Changing greetings: how technology is making us change the way we send greetings.

Beautiful greeting cards delivered by the postman. This is how we would receive our seasons greetings. A hand written messages, some of them in neat and flowing writing, would add its own flavor to the cards.

An urgent greeting would be sent by telegram, not very often though, as this mode of communication would not always carry good news.

When greetings were received by post; the opening of the envelope, the feel of the paper, the reading of the message took some time, and give some lingering joy. The replies would also be given through special thank you cards or through greeting cards. The messages we wrote were deliberate. They were hand written. A dictionary or thesaurus being referred to ,at times, to ensure correct expressions and correct spellings.

This is an experience which is now replaced by instant greetings. Delivered in your messaging inbox in an instant (see my blog post 'Private but public'). Replied also in an instant. The reply usually being a 'cut and paste' reply or an 'image forward'. Automatic spell checks and automated word selection suggestions making it still easier.

While earlier we would wait for replies to reach us by post in some time. Now we check our smartphones, moment to moment, to see the status of both our messages and our replies.

The leisurely pace of greetings has been replaced by instant greeting and instant gratification.

Technology has for ever changed the way we send and receive greetings.

From slow and leisurely to super-fast and instant.