Apple Computer is famed for sending lawsuits to bloggers, but Tim Gaden, the prolific writer of the Hawk Wings blog which focuses solely on Apple Mail, has caught the eye of Apple's Mail development team — in a good way.

He received an email today that read, in part:

"The Mail team appreciates all of the work you put into frequently updating Hawk Wings with informative posts."

"Could you post an entry that we’re looking for stellar people to join our group?

It's cool on so many fronts that Tim's blog has caught the Mail team's eye in a positive way. Obviously, there's the hope that the next release of OS X will include a much-improved version of Mail that includes many of the suggestions for improvement that Tim has blogged about over time.

There's also the fact that Tim is based in Australia, but has attracted a large global audience. It really shows the power of persistent blogging on a niche subject. Whirlpool.net.au achieved the same thing on the topic of Australian broadband providers… and whaddayaknow… Tim moonlights as a reporter for Whirlpool too ;-)

And it's cool that Apple is seeking to communicate its job ads to the developers that are the most committed to Apple Mail, via Hawk Wings.

And… on a personal note… Tim is, y'know, a personal friend of mine. I knew him before he was famous. Now I just have to focus on keepin' the friendship real because celebrity can be tough. ;-)