We Live in an Over Communicated World, and Now We Can Hide Behind Our Emails

The advent of the computer and email has been a godsend to communication and particularly small business operations.

Sending messages electronically could not be more cost effective. Both consumers and businesses save tons of money by not using the United States Postal Service to deliver mail.

We still need the postal service and other delivery carriers (UPS and FedEx) to deliver packages and printed materials, but there is no question that communication between individuals and groups has increased tremendously by email usage.

Online experts estimate that there are 700 million web sites on the Internet today, and there are millions of people who use email but do not yet have a web site. It can only be a matter of time before the vast majority of people on planet Earth become computer literate and have their own web site.

You would think that all of this usage would put a real dent in the volume at the postal service, but I doubt it. My guess is that mail volume continues to rise as the world population increases.

With email usage we communicate more than we ever have. When we add to electronic emails such modern conveyances as fax machines, pagers, text messaging and cell phones, we clearly live in an over communicated world.

Is there a teenager above poverty level left in America that does not have a cell phone, iPod or handheld computer and is constantly plugged into some device and talking, looking or listening? Just asking because it seems so.

The epitome for me was when I stopped at a red light and the couple in the vehicle next to me had both the husband and wife leaning out their side windows to get better reception while yakking on their cell phones.

The stream of communication has become much quicker and more abundant but whether it is deeper or more meaningful is another question.

My impression is no, it has not become more meaningful.

I launched a service to help people realize and achieve their potential in all areas of life, and as quickly as I launched the service I stopped it because I realized how society has changed as I have grown older.

All of this happened because of a couple of experiences that convinced me that we are not communicating as a people like we did when I was younger.

I never really advertised my new service but word gets around and a few people emailed me requesting my attention. I hit the reply button and said I would be calling them to set up a time when we could talk on the phone because they were across the country.

Their answer surprised me. They had zero interest in communicating over the phone. They wanted to email me their challenges and problems and then I could email them back with my answers and advice.

I understood immediately that as a professional writer I do not pig slop my way through email communication, and that it would take me 20 times as long to write them epistles rather than give them the same message over the phone.

I did not take them on as clients. I realized that they wanted to hide behind their email message, which unfortunately is a voiceless and faceless form of communication.

Talking to clients on the phone gives you an enormous amount of what I call field intelligence. You learn a lot when listening to their spontaneous response, the tone of their voice and their attitude surfacing in the conversation.

It occurred to me that whatever their concerns and fears were they mostly were afraid of being found out. If you think criminals do not hide behind emails you are terribly naive and misguided.

When you deal with me you are either open, honest and somewhat transparent or you will not be dealing with me very long as your coach, mentor, confidant, consultant or whatever else you want to call me.

In all of my reading I have not read what I am sharing with you here: that some people are choosing to hide behind emails rather than communicate more effectively in person or at least over the phone.

If I were to coin a word to describe them, it would be "email phantoms" as you do not hear them or see them. They communicate only in an electronic world.

If you do not relate to my observation that some individuals are hiding behind emails, you will relate to this: You have a new computer that breaks down and you try to call the company, but they only solve technical problems through live text messaging online (a form of electronic emails).

The only company that can help you does not accept correspondence, and they do not accept phone calls, even if you are willing to pay the charges. You must correspond by email or not at all.

The perfect example of this is amazon.com; you do not, repeat, do not, write or call amazon.com. Period. Even if you are a vendor rather than a consumer; I know as I have an account with them.

And while I am extolling the wisdom of phone conversation over email transmissions let me launch another social observation: some people are no longer answering their phone when they are able to do so.

You heard me right. Here is their routine:

Someone calls you, leaves a message and asks you to call them. I call them on their land line that evening after work, and no one answers so I leave a message, and now we begin to play phone tag.

Then I immediately call them on their cell phone because I am trusted and one of the few people who have their cell phone number, and they immediately answer. They were home but chose not to answer their land line.

The point is they never answer the phone anymore. Later, when the mood strikes them and they reassure themselves they are totally in control and want to call back they do. In other words, common courtesy and respect for my time are missing.

It is almost as if they feel no need to answer a phone ever again unless it is in their work environment.

I always answer the phone when it rings, even if it is a loathsome telemarketer calling me when my number has supposedly been taken off their call list.

Young adults and professionals perceive themselves as very important which may explain why many of them spend more time talking than listening.

Need I say it? Smart, successful, competent people spend far more time listening than talking.

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

Ed Bagley is the Author of Ed Bagley's Blog, which he Publishes Daily with Fresh, Original Articles on Lessons in Life, Jobs and Careers, Movie Reviews, Sports and Recreation, and Internet Marketing intended to Delight, Inform, Educate and Motivate Readers. He also operates an upscale resume writing service for executives and professionals that is part of his Blog. Visit Ed at www.edbagleyblog.com and check out this main article section at www.edbagleyblog.com/MovieReviewArticles.html

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