I am giving authenticity some more thought and testing it out on the web. Not just my authenticity which is always a work in progress but the authenticity of what people are putting out there.
There is a wedding based web business that came across my digital world by some unknown linkage this afternoon. They are offering to make partnerships with others in the wedding business, get a 'support your team' kind thing going. So I signed up. What I got in my very first contact was an email thanking me. Problem was it was a form email with a pre-formed thanks, no identification with what we do here or who they really are behind the website. Didn't like that. Deleted it. Not authentic.
On the other hand this morning I came across a business that is a competitor to my business. They have great website and do beautiful work. I wrote them an email to tell them that, and just to say hi. Maybe they will write back maybe not, but if they do, I will have made an authentic connection. It makes for a very nice feeling.
You should check them out http://www.fourwindsweddings.com