E-mail or Snail mail Does it Matter?

When first reading about this assignment my first thought wasn't about the medium I would use but more about how cool it would be. A lot of us are communication majors and this assignment is about a very positive communication act.

I immediately thought of two people, one being my sister-in-law and the other a former Pastor's wife. I began composing what I would say to each and I chose to send a letter to the Pastor's wife and an e-mail to my sister-in-law. I think it was based on the idea that my sister-in-law and I frequently correspond by e-mail since she lives in another state and I don't know my other friends e-mail.

I began by composing a letter starting with an introduction explaining that it was an assignment but that I had just been thinking about her and remembering some of her advice. My title was "10 things I learned from my Pastor's wife". I felt very inspired and enjoyed every minute of it as I wrote. I could picture her reading this and remembering our memories together and feeling good about her positive and memorable influence in my life. I just sent it yesterday so I don't know if I'll get a reply or not. It really doesn't matter to me. I think that it's wonderful to have a written and tangible document to look back on and be encouraged.

On the other hand I wrote my sister-in-law by e-mail. I loved writing this as well and it actually was much longer than the written because I can type so much faster and there is a uninterrupted flow when typing. I don't like the act of writing with a pen or pencil because I have messy handwriting. I'm kind of like a "mad scientist" because my mind often thinks much faster than I can physically write but typing gives me a better result as the letters always look neat no matter how fast I type. Rereading both my letters I really didn't find much difference in the tone or language I felt both accurately said what I intended.

In relating this to our reading the thing that stood out to me the most was Postman (p. 70) where he talks about our peek-a-boo world where info comes and then is quickly gone. In this assignment we find a reminder that some information is worth keeping and remembering and that is at the root of many our discussions, this "thing" worth sorting through and treasuring is "people". With all this information and technology there are still people at the beginning and end.

Postman says that we are trying to accommodate ourselves to this new technology. We wander if all this new information is our friend. Our "friends" are real people and what a wonderful idea to stop and do this very act of remembering and thanking them whether it's snail mail or e-mail. If e-mail makes it more conducive to keeping our friendships alive then use it. After all, isn't the idea that these things are merely tools and we have not only the choice but the obligation to keep them in their proper place!

In the end I agree that there are times when e-mail is not appropriate communication and it's good that we evaluate our use or misuse of it in this arena but more than that it's a valid option for communicating. I think having a piece of paper is good because it can be viewed for years to come but how cool to be able to send out 10 e-mails like this because e-mail makes the task seem so less daunting for some (like me). Write or e-mail so what, I think those that received either correspondence would say "just do it".