The Six Stages of E-Mail

I love Nora Ephron. Well, to be precise, I love her writing. Someone kindly sent me a link to this from the New York Times. It opens thus:

I just got e-mail! I can’t believe it! It’s so great! Here’s my handle. Write me! Who said letter writing was dead? Were they ever wrong! I’m writing letters like crazy for the first time in years. I come home and ignore all my loved ones and go straight to the computer to make contact with total strangers. And how great is AOL? It’s so easy. It’s so friendly. It’s a community. Wheeeee! I’ve got mail!

You can guess how it goes on. (Hint: it corroborates my view that email has become dysfunctional — at least in large organisations.)