taken steps to do so. All because our friends and colleagues don't know the benefits of GnuPG.

Windows, Gnu/Linux, Mac, and Android all have point and click GnuPG interfaces - at this point, all bases except iPhone are more or less covered. That means the reason your contacts aren't OpenPGP ready is not technical. And because GnuPG is Free Software (and free of charge), it can't be about price.

A recommendation from you is the most effective way you can increase the number of GnuPG users, and consequently increase the percentage of the messages you send that are meaningfully encrypted. That's why we're asking people in our community to think of pithy explanations of why GnuPG is important and how it enables them.

We've already got quotes from some big names like Bruce Schneier, Jacob Appelbaum, and Richard Stallman. But the chances are that your name carries more weight among your peers. Please use it to share your appreciation for GnuPG!

If you use social networks, you can use #iloveGPG to connect your messages to other people's, and make is easier for us to find and repeat them.

Look out for weekly quotes posted from the GnuPG Twitter and Diaspora accounts if you need inspiration. Let's fill up the keyservers with fresh keys from new users!