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When was the last time you
got a letter in the mail?
That's all Deirdre Mask
wanted to do: send her father a birthday card with a letter
from her home in Ireland to his in North Carolina. As she
pressed a stamp on the envelope, she idly wondered who got
the fee – and that led her to the Universal Postal Union in
Switzerland, which decides such things, and to An Address
for Everyone, an organization that showed her something
surprising: "most households in the world don't have street
addresses."
That, of course, is not
optimal: at the very least, it means difficulty in receiving
mail and packages from businesses outside the household's
area. Worse, economic impacts reach far beyond an
individual: not having an address could prevent access to
financial services, credit, and help from government
programs. Studies show, in fact, that the number one request
from homeless Americans is not a home but an address.
As for you, well, it's not
just the physical address of your customer that matters in
the end. Where you place your workplace is equally important
and shouldn't be left to chance, if you can help it.
Because a land address
equals power, the street-number for your building matters
and you can thank the Brits for that. Where you sit on the
block makes a difference, for which you can thank
Philadelphia's founders. Your street name matters,
especially if you can manage to get your name on the street
sign; it can tell others a lot about the racial make-up of
your city; and, says Mask, "Street names are, in a way, the
perfect propaganda tool."
Have you ever been told
that they name streets after people like you? You might
consider that a compliment, after reading The Address
Book.
That's because this book
is fun, serious enough to be useful to businessfolks who
understand that its subject matter matters, but light enough
with plenty of gee-whiz factor. Who, after all, notices this
stuff?
You should, but unless
your street address is wacky or borders on the profane (and
author Deirdre Mask shows that there are those kinds of
addresses around) you might've shrugged and went back to
business when you moved there. Here, you'll see why that may
have been a bad idea, how addresses might influence others,
and how you can (maybe) fix it.
Reading this book is like
watching someone give directions. It's great for anyone
who's ever left the GPS at home and gotten truly lost in a
big city. The Address Book is lighthearted and, for
you, that turns out just right.
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