Hierarchy of Contact 

In the digital age we all have a multitude of options for communication. It can be inferred that there is a kind of "Contact Hierarchy" and "Contact Continuum" as not all modes hold the same weight with communication ranging from 1-10.

Hierarchy of contact in 2010 as defined by this contributor:

1. Face to face
2. Telephone
3. Personal Letter
4. SMS, BBIM
5. Email
6. Personal message eg FB
7. Instant Message eg FB, MSN
8. Wall postings, comments
8. "Like," "Poke"
9. Nil contact.
10. Active blocking of contact.

Note: Higher order = increased responsiveness.

A more serious and/or important matter or message would attract a higher order of communication, with the top order being face to face. There are so many ways to communicate, the options are greater than ever before. But is all modes of communication the same, and attracting the same weight of force? Therefore there is a hierarchy. This may vary per user, but there is a hierarchy.

Hierarchy of Contact refers to how the more important the message or reason to communicate, or the person to communicate with, the higher in the order that communication would be. Conversely, less important is therefore lower.

Example, you really need to speak with someone about something serious, you want to face to face with them. If its not serious at all, you might make a posting on their social network wall.

At the end of the hierarchy is active blocking, where someone deliberately refuses any mode of contact.

Hierarchy of Contact by AlganonAU December 2, 2010