A copy of an email posted on Facebook Monday night indicates that changing the name of Yaupon Street will cost $10,000 for the name change so as to put in a traffic circle.
Residents who live near Yaupon around 19th Avenue South have asked for the name change because of the high crime, prostitution and drugs on Yaupon Drive.
The email from Myrtle Beach City Manager John Pedersen reads: “at this point however, Tom’s reading of our ordinance is that the renaming of Yaupon South of 19th would violate our Code, unless there is a logical break in the street. I agree with his opinion.“
The issue will be taken up and discussed at the Planning Commission meeting in the old City Hall at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.
DANGERS OF USING EMAIL
1. Email Can Be Deceptively Time-Consuming
It may seem more expedient to fire off a quick email than to hold a face-to-face meeting or pick up the phone (there’s all that small talk…). However, it could take you more time to settle something this way. While the beauty of email is that it is asynchronous – you don’t have to be online and focused on the email message at the same time as the person you’re communicating with – that can also lead to more interruptions, task-switching, and time-consuming back and forth messages.
2. Email Can Be Dangerously Emboldening
Email allows us to hide behind our words; it’s much easier to say something snarky in an email than to a colleague’s face. When we receive a frustrating message from someone, it’s all too easy to hit <reply> — or worse, <reply all>! – and bang out a scathing response. While this might feel liberating at first, the consequences quickly sink in.
3. Email May Be Hazardous to Your Health
Email encourages us to sit at our desks – and we know how deadly that can be. After all, research has shown that that the longer you sit, the shorter your average life span.
4. Email Slows Down Relationship-Building
I once heard about a manager who had been named country director of an international development organization. The office staff was curious about and eager to get to know their new boss. After he assumed his post, some staff members were shocked and frustrated when he repeatedly sent them emails from behind his closed office door down the hall, rather than come and speak with them face-to-face. Needless to say, they did not build a great relationship.
Guess what: to build effective working relationships with people, it helps to spend time with them, and talk to them face-to-face. Hiding behind our computers is not going to help – we need to get out of our offices and interact with our colleagues.
5. Email Can Lead to Misunderstandings (Especially in Cross-cultural Settings)
Email is a limited communication vehicle because it doesn’t include non-verbal ways of conveying meaning. Experts suggest that between 50-80% of all human communications are non-verbal. Without the powerful cues of non-verbal communication (e.g., tone of voice, gestures, facial expressions, etc.) the chances of miscommunication are higher. This is especially risky in a cross-cultural context. We should tread lightly when in email mode.