Back in the olden days... when I was in high school... probably before some of you were even born.... whatever.... there were a limited number of ways you could use to contact people. You could send them a letter, write them a note and slip it into their locker at school, you could stop by their house or you could call them. If they weren't home when you called, hopefully somebody would answer and take a message, OR they might have an answering machine, if you were lucky.
Enter computers and now you have email on top of the phone message. This is actually better, IMO; you can email somebody any time of the day or night and you don't have to think on your feet all the time. Except... when you send an email and they don't respond.... did they actually get it? I hate that; I've always hated that. It's rude to not respond when somebody sends you an email; at least let them know you got it. As such, I've always made enormous effort to respond to every single email I ever got. Even if it just said ":)" It's possible I annoyed people with that, but at least my conscience was clear!
Now enter cell phones and we have a 2nd telephone method of contacting somebody, along with text messages. We're up to about 5 or 6 at this point; still pretty manageable, I think, especially since some of them replace some of the other ones.
We progress through the years and different computerized versions of contact are added. Chats, message boards, AOL, IRC (I never used it but I'm going to mention it here so that you think I'm cool). Then MySpace, Facebook, Twitter.....
Now that I've started blogging I seem to have added an infinite number of methods to my "ways to contact me" list, about 1,000 more people trying to do so and DAMN it's getting hard to manage! I've started becoming unable to respond to everything the way I used to, and now I'M the rude one!
I hate it!!!
I'm going to list them all for you, in the unlikely event that you feel like feeling sorry for me right now:
- Home phone
- Cell phone
- Text message
- Blackberry Messenger
- Personal email
- Blogger email
- Professional email
- Message board #1 private message
- Message board #2 private message
- Facebook message
- Facebook wall
- Twitter @ message
- Twitter DM
- Y.GT. Blog comment
- Variety of chats or IMs that I rarely use but are still a way to contact me so I'm calling them all just one way
I don't mean to complain ("yeah, suuuuuuuuure you don't, Jill" is what you're thinking right now), but ever since I've been blogging it's become too much for me! I've started to become the people that I hate; the ones that don't respond when you contact them. I hate that!! I don't want to be like those people!!
So.... if you've contacted me by any of these methods, or any method I didn't even list, and I didn't respond.... OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY. I don't mean to be rude. I really don't! I've just managed to get in a little over my head with all of this, it seems. I get overwhelmed and when I get overwhelmed it's easier to just do nothing than to try to push through it all. Please try again, using a different method?
MiddleFingerGuy · 718 weeks ago
jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
raquel · 718 weeks ago
ANother lil thing i have I wonder if you share this...I have to organize said messages into friend folders or delete them or organize them in some way. I hate an inbox full of read stuff.
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jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
karacteristic 28p · 718 weeks ago
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jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
Jenn · 718 weeks ago
Ah dear Jill, there is never a need to apologize for not responding. Why you ask? Hell, we might not have even noticed that you didn't respond because we are also up in our eyeballs in messages that we need to respond to.
See, this is how technology has made an entire generation of people rude . . . without actually meaning to be rude.
Jenn
jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
kwombles 38p · 718 weeks ago
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jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
Brian · 718 weeks ago
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jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
Crystal Jigsaw · 718 weeks ago
CJ xx
Rachel · 718 weeks ago
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jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
Rachel · 718 weeks ago
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@mama_pez · 718 weeks ago
jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
@mama_pez · 718 weeks ago
jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
Manda · 718 weeks ago
I'm totally paranoid my cell phone is going to give me cancer, but does that stop me from having all my notifications forwarded to it? Nope.
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fabulosokids · 718 weeks ago
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Allie · 718 weeks ago
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jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
@gypsy_momma · 718 weeks ago
jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
Gini · 718 weeks ago
Someone needs create an information hub where ALL of those can arrive in one place. So you can try to remember one more password, ha.
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jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
Jennie B · 718 weeks ago
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Catherine · 718 weeks ago
Feel better?
Can you hear me?
Are you even listening or are you off checking your answering machine?
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jillsmo 103p · 718 weeks ago
roxisbrilliant 66p · 718 weeks ago
(Not to mention my mom sending me a text message every time she sends me an email or leaves me a voice mail. Really mom? Really?)
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Lady Estrogen · 718 weeks ago
Dude, seriously? I am busy 18hrs a day, but I still will drop a text or an email.
Whatevs.
15 though - that's crazy.
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alexandra · 718 weeks ago
Stalking is guaranteed.
I know my homegirl, and she likes the attention.
(gotta take what you can get)
xo
Suniverse · 718 weeks ago
I hate it even more when there's no email/text/phone message/comment for me to return. Blech.
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Cheryl D. · 718 weeks ago
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Ryan @TWM · 718 weeks ago
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Amanda · 718 weeks ago
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Lori Dyan · 718 weeks ago
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solodialogue 73p · 718 weeks ago
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bre87 63p · 717 weeks ago
but now i have made a conscious effort to be in the now and if something is going on and i'm actually interacting with a real live human being then i pay attention to them and leave my phone elsewhere.
unless they're being an ass then i'm all clicky click in there face.
(also i'm new here and love it and will be sticking around)
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