I was 16 and my aunt sent me a hideous sweater for Christmas.
Mom insisted I send a thank you letter. By hand. And then track down a stamp, lick it (what kind of user interface involves licking?), and drop it in the mailbox. All of that effort for it to then take DAYS for the letter to arrive.
“Handwritten letters show you care,” she insisted.
On December 26th, most kids are riding new bikes or throwing new footballs. There I am, slumped at the kitchen table in my PJs, doing my best to say something positive about argyle. Since when did Christmas have homework?
The older I got, the more widespread email became.
As email became a regular part of how humans communicate, I begged her to let me send thank you emails.
Request denied. Over the years, she softened her stance on the existence of Santa. But she held firm on handwritten thank yous.
Handwriting and sending a letter is a pain. It requires effort. That effort is a signal of care and concern, a beacon of familial gratitude.
It’s been decades since I begged my mom to stop writing thank you letters, but I finally have something better.
These days, I send Loom videos.
Short videos where I look at the camera, hold up the book—my aunt gave up on sending me sweaters I don’t wear; now she sends me books I don’t read—and tell her how appreciative I am.
She gets to see the smile on my face, the warmth in my voice, and appreciation in my tone. The richness of video, in comparison to text, is what makes it work. My aunt loves these videos. She watches each one several times—the view counts don’t lie.
What I love about Loom is that it feels like I’m pulling off a magic trick. I get to create even more joy for my aunt with even less effort. All I have to do is hit record, hold up the phone, and speak from the heart.
That’s all it takes to show love to someone I care about. No more paper, no more ink, no more envelopes, no more stamps.
If you want to make someone’s day, install Loom and fire off some quick words to someone you love.
Go give Loom a try.
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