Oh Yes, Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman
As the Los Angeles Times reported, stamp prices were raised again this week. From what I can tell, the reaction was mixed:
- Some people cared (a lot)
- Some folks couldn't care less (maybe they bought a gross of Forever Stamps a year ago?)
- Others had no idea (maybe they only communicate via email and pay all of their bills online?)
Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it's certainly an interesting commentary on the essential role email now plays in our personal and professional lives. There are a large number of folks out there who are now so fully dependent on email and the Internet that it doesn't matter to them that stamp prices have gone up four times in four years (disclosure: I'm in this camp).
Interestingly, a spokesperson for the United States Postal Service (USPS) was quick to say that they don't believe the price of stamps will drive more people to email (since we're all paying for Internet access already) -
"I don't think its price that drives people to email because they're paying an email provider also for the service, so ultimately, there is a cost to your bill payments online as well. I think that people like to use different media in different ways and we have got to at the postal service respond accordingly," said Maureen Marion, a spokesperson for the United States Postal Service.
Does this mean that three things are certain in life now - death, taxes and postage stamp increases? Well, wait - I do work at an email storage company so I guess I need to add a 4th certainty - growing email storage needs.
