Email vs. The Mail

Oddly, it took me a little while to think of two people to write to. I feel like my days of having “heroes” has diminished somewhat over time, especially after the era of knowing so much about celebrities and other notable people in the internet age. I certainly admire a number of people, but it took some thought to process who I would have something significant to say to. After far too much time sitting on the couch trying to think of someone interesting to write to, I realized I was missing the point a little bit. The people who have been most influential in my life are the ones right around the corner from me...not those who live in the distance, but those who have been there to provide guidance when I needed it.

So, having thought that out, I mailed one of my mentors and emailed the other. I don't know if I'm wise enough to recognize why, but the content and style of the letter and the email were similar, although the letter was a bit shorter, probably because actually using a pen and paper is a little more tiring of an exercise these days. My writing style is almost exclusively tied to the email and web mediums, so while I probably wrote differently back when the postal mail was largely how I communicated (although that was back in high school, so my style has changed a lot since then, for certain), now when I am writing something out, it's likely to resemble how I email and not the reverse.

While the link between this assignment and what I learned from the reading might be a little tenuous (probably my fault), I found it interesting that the people I chose were people I met “in real life”, and not among the hundreds of people I have been introduced to through the internet. I wonder if there's something to be said about the nature of the relationships I've made via the “real world” and the “internet”, but I think it might instead be a matter of age and era. The people I thought of as being most influential to me were older people who adapted to the internet age instead of being formed by the Web. Also, these were people I met prior to college, when I began to embrace the internet more fully. For me, I've never found that sort of therapeutic relationship the chapter mentions online. Instead, those relationships are generally more tied to face to face interaction.

Anyhow, to the responses. The email I sent out was responded to nearly immediately via email, as that person sits in front of a computer all day for work and carries a Blackberry away from work. The letter I sent out obviously had a longer response time, but instead of receiving a letter in return, he called, somewhat concerned and confused by the fact that I had sent him a letter instead of more efficient forms of communication. He chose to return my correspondence by phone, deciding not to email because of his concern. In the end, I realize that the postal letter might be good for legal notices or bills, but it's not the most personal form of communication any longer.