Scores of handwritten missives in response to my May 1 E-Mail Addiction Publisher’s Letter offering tips to tame the e-mail beast sent me scampering to find my tarnished letter opener.On a 757 loaded with business executives glued to their laptops, I certainly stood out in seat 13C, slipping handwritten letters out of envelopes and writing a response to each. On paper! With a pen! In ink! Several passengers shot me a “haven’t you heard of e-mail” glance as they walked down the aisle.“Obtain some white writing paper and a fountain pen—like your mom used,” wrote one reader. “You’ll find yourself taking pride in your choice of words and the presentation of your thoughts. Word processing and e-mail have robbed us of our ability to think,” he concluded.Another correspondent suggested an idea that has bounced around for ages—but with an innovative twist. “How about charging people 1 cent for each e-mail?” he wrote. “[The money] could be collected at the ISP level and be used for schools, charities.” And he kept going. He estimated the cost of receiving and deleting unwanted e-mail at 2.5 cents per e-mail. Want to take a bite out of operating expenses? he asked. Start with the people you employ. Guesstimate how many unwanted, irrelevant e-mails they receive each day. Now multiply that number by the number of employees, and then multiply that by 2.5 cents. Ouch!One IT exec took the opportunity to point out (correctly) that CIO was guilty of sending out unsolicited survey research e-mails, and another suggested I should hire a secretary to read my e-mail. It took me five hours to respond to all the letters. And at the end of writing my last note, I had a serious case of writer’s cramp.But otherwise, I felt good. I felt my time had been well spent, which is a very different sensation from what I get after an e-mail session. E-mail may be quicker, but the good old-fashioned handwritten note is a surefire way to get the attention of those who matter to you, both in your business and in your personal life.So I say, Write on! Related content feature Expedia poised to take flight with generative AI CTO Rathi Murthy sees the online travel service’s vast troves of data and AI expertise fueling a two-pronged transformation strategy aimed at growing the company by bringing more of the travel industry online. By Paula Rooney Jun 02, 2023 7 mins Travel and Hospitality Industry Digital Transformation Artificial Intelligence case study Deoleo doubles down on sustainability through digital transformation The Spanish multinational olive oil processing company is immersed in a digital transformation journey to achieve operational efficiency and contribute to the company's sustainability strategy. By Nuria Cordon Jun 02, 2023 6 mins CIO Supply Chain Digital Transformation brandpost Resilient data backup and recovery is critical to enterprise success As global data volumes rise, business must prioritize their resiliency strategies. By Neal Weinberg Jun 01, 2023 4 mins Security brandpost Democratizing HPC with multicloud to accelerate engineering innovations Cloud for HPC is facilitating broader access to high performance computing and accelerating innovations and opportunities for all types of organizations. By Tanya O'Hara Jun 01, 2023 6 mins Multi Cloud Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe