Fan mail from some flounder?*

No wonder everything in Trekland, and MediaWorld in general, is so topsy-turvy these days.

I got a fan letter today. Not an email, or a tweet, or a Facebook "DM" ... but an honest to god letter. On paper. Using ink. With a stamp on it. And—bless my heart—a SASE** inside to boot.

If you think I am mocking, I am not. I think it's adorable. And very revealing: Steve H. is a con-going fan who is very much not ready to climb into his own empty photon torpedo tube just yet. He just wanted me to sign a photo card, and an old Official Fan Club Enterprise-E sketch postcard giveaway. I'm touched, and also mindful that once again the leading edge is only because of what's behind it: the other 98%.

See, Steve's little missive stopped me dead in my tracks. How could this be? Smack in the middle of our insanely socially-mediafied world of both words, and word-spreading? Okay, so he had actual physical materials to transmit, but still: It wasn't even in a postal Priority Mail, er, mailer.

It just goes to show that the human contact is still at the heart of fandom: Actor, creator, designer to fan. Communicator to fan. Fan to fan. Social media is incredible and can almost beat subspace radio today for speed... but some things the bits and bytes just can't do. And some folk still live by them. And.... we all need to take a breather sometimes and remember that. Not everyone, even the Xs and Ys, "do" EVERYthing. Every where.

Oh—and BTW Steve, I hope you don't mind me sharing everything (but the addresses) re: this. Somehow, I think you don't mind at all.


*"Fan mail from some flounder"—You're looking for help? See 2nd section of the link. (Sorry, there's no good YouTube, but we do have audio.) Bottom line: With 500-channel cable, there's no excuse not to know your Pop Culture Touchstones.
**"SASE": At one point, the lifeblood of fandom.