Dear Kid,

There is an article on Mashable called How to use Facebook for Thank You Notes.

I found the title intriguing, so I took a look.

It will not surprise you to learn that I Have an Opinion.

The article suggested things like thanking someone for dinner by taking a photo of the meal and posting the picture with a thank you and compliments to the chef. Another idea was to thank someone for inviting you to an event by taking some pix of the event and posting those with some of the details about the event with a thank you for the invite. (Hint: include the hashtag for the event if there is one.)

I think those are great ideas. They are acknowledgements of a great time together (presumably you’ve already said thank you in person) and a there’s nothing wrong with publicly acknowledging a big event or even a small dinner.

HOWEVER (you knew there was going to be a “however” didn’t you?), there are some things for which a tweet or Facebook post is not only inappropriate it can be downright rude.

When you get a gift from someone, you need to send a real thank you note—especially if the gift is sent to you and you are not able to hug the giver and say thank you in person. A FB thank you without a personalized, heartfelt thanks is just wrong and rude.

If you thank someone professionally, don’t use Twitter or Facebook. If they’ve introduced you to someone, if they’ve gone out of their way to help you, if you’ve made a sale, saying thank you on FB is weird. And unprofessional. And Wrong. Don’t do it.

If the person is not a social media junkie and/or is not part of your usual social media circle, why would you thank them in front of people they don’t know? Go personal, go private, go polished. Write a real thank you.

For a formal event you need formal thank yous. When you graduate, when you get engaged or married, when you receive a special honor, on-line thank yous don’t cut it. Formal congratulations require formal acknowledgements. Pull out the stationary and put pen to paper.

Thank you for listening.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Once upon a time on February 6, 1952, King George VI died. Instantly, because that’s how these things work, his daughter Elizabeth became queen. (She wasn’t crowned until a year and a half later. I don’t really know why–maybe it takes a long time to plan a coronation?)

Anyway, Lilibet (as she was known to her family) became the 40th British monarch since William the Conqueror. There have been 12 US presidents during her reign (as of today). Extra points if you can name them.

Queen E’s popularity has soared and dipped over the years, much the way any public figure’s popularity (except Winnie The Pooh) does. What is indisputable is that she has been around a long time (monarch years are about 3 or 4 normal human years) and that she is media savvy.

She allowed her coronation to be televised even though Winston Churchill objected. A zillion years later she allowed herself to be part of the Olympic opening ceremonies in a rather un-crownlike way. Too cool.

She was sending email eons before anyone sent email. March 26, 1976 to be exact (which is a million years ago in technology years). She was the first Head of State to send electronic mail.

The Royal Channel on YouTube was launched in 2007. She joined Twitter in 2009 and Facebook in 2010 (note: before you go try, it is not possible to poke the royal family). And when I say “she joined,” I mean The Crown joined. The Queen herself does not tweet or update her FB status. There are buckets of people who maintain her social media accounts.

Her Majesty is fluent in French and Royal Looks (which is kind of like a Mom Look but with a crown).

The Queen’s birthday is April 21st (quite a marvy day) but it is celebrated in May and June depending on where you live. Each country in the Commonwealth celebrates on a different day, which I think is brilliant. Your Auntie M used to drag her birthday out from late December through early March but she hasn’t yet managed to get the entire world to join in an elongated celebration.

Speaking of royal birthdays, Her Majesty did not learn to drive when she was 16. The then princess learned to drive in 1945 when she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service to help in the war effort. She was trained to be an expert driver and mechanic. The best part? The Queen is the only person in Britain who can drive without a license or number plate on her state car. Because of being the Queen, not because of her war service.

Random fact: She once demoted a footman for giving her corgis whiskey. That is nothing compared to what would happen to someone who tried to give Booker alcohol.

Queen Elizabeth has traveled–a lot–in her life. She has been to 116 countries (several more than once) and yet she does not have a passport. Since British passports are issued in the queen’s name, she doesn’t need one.

Love, Mom

Presidents during Queen Elizabeth’s reign:

Truman

Eisenhower

Kennedy

Johnson

Nixon

Ford

Carter

Reagan

Bush I

Clinton

Bush II

Obama

Dear Kid,

Is it just me, or has the whole world lost it?

I just read the article Why Eye Contact Still Matters In The Age of Email which basically laments the “new” rudeness that has emerged now that teens and college students are spending so much time on their electronic communication devices. The article suggests that because people are communicating in ways that are not face-to-face they feel a freedom to be rude. (It also suggests that because “everyone is watching” people are no longer willing to take risks, but that is a discussion for another day. Tomorrow perhaps.)