Peggy Noonan, the back page columnist of the weekend Wall Street Journal, gave me serious food for thought about minlets and how mobile technology, which makes us more available, even in inappropriate circumstances:
Once, a political figure in New York invited me to a private dinner. I was seated next to him, and as the table conversation took off he leaned back, quietly took out his BlackBerry, and began to scroll. It occurred to me that if I said something live in person, it would not be as interesting to him as if I'd BlackBerryed him. It occurred to me that if I wanted to talk to him I'd have to BlackBerry him and say, "Please talk to me." And then he would get the message.
A dinner would not be defined as a minlet, unless you were dining alone, or the persons you were dining with retired to the restroom and you were waiting for their return.
