There is the slightest of changes I am overanalyzing this.
Rules for electronic communication are far too complicated. Let's say that I want to tell you about an upcoming event, or I have a link that I think you should see, or I want to know if you want to go to brunch. How should I get in touch with you to tell you about these things?*
There's IM, of course, that seems simple. But what if you aren't online? Should I send you a message anyway and assume you will see it when you get online? What if you use several chat clients and you're only logged into one of them, are any of those fair game?
There's texting, but what if you have a limited number of text messages per month? What if you're one of those people who doesn't use text messages, or what if you're somewhere that an incoming text would be obnoxious or disruptive and you don't think to silence your phone?
I'm a newcomer to Twitter, so I'm totally unused to the social protocols there. Should I just tweet about it? Or send a message calling you out but visible by everyone? Or should I send you a direct message? (This is moot, of course, because the likelihood of you using Twitter seems to be pretty low at this point.)
In the same vein, I could post something to LJ and hope that you read your friends page or RSS feed frequently. Or would it be better to comment to your journal or blog directly?
Most of the non-IM, non-texting options that seem preferable all generate email notifications, so why not just bite the bullet and send you an email? I suppose it is possible that you'll be away from your computer for a while, but at least I know it will get to you eventually.
Of course the most direct method of them all would be giving you a call, but we all know that is complete crazy talk. Phone calls seem like blunt instruments compared to the subtle nuances of other communications methods. Unless I think you are on fire, I'm probably not going to call you.
*The answer to how I would get into contact with you is usually "the easiest way I have available to me," although there are a few notable exceptions.
There's IM, of course, that seems simple. But what if you aren't online? Should I send you a message anyway and assume you will see it when you get online? What if you use several chat clients and you're only logged into one of them, are any of those fair game?
There's texting, but what if you have a limited number of text messages per month? What if you're one of those people who doesn't use text messages, or what if you're somewhere that an incoming text would be obnoxious or disruptive and you don't think to silence your phone?
I'm a newcomer to Twitter, so I'm totally unused to the social protocols there. Should I just tweet about it? Or send a message calling you out but visible by everyone? Or should I send you a direct message? (This is moot, of course, because the likelihood of you using Twitter seems to be pretty low at this point.)
In the same vein, I could post something to LJ and hope that you read your friends page or RSS feed frequently. Or would it be better to comment to your journal or blog directly?
Most of the non-IM, non-texting options that seem preferable all generate email notifications, so why not just bite the bullet and send you an email? I suppose it is possible that you'll be away from your computer for a while, but at least I know it will get to you eventually.
Of course the most direct method of them all would be giving you a call, but we all know that is complete crazy talk. Phone calls seem like blunt instruments compared to the subtle nuances of other communications methods. Unless I think you are on fire, I'm probably not going to call you.
*The answer to how I would get into contact with you is usually "the easiest way I have available to me," although there are a few notable exceptions.