eCards - Love 'em or Hate 'em?

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I love this Smilebox Application. I used to spend a fortune making color copies of my Christmas letter and sending it out. Now it's all very simple.

However, just sending out a one-way newsletter or slideshow seems so ... self-centered! (Kind of like a blog, come to think of it!) I really like reconnecting with old friends. I know some people think eCards are not as "special" as the traditional cards, but my feeling is that the "special" part is not about whether it's a traditional card or an eCard.. It's about the personalization.

I say we should take advantage of these wonderful tools and technologies to write our not-so-personalized greeting with our news or our photos, but then spend the time to send a personalized greeting along with it -- whether that's with an email, a traditional card, a phone call, a lunch, or a facebook post. People like to know we're thinking of them and if we don't take the time to write something personal, we might as well be standing in front of a crowd shouting, "Look at me!"

I think that's true of Social Media in general. It's a great and easy way to promote whatever it is you're trying to promote. But you need to take the time to engage with others... to make sure your conversations are two-way and not just all about you.

Of course, I have yet to write all of my personal eCards, but now that I have the impersonal, self-centered, look-at-me part done, I'm ready to get going!