Lamentations
Howard Bayliss laments various boxes…
Box 1 – Letterbox
When was the last time you wrote a letter? Not a business letter, Christmas card or complaint, but a heartfelt, personal letter?
When did you last receive such a letter?
For me it was about a decade ago and I’ve almost forgotten how good it feels to open a letter, personally written to me.
It seems that personal letter writing is dead. Generally speaking, the only things dropping though my letterbox now are junk mail and bills.
Box 2 – Inbox
I guess it was email that killed personal letter writing. And why not? Email delivery is pretty much instantaneous; and you don’t need to buy a stamp.
However, it appears that what-goes-around-comes-around as email is going the same way as the post. Now my inbox just fills up with marketing material, job adverts or emails from people who want a piece of me.
Box 3 – Soapbox
So the joy of receiving a long, personal letter or email has gone; replaced by look-at-me social media.
Why take time to “touch” someone on a personal level when you can climb on your soapbox and broadcast to all of your friends at the same time, particularly if you can do it in 140 characters or less?
But let’s face it – they’re mostly not your friends anyway; they’re just people you know. A little.
And why write something personal to someone, then post it somewhere 1100 people can also see it?
Indeed, I think that social media *can* sometimes do more harm than good. After all, do you really get a truthful picture of how someone is doing, based on their updates? Of course not. When did you last see an update like: “I’m really struggling with life at the moment“, or “No one takes an interest in me“?
Likewise, you can look at people’s airbrushed updates, and end-up feeling inadequate and unappreciated.
The Next Big Thing
I assume that social media (as we know it today) will go the same way as the post and email. I’m therefore going to chat with the collective creative genius at Redweb to see if we can come-up with some concepts for the next form of digital communication:
- It needs to be easy to use
- It needs to be fun (email is passé)
Above all though, it needs to recapture something of the joy of receiving a letter, knowing that it’s personally written to you (and only you). There’s real value in that.
If you would like to comment, please use the social media links below. Or, instead, why not surprise me by writing me a letter?
Yours sincerely
Howard Bayliss
