My email experiences go all the way back to the days when VAX mail required a "hard return" at the end of a line and once the cursor jumped to the next line there was no going back. If you needed to correct a misspelling or restructure the sentence, it meant starting over. Editing was possible but only with a complicated set of key commands that required a cheat-sheet list.
A 23 Things discussion of email
feels like old news but in the spirit of the program, here are are my email likes and dislikes.
Email likes:
- Generic. Other than maybe my Mom just about everyone I know has email. While it may not be the most elegant method to share important news, it does so quickly and uniformly.
- SELCO's new spam filter keeping at bay all those messages from foreign princes wanting to exchange currency.
- Filed.
And dislikes:
- Full in-box. I'll admit to less than stellar email management. Even with a thorough list of Outlook folders for major projects, committees, etc. there are too many messages just hanging around in my In-Box.
- People who insist on replying only to the sender even when asked to "reply all."
- Flaming and verbal escalation.
If email is on the antiquity end of the stick then IM is a more modern approach to quick communication. Before trying it, I couldn't understand the difference between an ongoing string of email messages and IM. Now I use it regularly to check facts, chat with a friend miles away or carry on a sidebar conversation during a less than productive meeting. Yes, I know that might be considered rude, but the meeting participants were rambling and the IM conversation kept my sarcasm in check and a smile on my face. My proudest IM multitasking feat --- online meeting with 2 IM sessions. Should I try for 3?
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