Isn't it amazing how you can communicate with someone around the world in the click of a button? Isn't it also amazing how we use the same form of communication to ask someone in the next office a simple question? Has technology taken away personal communication?

Every day we see reports of incidents and wonder how someone could do such a terrible thing. Do we really need to wonder? You hear all the time, "he was a loner", "she had no close friends" or "he kept to himself". Did he keep to himself, or did no one talk to him? It is a dilemma we face with advent of the wonderful technology we available to us. What can us as individuals do to better communicate with our friends, relatives or business associates?

When was the last time you picked up the phone and called a client instead of "shooting them an e-mail"? Have you sent a thank you note to someone that did something nice for you recently? Is it such a long walk to go to someone's office on the next floor and get an immediate answer to your question rather than wait for a response to your e-mail?

Our communication is becoming nothing more than short phrases with abbreviations everyone is supposed to understand. Does anyone else think LOL is highly overused? Most of time LOL is more like ALC, a little chuckle.

How personal can an e-mail be? How many people tear open an e-mail when they receive it? How often does the e-mail get lost in e-mail purgatory, often referred to as spam filter?

There are many questions asked here and few answers given. Can one person change the way our society has evolved when it comes to personal communication? Maybe.

If all of us would make it a point to each day make a phone call to a friend or relative it would be a start. If you need to thank someone for something they did for you, send them a card through the mail. Surprisingly, it will get to them and they will read it. Grab a cup of coffee and go ask your colleague a question rather than sending an e-mail. While you're there, ask him or her how their kids are doing. We used to call it a conversation.

Can you change society's ways? In a small way, yes you can. If each of us influences a few people by sending them a greeting card or calling them and having a conversation eventually we may see more and more people communicating on a personal basis.

We can touch other's lives in a way that makes them happy about themselves. Will it solve the world's problems? Probably not, but it sure will make us feel better about ourselves and those around us.