Email is kind of amazing. Lots of us slag on it, and I’m quick to admit I’m happy as a Slack user or Basecamp user who appreciates the chance to cut down on the amount of work email I receive. But I also get lots of great stuff, like newsletters (from Anne, Lincoln, Alan, Dan).1 The best of that email are those who encounter my work.
One of my absolute favorite things about being a digital historian is how public it is – we’re not just writing things for other people in academia, we’re producing work that’s intentionally public-facing and invites engagement. And that engagement happens all the time. As a writer, that is thrilling.
It’s hard to express just how powerful it is to have someone drop you a note, explaining that your little history project on the Internet about Buffalo Bill Cody and his hiring of Native Americans for the Wild West expeditions caught their attention. To get a note from someone whose grandfather was once part of the Wild West expedition, and asking if I had more information about them. To get a note from a high school student telling me they appreciate me sharing some work openly. To hear from college students that find a project enlightening for thinking about a historical process. To be invited to participate in related projects or new initiatives.
All because I made something for the Internet. All because I included an easy way to reach me by email.
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Maybe it’s a confirmation bias, but I think there’s something to be said about how newletters have seeming taken the place of blogging. ↩︎
