Social Media Archives - Social Correspondence

It’s That Time of Year

The catalogs have been arriving in the mail for months, because it’s that time of year. The solicitations for charitable and political donations come in multiples every day, and even a few early holiday cards, letters, and invitations are trickling in. The holiday season is upon us! The best holiday mail, of course, is personal: the letters and cards that keep us in touch with family and friends, near and far. I treasure these communications, and have trouble recycling them, even years after receipt. The typical holiday letter has evolved over time. These days, few people…

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December 4, 2023

books / email / Grandparenting / Handwriting / Letter writing / Mail / Note cards / Pandemic / Politics / Social Media

A Random Letter in the Mail

Have you ever received a random letter in the mail? Random, as in an unanticipated, handwritten note or letter? The use of first-class mail has been in decline for decades, and letters have become almost rare. Any letter or note in the mail is a gift, whether it be a thank you note, a birthday card, a holiday greeting. But most of our communications today are virtual, via social media, email, text messaging, and more, using multiple platforms. Given the shift in how we communicate, a random letter in the mail is a welcome surprise. Within…

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May 8, 2021

city living / email / Handwriting / hiking / Letter writing / Mail / Pandemic / Politics / Postal Service / social distancing / Social Media / U.S. Postal Service / Voting

Politics and Pandemic

Land's End, San Francisco At last, there is good news on the horizon, a promise that a year dominated by politics and pandemic will soon be over. Politics never go away, but hopefully, the days will become calmer now that the November presidential election is finally over and a new administration is on the horizon. With two new vaccines rolling out, there also is hope that the pandemic will subside in the first half of 2021. Election years are always difficult, but 2020 was a doozy. It was a brutal year in almost every way possible. …

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December 30, 2020

email / Letter writing / social distancing / Social Media

The Chain Letter Has Returned

A grammatically challenged chain letter invites poetry contributions In a recent two-week period, I received six chain letter invitations. Other than one overlap, each was from a person unrelated to the others. Three of them were called “Quarantine Recipes.” The other three, in various forms, were about passing along an inspirational quote, poem, thought, or song. Each is structured in a short pyramid, e.g. send the requested item to the person at the top of the list, remove their name, add your name to the bottom, and repeat the request to 10 (or 20) additional, hopefully…

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April 18, 2020

Letter writing / Mail / Note cards / Postal Service / Social Media / Stamps / U.S. Postal Service

A Card in the Mail

Let's Celebrate is a newly released stamp by the U.S. Postal Service Whether it be a birth or birthday, a holiday, or the passing of a friend or loved one, life passages are best celebrated by a note or card in the mail. While an email or response on social media may suffice, there is no better way to communicate than a hand-written note or card. A recent survey by Morning Consult indicates that the U.S. Postal Service is, overall, the most trusted brand in America, ranked highest by Gen X and boomers. So when you…

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February 18, 2020

Street level window for Local Edition

books / Digital Publishing / Fake News / News / newspapers / Social Media / Typewriters / Typing

The Reveal

The word “reveal,” according to Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, means “to make (something secret or hidden) publicly or generally known.” Or, according to Merriam-Webster online, reveal means “to disclose, divulge, or tell.” In screenwriting, “the reveal” generally comes near the end of the script, when the viewers finally become privy to hidden information that explains all that came before. The most interesting stories written by professional journalists include a reveal. This can happen in a feature story or profile, but in investigative journalism, the reveal can make or break a story, not to mention the reporter’s…

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March 8, 2018

The chain letter today is distributed by email

email / Letter writing / Mail / Mailboxes / Post Office / Post Office Boxes / Social Media / U.S. Postal Service

Post Office Boxes by Kay Roberts

On a recent little vacation in Calistoga, I realized I would miss a friend’s major birthday if I didn’t find and mail her a card. So I got myself out of a steaming pool and over to the post office. I go to Calistoga for those steaming pools at least twice a year, but I never had occasion before to visit the post office, and when I saw the rows of beautiful old post office boxes, I became (excessively, says my husband) nostalgic. What memories of growing up in the 1940s and 50s in Cumberland, Wisconsin…

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March 2, 2018

Digital Publishing / email / Handwriting / Letter writing / Mail / Mailboxes / Postal Service / Social Media / Twitter / U.S. Postal Service

Holiday Greetings

As another year draws to conclusion, it is time once again to extend sincere holiday greetings to friends and family, near and far. This, of course, includes the readers of Social Correspondence! Thank you for allowing me into your lives over this past year. For those of you who have shared comments, subjected yourselves to interviews, or contributed guest columns, special thanks! Our mailbox has been filled daily for the past couple of months. First, there was that annual slew of holiday catalogs, offering tantalizing glimpses of everything from flannel pajamas to expensive electronic equipment. Despite…

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December 21, 2017

Volkswagen buses meet on Old Route 66

books / email / Handwriting / Letter writing / Mail / Post cards / Social Media / Stamps / Technology / U.S. Postal Service

Postcards and Notes

Summer and fall are excellent times for vacation, and there is no better way to share those experiences than by sending postcards and notes by mail. It’s quick, it’s easy, and there are beautiful options to represent those good times. But more to the point, postcards and notes are a great way to communicate, anytime and any place. “Having a great time in (fill in the blank). Wish you were here.” This is a standard cliché about messages on postcards, that they are rote and say very little. But nothing could be further from the truth.…

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September 25, 2017

email / Fake News / News / Postal Service / Social Media / Technology

Off the Grid

Increasingly, my reading and research are dependent on electrical power and our cable infrastructure. I check my devices, a smart phone, tablet and laptop, regularly to catch up on email and social media, and to see what is happening in the news. I often wonder how we managed before the Internet, when things were off the grid. When our country was first settled, mail service was spotty and intermittent. The methods of delivery improved only because the British wanted to keep tabs on the colonies, and, most importantly, to collect taxes. Back then, people warmed themselves…

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April 5, 2017