While trashing AOL for trashing Time Warner's reputation (iMarketing News, Feb. 18), Kathy Sharpe manages to trash a whole other segment of the population when she describes AOL as having a “new-age culture.” Ms. Sharpe is confused as to the meaning of “new age.”
The term is commonly used to describe those who embrace a holistic lifestyle, one oriented toward health, personal growth, care for the environment and spirituality. I publish and edit a magazine that fits into the new age niche, and other than using AOL for e-mail, we have little in common with the organization Sharpe describes.
As Sharpe notes via her Enron reference, bad manners, arrogance and unprofessionalism can be found in any segment of the population. Professionalism for writers includes understanding the terms used.
Abigail Lewis, Whole Life Times, Malibu, CA,
