Communications and Conversations

Let Them All Talk

I posed a simple question on Twitter: I see a trend toward DMs over emails for some people. Not a huge email fan either but still not sure I like said trend. Thoughts?

A Twitter “DM” is simply the email platform called Direct Message.

Email me your fax so I can DM the response to your PDA

In the course of a day, I will use literally every medium at my disposal and I don’t give it much thought. Some prefer email, others like calls, social media portals for others, texts are the way to chat with some and there are friends and colleagues who don’t do anything unless it’s face-to-face.

Here are some responses to my query...

joshchandler: it's interesting, a lot of people DM me as if they were sending an email.

ethanwaldman: If the connection is meaningful- networking, NOT selling, I prefer email. 140 characters is not enough for correspondence.

clothbot: DM is the new IM replacement.

MarkBlevis: The problem is the amount of time & energy it takes to move the conversation in DM (140-char) vs. email or in-person.

knealemann to ethanwaldman: In the course of a day, I may 'converse' with someone in five different ways. #technology

Wooby: Excellent point about new communications tools giving us more choice. This is left out of social media conversation too much. I get notified of DMs via email anyway. Ditto for FB msgs. On my end, they're all the same.

knealemann to wooby: some just grab whatever is convenient and use that. I correspond with some on several medium (email, DM, phone, person) at once.

Rebelcontent: DM's to be less efficient.

knealemann to joshchandler: some want to conduct business without it going on the company email server, as an example.

SuzeMuse: Everyone uses the media in a different way. It comes down to personal preference. I've been using skype video lots. I also think it depends how well you know the person. I've had plenty of meaningful text conversations.

I'll take face-to-face over every other portal, tool or gadget.

What is your preferred form of communication?

@knealemann
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World Wide Friendship

The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend.
Aristotle

As the world continues to shrink and we have the chance to connect faster, the chatter seems to go back and forth from tools to relationships and back again. Hopefully you have also enjoyed great conversations and been involved in growing relationships through social media.

But it's much more than tweets and wall posts.

It takes a long time to grow an old friend.
John Leonard

I met Mike in 1986 when he began dating my girlfriend's best friend. When my relationship ended, I called Mike to tell him that it was nice to meet him and wished him luck. Since I was out of the picture, obviously we weren't going to remain friends. Mike said that was a bunch of crap and we were going to stay in touch.

We have never lived in the same town, in fact for most of the last two decades we have lived a seven hour drive apart. We always find a way to get together a few times a year interspersed with regular phone calls.

If I had to sum up Friendship in one word, it would be Comfort.
Adabella Radici

Mike now lives about 90 minutes from me and it hit me Sunday morning that we are no longer that long seven hour drive apart and I can - on a whim - just pick up the phone and do a quick visit. Something I should - and will - do more often.

When I called, we talked for a about a minute and I was on the road.

In twenty-three years, we have spent countless hours talking about politics and music, playing golf and eating great food, helping each other through life's hurdles and celebrating victories. I don't have any blood brothers, but Mike Greg Darryl and Doug are my brothers.

It is the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.
Marlene Dietrich

Relationships are not blog fodder, they should not be tossed around for comparison to web portals, they are living breathing essential elements of our existence. That includes the ones we form online and in business. We live blended lives and to think we don't affect others while they affect us is foolery.

Do you have friends like Mike? Do you cherish them like gifts? Have you made new relationships through social media channels that are more important than tools or websites?

@knealemann