Is Your Inbox Flooded?

As summer approaches and the days get warmer and I realize that I spend far too much time staring at my computer screen and not enough time out in the fresh air. Sometimes I wonder why I feel so hungry and I look at the clock to see that 3 hours has flown by and I’ve missed lunch. I sit hunched over my little netbook occasionally glancing out the window, promising myself “Just a few more emails and I’ll go for a quick bike ride”
Reality, I’ve ridden the bike for 2 short circuits in the past week. I climb into bed at night with my trusted computer on my lap and frantically reply to a few more messages before turning in for the night. I wake up in the morning and my first thought is, “How many emails accumulated over night?” “How much junk do I have?” I reach for my Blackberry and check the number beside the cute little envelope… 67, 95 or 115… (Never under 50)
I recently stripped auto contact info off my sites and reconfigured the SPAM settings on my host server plus added more anti-virus and anti-spam protection to my inbox. Although I’m happy with the success of these efforts, at the time of this writing (11:50 am) I have been attempting to clear my inbox since 8:40 am and I still have 105 items left to deal with. What doesn’t get done today simply rolls over to tomorrow.
With all my networks and a huge contact base from around the world I find myself hopping hopelessly and endlessly between; LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, Ning, User Groups, Vimeo, Twitter… UGH!!!! I’ve downloaded all the apps that promise to make my posting and updates easier (many are linked to each other) but despite constant checking and deleting of junk on my blackberry or from Outlook I am stuck in a never ending flood of correspondence.
It’s consuming me! My determination to empty the inbox is becoming a sick obsession and one that I have no hope of relief or satisfaction from.
At dinner with friends last night my colleague voiced the same complaint. He said, “Remember when we just picked up the phone and spoke to each other?” Yeah… those were the days. Trust me, I can talk way faster than I can type (even after years with my fingers hitting the keys)
My patience for people who send junk is diminishing and I especially hate it when someone forwards urban legend or fraudulent propaganda, with my address broadcast to a bunch of nutcases who take time to “Reply All:” with even more nonsense. Hello?!!!?? Don’t you know about Bcc:? (Blind Copy)
Why do people forward stuff that’s bull*&^%? It’s so easy to verify things nowadays. How about using Snopes.com? (The definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation)
Example: Take a good look at this picture of Ashley Flores.

Have you seen this girl?

Apparently this girl has been missing for 2 weeks…. Since May 2006! Before you forward emails to your contacts, stop and verify the information first. It’s simple and will save everyone a lot of trouble. If you do find the report to be true you can say so by adding in the subject line or body of the email, “I checked this for accuracy on Snopes.com”
I receive so many “FALSE” reports that I actually recognize many of them now, like a recurring dream that keeps coming back to haunt you. The plea to find Ashley Flores has been sent to me at least 20 times in the past few years. I wonder who the girl in the photo really is… I seem to know her now. Funny to think she is no longer 13 but 27 years old.
Better get back to my inbox now.

105 Items... I celebrate if I can whittle it down to 50!

15 new messages have rolled in since I stopped to write this. (12 more while I proof-read) Likely none are important, but I have to check just the same.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to get emails. Today I received news of a friend stationed in Afghanistan, a letter from a potential backer for a project I am working on and a recommendation from an associate in Dubai. So, send me a comment, write me a letter, write on my wall, but PLEASE, don’t send me junk!