We might not notice that those social intermediaries are gone, but I suspect when we recall in the future the anecdotes that result from them, the kids who are born today won't understand how a phone number used to belong to a family or a group of people or how, in the days before email, a message might pass under the wary gaze of a few unanticipated recipients. An "address" used to refer to a place, not a person. Some would say this loss in accidental connectivity is more than made up for by the immediacy and efficiency of contemporary communication, and I wouldn't argue that point, for the most part. But I can't help but wonder if the delightful and frequently inspirational value that can come from a conversation that starts wtih "Hold on, I'll get him for you... By the way, who should I tell him is calling?" might be worth more than we realized, and that we might be well served by a moment's reflection when noting its passing.