Used to be that calling a friend up to chat was no big deal. But now it would seem very strange for me to call one of my friends without an express agenda or specific query. You'd get the initial exchange of pleasantries, and then, an expectant, "so, what's up?" Nothing is no longer an acceptable answer to that query.
But that's a shame. I don't really bother keeping in touch with people by e-mail. Even the most well written, comprehensive rundown of the month's events doesn't do me much good. After all, I'm not actually that interested in simply keeping up with the signposts of their lives. I'm interested in keeping up a connection with their lives. And that's very, very hard to do through written text. There's a big difference between informing and interacting.
...all of which is true. But it's odd, because the obvious manner of keeping a connection with the life of someone you're not in the immediate physical vicinity of would be... a letter, which requires thought, a measure of dedication, and retains permanence. A good correspondent will manage to do more than merely run-down the month's events (and a phone call which is simply a listing of what-I've-done often has the same problem, though it does allow you to ask for expansion on things that pique your interest).
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