Ok, I feel that it is only right to warn you that this may be a bit of a rant from me… You see, of late, I have had a few comments about the length of some of the emails I write. Now, I know my propensity to be verbose, so I generally try to pair it back and just communicate the essentials. But I have noticed that if an email if more than a few lines long, people start making comments.

It got me thinking about the impact of our new media tools and how they have brought us to a place where fully expressed thoughts are seen as long winded!!

While I am guilty of using emoticons and the odd abbreviation…I am sad that it is impacting our everyday communication to such a degree. Our lives have become so busy that unless you can sum them up in 140 characters of less, people just won’t read it!!

My biggest gripe has to do with the loss of the beauty of words… An adjective has become superfluous when an emoticon will suffice!!! As someone who voluntarily studied Shakespeare at university and revelled in the beauty of well-crafted writing, I can’t help but be a little sad.

I know, I hear all the critics say that Shakespeare was simply using language of the day and if he wrote today it would be littered with current idioms and probably the odd abbreviation…and maybe even an emoticon or two (heaven forbid!)…but that still doesn’t make me lament the loss of…something.

You have to understand…I am all about the long version. It’s the language of my heart. I want to fully understand. Not just the Cliff Notes version, but the whole gory, emotional, heart-convulsing LONG VERSION!!

I am still a romantic at heart and I love nothing better than sunsets and beautifully written prose. Or better still, that rarest of flowers…a hand written letter!

The advent of technology has meant the demise of the postage stamp, and even in Australia the mail-handling business is suffering significant financial losses due to the demise of letters.

Yes, I am sure the forests are grateful for the reprieve, and the furry animals now have more secure tenancy…

But I can’t help it – I am a dyed-in-the-wool, can’t shake it, all-about-the-long-version, paperback reading, unashamed lover of words!!!

While the English Teacher in me has retired her red pen, my passion and delight in lovely, beautiful words, has not dimmed.

And while I realise my comments may draw criticism and cynicism…frankly, I am glad! Go ahead – make your comments, I dare you! You see, there is nothing like stirring someone’s passions to bring out all those lovely, beautiful, passionate WORDS!!