What I Love About My Email

November 12, 2011

Yesterday I asked a question: what technologies have become obsolete for you? I asked you to email me.

I got so many amazing responses from that message. It reminded me why I love to get emails.

Part of this is the recent Gmail upgrade, which makes entering my inbox so much more rewarding than it used to be. I get to see your faces. I love that, it makes me feel like I'm more connected with the people who gather around my work.

Another element of receiving good emails in response to my free daily letters is asking good questions. If I ask the wrong questions, I get the wrong answers, and my energy starts to feel taxed. I want to feel enlivened by the emails I received. This is why I try to ask opening questions.

A question like "what technologies have you untethered from?" fills my inbox with new knowledge. I begin to see that some of you have untethered from your iPhones, others have left behind Flickr, others decided they didn't want to use Tumblr anymore.

I know this would be hard to achieve, but what if we lived in a world where every email was a joy to receive? I find that asking opening questions helps make that possible.

-Ev