Since then, I've been working with volunteers who are young enough to be my daughters and sons. (OK, I'd make a very young parent.) I've learned a lot, not just about technology, but also about communication.
A group email beginning with "Hey" indicates inclusion, casualness, energy. I've even gotten used to using it with the group. That's not easy for me to do. Like when a friend asks you to call them by a nickname you're just not comfortable with.
When the context is wrong, "Hey" doesn't work. It's probably not recommended for a job application cover letter. Or to communicate with people who don't know you. Recently I was checking my email and an on-screen message from Google flashed, "Hey, this is important." I immediately closed out the window and had the shakes for several minutes. I was sure someone was alerting me to a virus within my computer. Turns out Google just wanted an alternative email address for me. They still haven't gotten it.
"Hey" has allowed me to become generationally bilingual. I use "hey" for some and more formal greetings for others. An email from my friend Greg, an English major, is a work of artful precision, akin to a letter in a Ken Burns documentary.
He would take great umbrage if I addressed him with "Hey."
So if I've helped one person understand this next-generation salutation, hey, I've done my job.
Flickr photo credit: Booth365
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