A Second Round of Letters

I had so much fun composing a first round of letters that I thought I would continue onto a second round of writing letters. If you want to read my first reasons for writing letters you can refer to my first post on the worthwhile effects of writing letters.

Composing A Letter

In the first round, I had the chance to write to a number of friends I already knew well, but also to many people who I only knew as acquaintances. In each letter I talked about topics so different from each other that each had its own nature.

In some letters I talked about random subjects like imagining how cereal box characters must attempt to live ordinary lives while trying to maintain a lifestyle of fame.

In some letters I talked about memories and how they can teach us certain lessons and used my own childhood episodes to connect this idea. In another letter I thought in would be intriguing to share a secret with someone.

In most letters I just told the people I was writing the ideas they inspire me. All these letters became unique because they revealed my relations to them; the people I was writing to, my feelings and opinions, and who I am.

I want to begin a second round because I feel this is an excellent time. The holidays can be an excellent reminder of all the connection, and in some cases lack of connection, we have to those in our lives. I want to extend a welcome to write more letters to everyone, including anyone I wrote I letter to in the first round.

Once again leave me a comment or send me an e-mail if you would like to receive a letter from me. And again you can also ask me to write about anything you want to read.

The e-mail is:

ablogideas@gmail.com

Leave an address and what you would like me to write about. I look forward to allowing those who know me read a more inclusive view of myself, and I also look forward to building closer relationships with people through this effort.

Happy Holidays

Composing A Letter

Texts, e-mails, facebook messages, comments, posts, phone calls, and Letters. Which of these do you use the least in communication? I would guess it’s most likely mail.

Considering the speed and effort it takes to compose in the other mediums why would anyone find a worthwhile purpose in composing a hand-written letter. Perhaps that is even going too far. Who would take the time to compose even a type-written letter?

According to an excerpt from a great book on the subject of the plasticity of the brain; The Brain That Changes Itself. Marshall McLuhan, the founder of media studies in the 1950’s has argued that with each new medium, our minds and brains keep being reorganized in unique ways and that the consequences of these reorganizations are far more significant than the effects of the content in them.

So again what can we benefit from regressing to an older medium for communication in writing a letter. Pay attention and you may find out. McLuhan and many other psychologists and neuroscientists have conducted many studies on the exposure of television, the internet, video games and electronic forms of communications on society and have seen a trend in lower attention spans and restlessness when putting in large amounts of time in concentration.

Another excerpt from The Brain That Changes Itself explains that when these children “enter college, professors complained of having to “dumb down” their courses each new year, for students who were increasingly interested in “sound bites” and intimidated by reading of any length.” (p.307) I have experienced many friends who have left books unfinished or criticized the amount a professor has assigned for reading. As technology increases speed, so does our attention spans.

This in itself is a remarkable trait of our brain’s plasticity to allow us to adapt to a vast range of environments. However, in the question of communication it seems to have it’s benefits and costs. I am not making the argument to return to writing letters at the expense of other mediums, that would be unprogressive. I merely want to consider the option of writing letters as a form of communicating at a more attentive pace.

I have seen the language of text messaging and e-mails and have noticed the common acceptance of writing errors throughout them. There is also the whole lack of personal attention when using electronic messaging. I know that this last reason for writing a letter may seem romantic but that is the point. How romantic or expressive can you be in an e-mail bulked with junk mail, reminders, simple questions, links to videos, and asinine notifications. I suppose this last observation falls a little short because the same can be true of real mail as well, but there is something more determined, more so now with newer mediums, when someone writes a letter.

My idea is to compose letters. I have the stamps, the willingness to write, and letters. I now need people willing to accept a letter. If you have read this and agree that writing a letter has worthwhile basis, then I would love to write you a letter. I ask all my friends and those I may not know if they would be willing to receive a letter from me as a form of communication that allows us to experience a different time before we came to rely solely on electronic messaging. I invite anyone who wishes to receive a letter to send me an e-mail at:

ablogideas@gmail.com

Or leave some comment with where I can mail my letter and what you would like me to write about. And trust me I can write about anything you propose. I will also include some rewards in my letters. But that is only for those who are curious in receiving a letter. And if all works well, I would love to receive more hand-written letters myself.

I leave you with an idea McLuhan expresses as his first law of media:

Writing extends memory, when we use a paper and pen to record our thoughts; the car extends the foot, clothing the skin. Electronic media are extensions of our nervous systems: the telegraph, radio, and telephone extend the range of the human ear, the television camera extends the eye and sight, [and] the computer extends the processing capacities of our central nervous system.