What Is Your Holiday Greeting Prefence?

Email or snail mail. Festive tweet or Christmas card.

It was a difficult year but perhaps we can chalk it up to character building? Let’s go with that. As 2009 draws to an end, some good cheer is being exchanged.

I was speaking with a colleague last week and she had to cut the call short because she had to go write out client Christmas cards.

Then I wondered if we prefer cards or emails or e-cards or Facebook wall posts or think the electronic idea is better for the environment or is it simply important that the message is sent no matter the medium?

It was time for an impromptu Twitter poll. I wondered if you preferred a festive email or card in the mail or did it matter. A shout-out to mom who has been doing cards for decades - received mine last week.

This survey was held at around 8:15am on December 14, 2009 for about ten minutes – aka very official and highly scientific.

Here are the results...

@TWalk I don't send holiday cards, personal or business. Try to keep up with friends year-round.

@Thebookmaven I can't resist real cards in the mail. But some festive/photo emails are really terrific.

@mdbenoit2 Definitely card in the mail.

@SuzeMuse I am pretty proud of myself that I managed to send a few Christmas cards this year.

@tommyvaller I'm going to vote festive coffee or beer meeting. I'd much rather spend 10 minutes in person than any time on the phone. I'm sending the paper ones out today and prefer getting the paper kind, personally.

@fendergurl email always makes it there on time. (maybe a better 'green' holiday option)

@Robbie_J still love the hands-on feel of a proper Christmas card.

@slboval Post please. I am traditional that way.

@HeatherLeson Both. I have a large number of elderly relatives who love hand-written cards. Plus, there's a certain charm in getting mail.

@carolinekealey We did a donation to Snowsuit Fund and an e-card this year, and got lots of positive feedback for the eco-friendly switch

@Florina_B My choice: holiday cards on paper, more personalized...brings more joy

@ivan007 cards please

@AvrilAutopsy I'm old fashioned I like snail mail

@LizScherer I bought cards but have yet to write them. A festive email might suffice. Not mass tho - individual.

@wojtekhoch Both. I do both e-cards and Physical mail. There is something special about handwritten cards.

@Hannechr Prefer to give the greeting in person; but a card is always nice.

@joshchandler Festive email. Ha, there's no original thought or effort made, just electronic bits on a screen (lame!).

@gwenmccauley Holiday cards in the mail or festive email. What is your preference? I prefer to ignore Christmas!

@Lissansky Cards for the bosses, festive Facebook wall posts for everyone else :)

@OttMomGo Send cards in mail and like to get same. Get few email

@kbleggett As green as I try to be I still send out Xmas cards every year to family & friends around the globe.

@KarenHooper Still love to get Christmas cards in the mail.

What is your Holiday greeting preference?

@knealemann
marketing and social media strategy

image credits: twitter | ebay.com.au

That's Not What I Meant

It is fascinating how we can seamlessly communicate with each other via social networking sites, cell phones, emails, pins, texts, landlines, Skype, and snail mail.

What’s equally fascinating is how little information reaches its intended recipient in-tact.

Newsflash: email is not the best way to share ideas. The meaning gets lost, we all make mistakes in the words we select, and the mood at the other end is out of our control.

More text messages are sent each day than there are humans living on the planet. And that will only grow. There are an estimated two million emails sent every second!

We are spending a lot of time and money trying to reach each other.

But are we communicating? Are we receiving information in the same light as it was intended? Are we listening and reading?

The telephone game is a simple one – and you know it – the message begins with one person, who tells it to another and the more people who touch the message before it gets to you, increases the chances of inaccuracies.

You've been there. It begins with an innocent email only to end in a flurry of misunderstanding and half sentences. No one has decided to bail in lieu of an actual converstation and the whole thing becomes a mess.

We try our best to re-explain ourselves which can make things worse. The result is a string of emails that begin to make no sense and the original question or comment or content is buried three pages down.

Mean what you say and say what you mean. Easier said than done.

It's worth a try. Oh, and the smartphone does have a phone option.

km

Communication Breakdown

I lost count the other day of how many ways I can connect with people and of course how they can connect with me. We have land lines, cell phones, email, texts, pins, actual mail (ask your father), social media or my absolute favorite – in person.

I’m sure you’re like me and in a given day you may connect with the same person in many of these ways. It begins with a pin about lunch. You return that with another pin. Then the person calls your cell and leaves you a voice mail. You call back and get their voice mail so try their land line. While you are calling their land line, they are sending you a text.

What may have taken a few moments in “the olden days” has suddenly turned in to a confusing game of misinformation and half sentences. All this communication takes place in the interest of organizing a time to grab that sandwich.

That’s an easy example. Where it gets tricky is when you get in to that horrible cycle we’ve all been through – the email stream. I try – though often unsuccessfully – to work from the three email rule. If you send me one, I return it, and you return mine, it’s time for an actual phone call. Again, not always possible and doesn’t always work out.

As our world continues to shrink, we rely on technology more and more. The toys help streamline our day but often end up messing us up. It takes a master to write emails in the true intent they are meant – we have all written stuff that was misunderstood or taken out of context.

We’re so busy being busy that we’re too busy to get anything done.

Perhaps we should go back to calling the operator to make a call? Ask your grandfather.

km