The twittersphere was all atwitter today about a public relations firm that sent out an email to a ginormous list of social media and other journalists who erupted in anger over the fact that they were spammed. Not sure what was worse–the stupidity of the email or the wronged recipients who then hit reply all to create a thread of ire.
What is it about normally smart and sane people that causes them to hit the send button over and over again to put in their two cents and create needless drama? To be sure, the PR firm made a mistake–why not use an email merge program or better yet, write a customized pitch to the folks you really want to reach. But what is more disturbing is this need for people to jump into conversations over and over again.
Email and social media platforms have made it possible for us to have conversations with hundreds of people, instantaneously whether they are around the globe, across the country or just downstairs. These platforms allow for idea and information sharing and the ability to develop friendships and business alliances in ways that weren’t possible before. But there is also alot of useless and harmful chatter. Sometimes people don’t know when to stop. Whatever happened to the notion that speech is silver but silence is golden.? Please before hitting reply all or the send button, stop and think. Ask yourself if you are moving a conversation forward or just throwing gasoline on a fire that is already out of control. Where’s the Emily Post for the new era of communications? And if there were one, would anyone listen? Probably not because we’re all too busy emailing.
