Medium.1 - Email
Respectfully,
Feedback Mural
1. Letter Introduction
Thi Patriota
Agency HQ
Metareality
April 17th, 2023.
Agency Reader
Reader's Digital Mail Box
Planet Earth
Dear reader.
I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits.
First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for the support and kindness you delegate in investing your most valuable asset, your time, by reading our content and stopping by for a digital brainstorm whenever you get the chance.
As I type these words more than hundreds or even thousands of kilometers of distance from you, I infuse in them, the longing of a writer who seeks to share his findings with his readers. Such findings sometimes walk the thin line between the substance of nostalgia and the essence of novelty, given value behind this encounter shall be found in this exact but abstruse convergence, not in the past, nor in the future, but righteously, in the given present. Where we are bound to take action with what we learned from our ancestors in perfect combination with what we are yet to learn with our future selves. Such intertwined existence is the fate of all great minds forasmuch as making sense of time is the mind of all great fates.
With that said, I would rejoice in honor for the opportunity of ever catching up with you to hear about all the wonderful things happening in your life. I look forward to staying in touch and continuing our correspondence for many years to come.
With tender regards,
Thi.
1.1 Introduction
Does writing have a future?
If there is one thing to be said about letters, is that they are something that one waits for, because they tend to arrive unexpectedly.
In a living present where everything is on-demand, immediately available upon need or request, we are to wonder about what it means to wait.
As Vilém Flusser points out in Does Writing Have a Future?, “The post office is founded on the principle of hope. Postal carriers, these functionaries who seem practically medieval, are angels (from angeloi, “messages”), and what they carry are evangels (good news, with respect to the hope that sustains the post office)”
Long before correspondences were a pile of bills, advertising, and periodicals, letters represented the one and only way of sending a heartfelt or formal message to someone from a distance.
Imagine the following situation: suddenly, you find yourself in a war between two different nations (Portugal/Catholics and Netherlands/Protestants) trying to colonize not only your land but also your own native civilization. The conflict has intensified itself to the point where the originary people (your people) split into two sides and started fighting each other. What else could be done but to write letters expressing not only your feelings but also your opinion about the fact that you feel drowned in anguish because, at the end of the day, you just wanted the chance to live according to the tradition of your grandparents, you just wanted, for one last time, to reunite all your people so that you could all have the old peaceful life you used to have.
That is exactly what Felipe Camarão did, he wrote the only known letters written by a native of Brazil's ancient language, Tupi.
Why are these letters such important relics? Because history is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the winner writes the history books, but this, right here, is a letter from a culture that couldn't win under no circumstance in that context.
No other type of communication could even scratch the surface of capturing how Felipe Camarões felt as letters could.
Precisely,
Accurately,
and finally,
literally,
Because letters carry the human essence of their author in their own words.
Letters merge not only what is classical, formal, structured, and solemn but also what is romantic, poetic, and artistic, for being concerned with a relaxation and creative extension of the rules.
With all of that said, the profound value behind this medium is not yet lost, it has just been transformed, and digitalized.
Your email client is your personal and digital mailbox with instant access to the whole world and your team.
But I dare to say that the given tool is not being taken advantage of.
Let me be less formal.
You don't know how to use your inbox.
Because you don't realize that emails can be letters.
Because you don't realize how powerful your words can be as a founder.
And because you don't perceive how powerful writing really is.
May this publication be the exercise that will kickstart the new chapter of your company.
Let's do it now, seize your leadership.
1.2 The Project Letter
The Briefing of Tomorrow.
Starting a project with an email is much more efficient than meetings or calls because written words are documented whereas spoken words are always lost amidst the noise, this means that writing a briefing for a project and detailing it with a problem to be solved, goals and deliverables makes it possible for the assignee[s] to know exactly what they need to do.
The more details you input the better will be the results you will get but don't get stuck to it, the briefing is always the foundation but you should expect experimentation and new ideas.
HEADING
Begin the letter with your address and the date.
(Solemnity/Structure is the necessary tool to make the message serious and dignified)
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Date][Addressee] (either the chosen one or a department)
[Office Address]
SALUTATION
Begin the letter with a formal salutation
Dear [Recipient's Name],
INTRODUCTION
In the opening paragraph, introduce yourself and the purpose of the letter. This is also a good place to express your personal connection with the recipient.
I hope this email finds you in a good moment. It has been far too long since we last exchanged emails, and I wanted to take this opportunity to not only reconnect with you but also bring up a challenge.
BODY
In the body of the letter, expand on the purpose of the letter and provide any necessary details or information. You can also include personal anecdotes or memories to make the letter more personal.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for the kindness and support you have shown me over the years. Your unwavering collaboration with our company has been a source of comfort and strength, and I cannot thank you enough for being there for me through both good times and bad.
I am writing to share with you some exciting news - I believe it is the moment for us to redesign our website and update our core values, vision, and mission. Your dedication to our company has been invaluable to me, and I believe you are the best person to be in charge of such an endeavor.
CONCLUSION
In the closing paragraph, summarize the purpose of the letter and express any final thoughts or well wishes. You can also provide your contact information in case the recipient wishes to get in touch with you.
Feel free to take full responsibility for the creative process behind this project alongside our talented team, this matter should be treated with diligence and priority.
Thank you again for being such an important part of our company. I look forward to seeing your vision for this project develop.
CLOSING
End the letter with a formal closing.
"Sincerely" or "Respectfully," followed by your name and signature.
1.3 Pandora’s Box
A Fresh Digest on my latest discoveries and some other things.
1.3.1 In the mind of Gracian
Do not wait until your splendor declines. It is a principle used by the wise to abandon things before they abandon you. Knowing how to withdraw makes your decline a triumph because even the sun hides behind the clouds so that it is not seen descending, leaving doubt. Try not to fall into the twilight of your job and you will be respected.
Do not expect today's followers to follow you tomorrow; they will pity you and lose their esteem for you. The athlete who knows how to retire from his career becomes a legend; the persistent one who does not recognize time becomes an occasional joke.
Break the mirror before losing your beauty and do not insist against time to later arrive at disillusionment. Time is inexorable.
The Art of Worldly Wisdom, How to reach excellence, Proverb 17 - Baltasar Gracián
About the Author
Thiago Patriota
Made in 1996. Born & Raised Brazillian. Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and Communication. Adept to autodidactism. Curious Soul. Published Author. Founder of Sentient.
That’s me in a nutshell but you can learn more about Agency and myself on the About page!
Contact
+1 302 261 3824
thipatriota@gmail.com