Greetings and Felicitations:

For some strange reason, the correct salutation to use on a paper letter is "Dear ___," even if it's a business letter; even if you're writing to someone you don't find particularly endearing. This is apparently one of those archaic bits of etiquette that has become automatic and essentially meaningless--no one reads the "Dear" literally. The question that's been buzzing around my head is what salutation to use on an e-mail message. In my freelance writing work, I often have to send e-mails to people I don't know personally to request an interview. But "Dear So-and-So" seems far too affected and corny for this digital medium. I've thought about using "Greetings," but that sounds like something a government entity (such as a draft board) would use. "Attention" is too harsh, like a command. Occasionally, I've used "Hello," but that seems odd when written out, as opposed to spoken. For now, I've decided to use "Mr. Jones:" or "Ms. Smith:" It's too minimalist, and it reads more like something you'd say to interrupt someone than a salutation, but I suppose it gets the job done . . . .