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These geeks, complete with pocket protectors, ballpoints and fluorescent highlighter pens, were decidedly anti-social creatures, given more to forming close relationships with shell scripts and bits of hardware such as modems than they were with people.

Of course that's all changed now and your average Net user is just as likely to be a 70-year-old grandmother browsing for new jam recipes or 9-year-old hunting down the lyrics of a Britney Spears song.

Unfortunately however, the Net is still responsible for a level of desocialisation that becomes acutely apparent at this time of the year.

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Too many people seem to think that a quick email or IM is as good as a more personal and thoughtful communication during the festive season.

And my pet peeve (as long-term readers will already know) is the evil "Virtual Card".

There was a time when people's living rooms would be filled with a wide array of Christmas cards by now and you'd open the day's mail with eager anticipation - keen to see who thought enough of you to buy a stamp. To some people, the volume of cards was something of a status symbol and they proudly displayed their year's collection for all visitors to see.

Alas, virtual cards just don't have the same effect; well at least not for me.

The act of sending a *real* card involves a visit to the shops to pick out and purchase suitable cards, the addition of thoughtful prose relevant to each recipient, the licking and attachment of a stamp and another trip out to post the aforementioned pulpy medium.

The fact that real cards require so much thought, expense and time adds significantly to their value as an indicator that you appreciate or care for someone.

By comparison, it takes just a few quick seconds to whack someone's email address into a website and dump a virtual card in their inbox.

In fact a virtual card is little short of an insult -- a way of saying "I really don't care enough about you to take a few minutes out of my day to send you a card so make do with this".

Don't get me wrong -- email is an amazing medium and has significantly changed the way people communicate. It's fast, efficient, pretty reliable and incredibly cheap. However, it's *not* the way to tell someone that they're important to you.

What's more, fancy virtual cards also clog mail networks with horrible Flash or executable attachments, making it far easier for malware writers to slip evil bits of code onto your computer.

Never underestimate the power of the *real* Christmas card either.

Last month I posted *real* cards off to a few people and companies overseas who have provided me with help or some valuable service during the past year. I chose cards that had pictures of New Zealand landscapes (not cheap!) and added a brief note thanking these people and wishing them well for the festive season.

The results have been amazing. Most were bowled over with the fact that someone so far away would actually take the time to send a *real* card and this has helped to significantly strengthen the relationship that already existed.

I'm pretty sure that the few dollars spent doing this will generate huge dividends in the year ahead and I know that a cheap, tacky "don't really care" virtual card would not have had anything like this effect.

So, please -- if you care about someone, don't insult them by sending a virtual card. Flush the moths from your wallet, fire up your zimmer-frame and take a trip down to the Post Office to send something a little more real.

Do you send virtual cards or real cards?

What do you think of people who send you virtual cards?

Tell us all and see what others have to say in The Aardvark Forums

If you feel that this is a good thing and/or you hold a "geniune affection" for yours truly -- then you are welcome to gift me some money using the buttons provided. In gifting this money you accept that no goods, service or other consideration is offered, provided, accepted or anticipated in return. Just click on the button to gift whatever you can afford. NOTE: PayPal bills in US dollars so don't accidentally gift more than what you were intending :-)

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