Thursday, August 24, 2006

Offline

I haven't posted much this week, because I've been engaged in some offline discussions that have been rich & meaningful. I tell you that because I've been thinking over the past couple of years about communication & intimacy, especially as it pertains to email. We have a problem in our organization (and if my conversations with friends and family are any indication, we aren't the only ones) that people assume that email is the best way to communicate, period. However, some conversations are simply inappropriate for print, because communication is more than just words on a screen, it's about body language, tone, posture, eye contact, volume, etc. And so, in our organization, we've talked some (not near enough, if you ask me) about how to determine what is appropriate for email and what is appropriate for face-to-face. All that to say: I love this blog, because I love having a place to capture my thoughts. But some conversations are better had away from this forum. For example, last week, in the debacle of the A Fan from afar... post, the best conversation was not on the blog but was found in the long conversations that Chris and I had, and a challenging email from my friend Laura. In conclusion (this has gone on longer, than I anticipated), if you see something here, that you want to hammer out...let me know...I'd love to talk. AND, if you know of any books, articles, etc. pertaining to the "appropriateness" of electronic communication, I'd be interested.

2 comments:

FreeBazyn said...

I used to think, and I still do think how fortunate we are to have quick and convenient email. I am one who is better at expressing myself in writing. It can be dangerous when you aren't looking into somebody's eyes. I know I can say things in email that I wouldn't in a face-to-face conversation.

But this past year, being so far away from so many friends and family members, I see what a bigger luxury face-to-face communication is. I look forward to actually talking to you again in 10 months! :) (and seeing a person's real smile instead of a emoticon doesn't compare)

Anonymous said...

I read that Radio Shack just laid off about 400 people. They told them all through email.