CELL PHONES, E-MAIL, TEXTING, LAND LINES - HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE?

I do lots of walking to and from my day job in Downtown Chicago. I can't help but notice that at least 3 out of 10 people, if not more, are chatting on cell phones, even as they are crossing the street.

Something else I've noticed, which is a dangerous habit, more and more people are using cell phones while driving.

These people on the cell phones for so long--Whatever do they find to talk about?

I love my Iphone, which serves multiple purposes, since it has so many cool features. As far as the phone part of it goes, it's a blessing for long-distance calls, placing carryout orders from the train, getting phone calls from my husband while I'm at work, but not for much else. As far as my land line goes, I rarely use it, more to answer calls than make them, and that's not often.

I've come to the conclusion that I just don't want to make phone calls any more. E-mailing is my major form of communication. I spend countless hours on the computer e-mailing friends, mentioning things I forgot to say when I last saw them, firming up plans. We rarely pick up the telephone and call each other.

Strange, but I've lost the art of communicating for any length of time on a cell phone or land line. I even find it irritating. When forced to do so, I have to think hard to find topics to speak about.

I spend countless hours on social networks, yahoo groups and listservs speaking to people through the Internet without using my voice. I reveal more of myself when I'm online than I would over think of over the phone wires or even in person.

Some people say texting is faster. I don't know. I have 200 units a month I could use, but never do, since e-mailing is my chosen form of communication. When I'm out of range or a storm hits and my modem or Iphone can't pick up my e-mail, I feel lost and vulnerable, wondering if I've missed something important.


E-mail is much more civilized. It doesn't interrupt people when they're doing something and make them wonder whether or not to stop the ringing or let it go to voice mail. I can e-mail any time I want to and my recipient will choose when to open it or not feel pressured to answer right away. Okay, there is one drawback. If I don't answer e-mails, they do tend to pile up like answering machine messages.

Anyway, I wonder if other people are like me and have lost the art of telephone communicating. I'm so curious, I've placed a survey in the righthand column under Debra St. John's new release, This Time For Always, which just came out today in e-book form at The Wild Rose Press.

If you have two seconds, click your answer to the question

What is your favorite form of communication?

Thanks,
Morgan Mandel
www.morganmandel.com
http://blogsthatrule.blogspot.com
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Social Networking - Splash and Splatter - by Morgan Mandel

We had another snowstorm over the weekend in the Chicago area. I was not happy about it, even though I should be used to it by now. After all, we seem to get one at least once a week this winter.

Yesterday morning, it got a bit warmer in Downtown Chicago. So, here I was dodging puddles and those scary slippery, mushy spots that happen after a snowstorm and a slight thaw, making my way, balancing my purse and tote bag on the left shoulder and my laptop computer on the right, scurrying as best I could to my day-job where I work as an administrative assistant in a law firm.

I wasn't doing too bad. Only a few blocks to go when suddenly out of nowhere on the street across from the sidewalk, a truck came roaring through, splashing everything surrounding it, including the nearby sidewalk. The spray came way too close. The vision of mudwater splattered all over my coat did not seem appealing. Thank goodness, I just managed to escape that fate.

Though I'd had a narrow escape and did not get splattered, the incident did get me thinking. Social networking is all about splashing and getting splattered. We make friends and join networks, listservs and sites, making large and small splashes, hoping to attract attention to ourselves and our books. How we do it depends on our personalities, as well as how well we learn from the experiences of others. We can be subtle or blatant, depending on rules set up on the various groups, sites and listservs and how much we pay attention to them.

While we're out and about splashing our way, we need to be prepared. We will inevitably get splattered by promotion from the other authors out there. We can side-step if we're not interested in what they offer, or we can happily get splashed and dive in, becoming a part of their lives, promotion and books.

I enjoy social networking and spend lots of time participating. Still, given my day-job responsibilities and the fact I do have a loving husband and a rascally dog named Rascal, I can't realistically spend as much time and effort bonding with the many authors as I'd like to, no matter how much I try. That said, what I do is pick the ones I really, really like or seem the most helpful to me, then respond and bond with them, willingly getting splattered by their joys and disappointments, immersing myself in their author lives, books and advice.

Everyone is different. It's for you to decide, as you wend your way social networking on the Web, do you want to splash, dodge, get splattered, or all three?

Remember, the more you put into it, the greater the return.
I'm on my way to getting splashed again!
Morgan Mandel
www.morganmandel.com
www.myspace.com/morganmandel
http://bookplace.ning.com
http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com
http://mysteryturtles.blogspot.com