Musings on Communciation

Today someone at work said, to a fairly large group (including me), that one of the reasons for holding such a large meeting, on a recurring basis, was to ensure that people could actually get ahold of each other in terms of communicating issues during busy periods. My characteristically sarcastic response upon hearing that was, "I don't actually find I have that problem much anymore, since I discovered this new-fangled thing called electronic mail. I don't go looking for busy-busy people; I just send them an e-mail and assume they'll read it when they have a free moment." How is it that, in 2006, we've still got people who think calling a meeting involving dozens of people (costing, as someone pointed out in this meeting, hundreds if not thousands of dollars in terms of salary) is conceivably a good answer to getting info communicated between them? Note that it wasn't about getting decisions made, or resolving issues, or even building up understanding.. it was to communicate issues from A to B!

So that got me thinking about all the wacky notions that manifest themselves around me, on the topic of communication these days. There're the people who frequently take cell phone calls during meetings (typically being considerate enough, at least, to excuse themself and do the majority of the phone-chatter outside the meeting room) where the calls are generally a spouse calling to remind them of something or some other form of update. Now, I don't carry a cellphone, but even if I did, my wife's sensible to know to only call me on a cellphone during work hours if it's something really important. Remember that this isn't someone taking a call at their desk, where it's completely reasonable to expect they might just have a chat about the weather or what groceries they need to pick up on the way home. In fact, whoever's calling them probably tried their desk already, and didn't reach them there.

To be fair, it's not like this is a big problem where I work, but of course the same thing's happening more and more with people in theatres, and restaurants. So it's quickly becoming acceptable to have whatever experience you're in the middle of interrupted, and that really bothers me. Bad enough that it's often impossible to hold a conversation with a Crackberry addict, but at least that type doesn't really detract from what's going on around them (bless the Crackheads!)

Are we headed toward the day, maybe not in my lifetime but maybe not too far off, when everyone's always connected electronically? Will people soon all have those oh so fashionable earpieces pinned to an ear (right ear means you're gay; left ear, you're straight?) and be carrying on conversations, either verbally or perhaps via eyeblinks converted to text format, always and everywhere? And will most of those conversations be as banal as the ones I usually overhear? Don't get me wrong: I love pointless chit-chat as much as the next dork, but I don't want to be engaged in it 7/24, and I really don't want to overhear other people's versions of it!

Hmmm... maybe what I really need is to rant about how inconsiderate people are getting in general! Maybe another day, since it's going to the bottom of the 8th now in the Mets/Cards Game 7 and it's still tied 1-1!