Yes, she sells seashells by the seashore virtually….

Please don’t expect an e-Card or evite from me in the near future. I am kind of “old school” in this sense. I enjoy a hand written card, note or mailed invitation. In fact, most of the events and parties that I attend sent me an invite in the mail. For the most part those evites that clutter my inbox generally go unread.

Being “virtual” these days does have its limitations…..
A few months ago, I wanted to send someone in my network a simple “Thank you” card. You would have thought it would be as simple as:

1. Buy a card

2. Write a note

3. Send it off

HAH!

There was no physical address for this person. The company website held a private registration and there was no listed address.

Yes, I did a reverse telephone look up. I asked folks in our shared network if they had an office address. It produced nothing.

How would I be able to send him a hand written “thank you”? Was I destined to settle for an email, tweet or LinkedIn Inmail? I could always write a nice wall-to-wall note on Facebook.

Being a ”virtual” allows me to be every where at even given moment. It’s very convenient, all I need is a working phone line and I can recruit. Yes, access to the web would help tremendously.

But do you ever wonder where I am? You may have some idea in your mind. Does my office match the idea of it? Maybe you see me with a beach front office or overlooking a large Silicon Valley high rise.

Don’t misunderstand me. I LOVE social media and online networking. It’s fast, efficient and a darn right fun way of doing professional tasks. But sometimes, I like to go a little “old school”.

I just want to send YOU a hand written note once in a while. A token to show you my appreciation or to cheer you up or wish you “happy birthday”.

As with many careers these days, my recruiting profession is allowing for more of a “virtual” world. Social media is really beginning to take off in many business verticals. Face to face and phone calls are taking a backseat to IM’s and emails. Even in other professional roles such as Inside Sales Reps and Marketing professionals are using electronic forms of communication to promote and sell. Quite frankly, I find email blasts for the most part are just plan annoying.

In my view, a personal note tells the recipient more about who I am as a professional. I can send tweets, Facebook IM’s and emails, but aside from a face to face meeting how else can you get to know me better and vice versa?

This brings me to the purpose of this blog post:

Those of you in my professional network, I wanted to send you a little handwritten note this past week. Oh, did I had a difficult time finding your business address! If you receive my note in the near future, I was successful.

If you didn’t, I ask you…

At which seashore do you sell your seashells?

www.heathergardner.com