Yesterday, the following tweet by Arik Hanson showed up in my feed:
“Forty-three percent of American consumers check Google before visiting a local business or restaurant. Thirty-percent for the phone book.”
Really, the phone book?
I always feel bad for the people that spend time delivering those because as soon as I pick it up from my front stoop, I promptly place it in the recycling bin.
However, the stat got me thinking.
As technology tries to push me past lightning speed, there are still some things that I won’t budge on. So, as much as I might have laughed at those who still use phone books to look up information, those same peeps should feel free to laugh at me for the follow things that I insist on keeping “old school”:
I’ll let you read through all the figures Mashable came out with in March about the percentage of users and where they tweet from, but the gist is this:
More than 65 percent of tweets come from third-party apps—officially Twitter or otherwise.
So that leaves roughly 35 percent for tweets that come directly from Twitter.com. And that’s where you’ll find me. I’m usually in that 35 percent.
Yes, I have a TweetDeck account. Yes, I use it to manage multiple Twitter feeds, accounts, etc. at one time. But for some reason I just have an attachment to the site. And I’m not sure what it is about Twitter that is different for me than Facebook because there, I’m all about checking updates and posting from my phone.
E-readers
I would rather venture to the store and pay my $26.99 for a hard cover copy of a book I’m interested in than download an instant copy to an e-reader or my Android phone any time. I’ve even put myself on LONG waiting lists at the library for some best-sellers when I could have downloaded a pretty cheap copy instantly.
“But Melissa,” you say, “You can take e-readers anywhere and they’re so small. Even if you want to go outside, the screens aren’t like computers; there’s no glare.”
See, that’s the thing with me—I’m not swayed by new, shiny things (well, most of the time). I sit at my computer all day typing, reading and taking in so much written material that when it’s book time, old school is the only way to go.
I want to be comfortable. I want to snuggle up on the couch or a hammock. I want to physically turn pages and highlight things (with a marker, not a cursor). Metal…not so comfortable to snuggle with.
Thank-you notes
I’m sure there’s an etiquette pro out there who has as much issue with this as I do, but seriously people, hand-written thank you notes are where it’s at. I allude to it a bit in a previous post The Facebook Effect: A review of sorts.
So, I won’t stand on this soapbox all day, but as long as there is such a thing as the U.S. Postal Service and paper, you’ll get hand-written thank you notes from me (they may even be hand-made cards if I’m feelin’ crafty).
Calendars
OK, this one isn’t on here so much to say that I don’t use electronic calendars because I do. Seriously. I live on them. I put reminders to pay my bills on there. I put reminders to remind someone else to send reminders about client projects. It’s ridiculous how much stuff I keep on my electronic calendars. It’s how I stay sane and organized.
I’m a little obsessed about it.
However…
There are plenty of people I know that have no desire whatsoever to use any kind of electronic calendar (I’m pretty sure my entire family, immediate and extended, young and old, falls into this category). So, I keep both versions. So, those of you who think your company “swag” calendars are hitting the trash cans when you send them out, you have at least one recipient who diligently hangs all hers in various areas of the house and home office.
Not sure if that’s the kind of ROI your boss is looking for, but hey, if you need an advocate, give me a call.
So what about you? Anything you want to add to this week’s A List? C’mon, you can admit it. What do you hang on to even though you know there is an easier way?
Melissa is principal and creative director at Allée. Feel free to give her a hard time about all things “old school” on Twitter, Facebook or via email.
