A recent Variety article decried the lack of compassion in new forms of communication such as e-mail and Twitter. While based upon the entertainment world, this insight into the current state of business etiquette is valid across the business world. 

Only a few years ago, communication was largely by letter followed by telephone calls or personal meetings. You could look each other in the eye or at least discuss issues over the phone, gathering insight into each other's decision-making process and understanding a point of view. 

Today an important decision may be communicated via a quick and impersonal e-mail, or worse, a tweet. Not only can you be turned down cold, it's possible today that you could be "outed" at the same time. It's bad enough to be rejected, but to receive it in a public fashion adds insult to the injury. 

Marketing and business opportunities are enhanced by the new media technologies, yet social and business etiquette seem to be taking a hit. 

As the article asks, "At the root of all of this, of course, is the urgently personal need to be impersonal. Why meet someone for coffee to confide a decision, or an emotion, when you can do it with a phone call? Or send an e-mail? Or dispatch a tweet?"