on email
I think I have it pretty good for email. In interviews I always say that being internet famous is being the best kind of famous, because you wake up in the morning and you have emails from strangers saying you're great. And it's true! And then you go outside and nobody knows who you are and you think "Man I'm just a guy with a website" and your head doesn't get too big.
And I get a lot of email - dozens of emails that require a response a day, and many of those don't actually get them in time because I simply don't have enough time to reply to them all. I mention this on my Dinosaur Comic's "about" page, but I don't think many people see it because they all hit the "comments" link beneath each comic. So even though I say this I feel bad every time I don't write back. But I read them all and appreciate them all so much!
Anyway, now that Project Wonderful isn't just people in comics and people who know me, answering the emails there is like a whole new world. Nobody knows me so we're not in the "I am emailing the author of a comic I like" land, we're in the "I am emailing an online company" space where people basically expect to be treated like dirt. The bar is set so low that when someone writes in with a question and they get a useful, personal answer within a few hours, their mind is blown. (I've hired a very talented woman for Project Wonderful customer service, in case you're wondering why THOSE GUYS get an answer when other emails to me don't always get one!)
It's interesting how we don't assume there's a real person at the other end of the line when we email companies, especially internet companies. I mean, I know WHY - often when I email companies I get back form letters, and when I write back saying "actually no that's not what I said, please PLEASE actually read my email" I get back the exact same form letter - I can see that frustration. And sometimes that frustration starts before the email is sent, and sometimes we'll get an email to Project Wonderful and they're already frustrated at the response they're expecting. And when you write them back as a real person, human being to human being, that's always nice. I like to get replies then saying "Oh wow, I wasn't expecting to get a real person." Sometimes if they were rude they say "Sorry for being rude" and I'm all "No biggie dude!"
Anyway I guess the point of this post is that I get TWO kinds of emails
And I get a lot of email - dozens of emails that require a response a day, and many of those don't actually get them in time because I simply don't have enough time to reply to them all. I mention this on my Dinosaur Comic's "about" page, but I don't think many people see it because they all hit the "comments" link beneath each comic. So even though I say this I feel bad every time I don't write back. But I read them all and appreciate them all so much!
Anyway, now that Project Wonderful isn't just people in comics and people who know me, answering the emails there is like a whole new world. Nobody knows me so we're not in the "I am emailing the author of a comic I like" land, we're in the "I am emailing an online company" space where people basically expect to be treated like dirt. The bar is set so low that when someone writes in with a question and they get a useful, personal answer within a few hours, their mind is blown. (I've hired a very talented woman for Project Wonderful customer service, in case you're wondering why THOSE GUYS get an answer when other emails to me don't always get one!)
It's interesting how we don't assume there's a real person at the other end of the line when we email companies, especially internet companies. I mean, I know WHY - often when I email companies I get back form letters, and when I write back saying "actually no that's not what I said, please PLEASE actually read my email" I get back the exact same form letter - I can see that frustration. And sometimes that frustration starts before the email is sent, and sometimes we'll get an email to Project Wonderful and they're already frustrated at the response they're expecting. And when you write them back as a real person, human being to human being, that's always nice. I like to get replies then saying "Oh wow, I wasn't expecting to get a real person." Sometimes if they were rude they say "Sorry for being rude" and I'm all "No biggie dude!"
Anyway I guess the point of this post is that I get TWO kinds of emails