email is (still) king
Email gets a bad rep these days. At work we drown in it. Our personal inboxes are swamped with spam and phishing emails. It's a constant source of stress for many people, myself included.
Until about a week ago I didn't list an email address on my blog, because I didn't want to publish my personal email on the internet. But I recently decided to create an account for my blog so readers could reach me, and within a week I've already had multiple people write to me! If y'all happen to read this—thank you for the kind messages. They may seem like small kindnesses to you, but they mean the world to me. I love hearing from readers of the blog, and your words encourage me to keep writing.
Of course, this could all just be coincidence, but I think it's a reminder that email is still the most ubiquitous, universal form of communication we have on the Internet. My retrospring link and my Discord username have been on my website for a year, and while plenty of people have messaged me on Discord, I know it's still pretty niche. And my retrospring doesn't even have a single question on it, probably because nobody is familiar with how it works. I'm thinking of taking it down entirely.
I also like how email keeps correspondents at a comfortable social distance from each other. Instant messaging strangers out of the blue on Discord can feel uncomfortably intimate. But because email is naturally a slower medium, you have time to flesh out your thoughts and craft a more nuanced message. There's no active/online indicators, friend requests, or read receipts to deal with (at least by default), which makes me feel free to respond when and how I'd like.
As always, if you'd like to write me you can find me at yourstiramisu 🐌 proton dot me. I promise to write back. 🤙