July 14th, 2007
NJ governor swears off e-mail - misses the point
So Jon Corzine, governor of New Jersey, has announced he’s swearing off e-mail. Not going to use it. At all. It hasn’t been a very good year for Corzine who was critically injured in an accident earlier this year while racing to intervene in the Imus crisis drama soap opera because he wasn’t wearing a seat belt. Sad to say, declaring himself e-mail free (in response to a lawsuit from state Republicans – Corzine is a Democrat) feels a lot like buckling up immediately after the crash.
David Shipley of the New York Times and co-author of Send: The Essential Guide to E-mail for Home and Office weighs in with an editorial over at NPR that’s well worth reading. Not for the political dimension but for the well-considered suggestions he offers Corzine in the wake of his ill-considered decision.
Email is the dominant form of business communication today. The American economy runs on it.
The governor could usher in an era of email education. A curriculum could explain the virtues of the subject line. Emphasize the importance of inserting tone. It could also remind us that there are times when we should get off email and pick up the phone, or walk down the hall to have a chat.
It’s a good read, as is Send, which I’ve recommended to clients on a number of occasions as the equivalent of The Elements of Style for the digital world.
H/T to 43 Folders.
Marc Orchant has been building, testing, and sometimes breaking hardware and software for 25 years. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
