Chris Anderson (of TED) is declaring war on in-boxes with this recent blog post. He is asking use to help start an Email Charter. I am nodding in agreement.
As I have expressed before, I am quite frustrated with how we use email. I know, I am not alone. I have declared email bankruptcy and explained in another post how email has become my primary source of guilt. I currently have an auto-responder set up that has the sole purpose of setting expectations low. Here’s what it says:
Hi there,
This autoresponder is an attempt in setting expectations right. Fact is: I get too much email and can’t keep up. My inbox has become my primary source of guilt.
I promise I will try my best to get back to you as soon as I can. If your email is super-crazy important, meaning the internet might implode if I don’t write back, then please resend your email in a day or so, if you don’t hear back.
Waving from Brooklyn!
Tina – ready to change the way we use email
The overall response to the auto-responder has been positive. Of course, I get an annoyed comment here and there, but it has helped me feel less guilty. Also, people have proven to be more understanding, less annoyed with my late or lack of reply. It’s obviously not an ideal solution, but better than nothing.
What do you think of Chris’ idea? And his proposed rules?