A friend who's been in direct marketing for a zillion years called me yesterday afternoon in apparent disgust. "Did you see that article in the New York Times? Some e-retailers are discovering direct mail -- postal mail! The Times is reporting it breathlessly like it's the panacea for all woes." Funny thing was, this old-time direct marketer wasn't upset because it took so long for folks to realize snail mail still works. He was upset because the Times apparently reported the story as though snail mail is a solution in a vacumn. He snorted, "When will these people learn that it's mixing online and offline that's really powerful? It's not one thing or another. It's both."