Years back when I went overseas, I had to rely on real letters. I mean if I wanted to send someone some information, I had to put it on a piece of paper, slide it into an envelope, affix a stamp, and drop it in the postal system. Sometimes there was a two-week turn around between sending something and getting the reply. Considering I was waiting on my lazy family and friends, it often took much longer. I was slightly ahead of the curve by the fact in the mid-1980's I was word processing most of my correspondence. At that time, I knew that some people considered getting a typed message as rather rude. How silly, I thought!Now people can stay in constant electronic contact but that's not what I want to discuss. Today, I just want to focus on some differences I've witnessed in my own written communication since college.
These three stages have come about due to changes in computer technology. First, there was no email. Then, email came along and shifted both the speed and content of my messages. Finally, I'm seeing the inclusion of much more personal online media. It's too bad I don't know anyone who's capable of writing back!When one wrote letters, they had to be self contained. One would save up events and then share a lot of them in a single document. It took a lot of work and time. One had to be pretty dedicated to locate the previous missive and begin the process of creating a reply. One wanted to make it worth the effort for there was a cost in both one's money and time. In contrast, email came along and could be short and sweet. Some of the discomfort of having to devote a lot of time to messages had lessened. Unfortunately, most people never adapted. I think most people seldom write personal email because they never caught up with the mindset of the new technology. An email can be a single thought. It doesn't cost anything to send. Multiple conversations can take place but people, at least the ones I know, aren't mentally or emotionally set up that way. I've begun to notice a third change in my personal electronic correspondence. When word processing first appeared, it was a surprise to realize one didn't need to retype text. For example, even on my first IBM, I could hit a button or two and my whole return address would appear. Now in the past few years, I've noticed a third major change. I am often using chunks of pre-existing, personal online data inside my emails nowadays. With standard text, I constantly add URLs to information I've already got online. I might link to an entry here, or a slide show of Flickr pictures.