What did we do before email? Have you ever thought about that?

I think about it every day as I sort through the hoard of things that flow into my inbox. Most of it is stuff we would never use in the Chieftain, so I am using that wonderful function in Chrome “filter messages like these.”

We once called it the “round file.” Not sure what shape it takes in cyberspace, but the impact is the same.

When I began my journalism career, a banana box full of mail was dumped on my desk each morning. Same process. Weeding through the chaff to get to the wheat.

One of the biggest culprits in the email deluge is politicians like our two U.S. Senators and to some extent our U.S. House member. Several times a week the senators send me emails letting me know that they oppose everything Donald Trump does. They’re democrats, so it’s not news to anyone … except them, perhaps.

And our U.S. Rep. lets me know regularly –– although considerably less often than the senators –– that he supports everything Pres. Trump does and and says. Again, hardly newsworthy.

Now were one of the senators to send an email saying how much they support and appreciate Trump’s move to take the United States out of the Paris Agreement, that would be news. I’m betting it will never happen.

To put things in perspective, email is by far the best way to communicate with us here at the Chieftain. Any time we don’t have to re-enter information from scratch –– it’s called keyboarding –– we’re 10 steps ahead of the game.

In addition, an email provides a tangible reminder to take action on what has been sent. That’s a big help when you consider how many things cross the desk each week.

When we receive email messages with .jpg attachments, it’s essentially the same as sending a fax. Files in .doc and .pdf are preferable for cut-and-paste purposes.

And you don’t need permission to send an email. Several times a week, I get a phone call from someone asking if they can send us an email. The answer is always “yes” and “thank you very much, you just made my life that much easier.”