One of my favorite moments of the week is the flurry of bounce-back e-mails I get every Friday morning, just after I send out my weblog’s weekly summary. The subscribers who are away at a conference, or out in the world, or taking a day off, set up their autoresponders, alerting those that contact them that they aren’t there. “Out of Office,” “Sorry to Miss You,” “Off at a Conference,” say the subject lines. The body of the messages tell me where you’ve gone, how long you’ll be there, and when you expect to return.
The reason I like these several-dozen autoresponders I get each week is that they are the only indication I get of who my subscribers are. If they’re accepting e-mail, my post just wanders off into the world. If they’re out of the office, I get a little ”ping” bounced back, like some submarine sonar describing the invisible terrain around me.
It’s a silly thing, I know. But it’s a welcome flood of feedback. It’s also fascinating to know that sometimes you learn the most about someone when they’re not there.
You don’t get a ‘ping’ from me because my arts job has me so swamped i’m working constantly– and often have to waylay your great work to savor later, like ice cream for the artists’ soul. Know that you are invaluable and fascinating and extremely helpful. I wish my job was as your researcher – (which I have lots of experience in if you’re interested!) Then I could get paid to eat ice cream.