Means of Communication

Post written by Jaysen Elliott. Follow me on Twitter.

Means of communication is a personal choice, and that choice is to be exercised by you, and respected by others. With so many options, it is easy to become engulfed in a plethora of mediums, and seemingly addictive. From mobile phones to social networking sites, and everything in between, it gets a bit overwhelming, all in the name of “being connected”. Is that really a good thing? (No.)

Paring down the methods we use to communicate may seem like an insane task, but when one sits down and think about it, one quickly realizes the choice is theirs, and often that feeling is empowering enough to incite immediate change. When doing so, recognize that you can communicate on your own terms, which includes when and how. Of course attempting the smoke-signal route might prove daunting, so be realistic.

For those who choose to live simply, communication is typically the simple and efficient exchange of information, and not lengthy verbal discourse. Text messaging for me is ideal, as I can send and receive information quickly, concisely, and intentionally.

Email correspondence seems like a chore, although to do almost anything online these days, we must submit an address to establish identity and whatnot. Similar to a post by Leo Babauta on Zen Habits, I may attempt ditching the inbox! – I can think of many other creative things I could be doing other than sifting through email, no matter how streamlined a process I have in place.

Some prefer to Twitter back and forth, taking advantage of fairly instant communication via Direct Messaging, and the limitation of 140 characters, curbing any possibility of an endless message. I still lean toward text messaging over Twitter, as I prefer not to be tied to a computer for the sake of communicating, and not be forced into having a smartphone that can handle a Twitter app.

So with all the methods of communication out there, text messaging is my number one. I still use Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace via Tweetdeck for marketing purposes, but not for communication.

Gotta love it. Communication simplified to one medium. Awesome.