Realty Bites

Do you have distant family members who send you a Christmas letter every year but don’t interact with you at any other time? How about friends who send a canned greeting card on your birthday but don’t include a personal note?

I call this type of communication “relationship pinging.” It’s a term I coined about twenty years ago. At the time, I was receiving messages from a former college classmate who would send a mass e-mail to everyone in her address book. The theme was always the same: “Here’s a cause or charity I’m interested in at the moment, and I expect you to contribute.” She reacted angrily when I responded, simply, “Unsubscribe.” MORE →