. . . in which our hero mulls over the way email has changed the world – though not necessarily for the better

Nov 24 2009 by Barry Turnbull, Liverpool Daily Post

SOMEONE from the Royal Mail told me recently that the number of letters being sent each day has dropped from 84m to 75m in three years. That trend is going to continue, due to growing email use.

Even I have resorted, when pressed for time, to sending electronic birthday cards. Many firms now send Christmas greetings by email for the convenience, as well as the cost savings. It’s also environmentally friendly, saving on forests of trees that would otherwise be cut down for paper and card, not to mention all those gallons of fuel saved by the reduced weight in mail sacks.

I suppose the argument against this is that it all becomes a bit impersonal.

In the dark days before the internet, people used the phone or the mail for communication.

On the other hand, email is so much easier to use that it can, in an instant, result in a pleasant surprise. Recently, for instance, an email landed in my in-box from a school chum I hadn’t seen for 30 years.

There was no preamble, either. It went straight into a question: “Do you remember that shop in London we visited before you went to the Cup Final, I think it was called ‘Dark They Were And Golden Eyed’?” It rang a very faint bell, although the day was more memorable for the fact I witnessed a soul-destroying last minute winner by Arsenal against United at Wembley.

I sent a reply and it transpired that he had Googled reviews for the rock band, Def Leppard, and found I had written something from a concert at the Echo Arena. The contact was like a supernova, a brief flashing light before disappearing down a black hole, but not before one or two other acquaintances were mentioned.

One is now an international tax consultant who went to Oxford and lists his hobbies as polo and bridge. How things have changed. From what I recall, he was heavily into Subbuteo.

Another is still writing and recording songs in his bedroom, as he did at school. Maybe it’s better not to stray too far down memory lane.

With a mention of Christmas, I wonder whether this year will be as bleak as recent ones? I mentioned earlier that the practice of sending ecards and telling you that the office Christmas card budget has been donated to charity seemed to creep in a few years ago. The days of offices festooned with greetings cards seem to be gone, which is a pity as it was a good way of finding out how popular you were.

APART from that, will the goose be getting fat? He certainly didn’t last year as the credit crunch seemed to rip a hole in most entertainment budgets.

In fact, I can’t remember a time like it for the lack of seasonal spirit in the corporate quarter.

Usually, the in-box would be groaning with tinsel-tasty goodies, but in 2008 treats were in very short supply. It seemed to hark back to the days when people were grateful for a pencil case and an orange.

One of the honourable exceptions were investment firm Rensburg Sheppards, who didn’t let the recession get in the way of a good knee’s up. I remember more than 20 years ago I would leave the office staggering under the weight of bottles of whisky and wine to hand out to contacts. How times have changed. Merry Xmas!