Email Etiquette
Did you know that there are manners in the email world? Being mannerly in your emails conveys respect, clarity, and helps you to communicate better. So let’s get started:

CAPS
Don’t use ALL CAPS. It’s generally considered to be “shouting” in email, text messages, etc. Of course, if it’s an exciting event like “IT’S A BOY!” or “I’M ENGAGED!” then “shouting” is appropriate.

Fonts & Colors
Don’t use multiple fonts and colors. The more fonts or colors you use, the harder it is to read. Unless you’re a graphic artist and you know how to properly combine more than a couple fonts or colors in a complementary way, excessive use will distract from your message, it won’t enhance.

Use Proper English
Don’t use texting-type word shortenings. Spell your words out. Can you imagine the Declaration of Independence being written this way: “Whn n th cors of humn evntz it bcoms necsy 4 a peep 2 dis th poltcl bonds whch hv…"? While you may think you’re saving time writing, what you really do is make it harder to read and comprehend your message. Besides, good writing is fast becoming a lost art. The more frequently we use poorly spelled, abbreviated, grammatically incorrect writing on a daily basis, the more we’re going to forget how to truly write.

Email Forwarding
Be slow to forward “junk” emails to a bunch of people. By junk emails we mean those non-personal ones that share jokes, pictures, touching or humorous stories or news.
Take a moment to consider if your friends life will truly be enhanced or helped by the tidbit of information you’re about to send them. If they live a busy life, they may appreciate you spared them from seeing yet another forwarded email from you.

Along this vein, be wary as well that you could be spreading false information or viruses. There are many email scams going around. “XYZ political leader is about to sign a bill to change the National Anthem,” or “I made $80,000 working from home.” Remember as well that even having a photo “proving” the information means very little. Photography has been manipulated since it’s inception and it’s relatively easy to do. Perhaps you think you’re being helpful to share all this “vital info” with your friends, but it’s not helpful if the information is false, in which case you’re helping the “bad guys.”

If you’re the recipient of a constant stream of unwanted emails from a friend or relative, there are several ways to deal with this. First, it’s usually best to be tactful, but up front that you’d prefer to be sent fewer emails of that nature. But if that doesn't work, you can create a filter to conveniently send all those emails directly into a folder that skips your inbox.

In the event of cyber miscommunication where you might have an upset friend, it’s best to put email aside and give them a call or visit in person. Tone is so easily misconstrued when it’s in print.

Sending Photos
Most email providers place limits on the size of email messages. When you want to send pictures you might need to re-size them first. Windows 7 and 8 can do this if you use an email program like Outlook or Windows Mail. Select the picture or pictures you want to send, click on the Share tab, then Email. A window will open where you can choose what size to use. Click Attach and the pictures will be placed in a new message. If you use an online service such as Gmail, simply drag the photo onto the message and click on the size you want.

Handwritten Notes
Finally, when communicating with a special friend or loved one, consider the value of a good, old-fashioned, hand-written note. There’s something to be said for communicating via letters and cards. They are always in style and show that you care enough about the person to spend your valuable time in writing to them.

This article is the third and final installment in a series about email. Here are parts one and two. 

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Do you have a question or topic you’d like us to address? Email and let us know! 

This week we’re examining some of the challenges that you may encounter in your email, namely, dealing with “junk mail,” spam, hoaxes, etc.

Junk Mail, a.k.a. Spam
We’re going to put junk mail into three categories: Unwanted email from companies or people unknown to you, unwanted email from people who actually know you, and advertisements or other emails that you subscribed yourself to.

Sometimes, your email address is obtained by people or companies without your consent. You get on their “list” and then get showered with emails you don’t want. You can select these emails as spam and your spam filter will begin sending them directly to your spam folder. You can also “block” the sender but this will only work for that particular address or domain. If you are being showered with a large number of emails, however, you may need to use a spam-filtering service. You can also create and use disposable email addresses.

Many of us have people in our lives who love to “bless” us with lots of email forwards that have touching stories, funny pictures, or maybe the latest political news or sensational “win a free iPad” alert. When you are the recipient of these emails, you may find yourself constantly deleting, even without reading at times. An alternative to having these hit your inbox all the time is to set up a filter for them to bypass your inbox. You can then go in another day and sort through them. Of course, you can also email your friend and ask them nicely to stop forwarding such messages to you.

Perhaps you’ve subscribed yourself to emails. They may be updates from your favorite store, web site, etc. If you like these emails, but you’re tired of sorting through them every day, you can create a filter to sort them automatically. If you no longer wish to receive them, simply unsubscribe. To avoid these in the first place, be careful to read what you agree to whenever you provide your email address. When making an online purchase at example.com you’ll often find a check box that opts you in to receiving emails from that company; there may also be one for emails from third parties. It’s usually best to un-check these options as they will save you from excessive emails.

Scams, Hoaxes, Dangerous Links & Attachments
If you’ve had email for any length of time, you’ve probably run across an email that contains some preposterous information--kind of like a tabloid. “Mrs. Bigfoot had a baby,” or “Target is giving away iPads.” First, just because it’s in print does not mean it’s true. If you forward the email without confirming the story, you could be helping to spread a rumor.

Second, if it’s “too good to be true” it usually is. While the stories you read may or may not have a true basis, be especially cautious with anything that encourages you to click on a link or to download or open an attachment. Almost anytime it involves a “gift card” or expensive item “for free,” it’s a scam to get information from you. Always be wary of an attachment. Unless you’re expecting an attachment, don’t open it. Do yourself a favor and just delete the email. Do your friends a favor and don’t forward it.

Always feel free to give us a quick call with any email questions! We’re happy to help!

This article is the second in a multi-part series about email Read the first part here. 

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Do you have a question or topic you’d like us to address? Email and let us know! 

Almost everyone these days has email, but not everyone knows how to effectively use their email without it getting the best of them. This week we’ll outline some basic tips to help you get the most out of your email.

Whether you use the email that came with your Internet service or one of the numerous free or paid options online, you can use these tips to get the most out of it!

Email Services
While your Internet Service Provider (ISP) usually includes a free email address there are numerous email services that you can sign up for (many of them for free) and use their email instead of the standard option from your ISP. ISP email is often very basic and using a more email-centric service can offer many advantages such as custom domains, enhanced security and more online storage. We will outline the pros and cons in a later post; for now, let’s take a look at some tips to make your email serve you better.

Create a signature
Using a signature saves you time and gives your messages a professional look. The information your signature contains is up to you but will usually contain your name and contact information. You may want to include your website (if you have one), and a phone number at which you can be reached.

Use Folders
Folders are a great way to keep your email organized. Instead of letting your inbox fill up with old messages, put them into folders. Just like keeping your papers organized in the real world, using folders helps you keep important information accessible. Folders are usually organized by topic or function. Here are some examples: Receipts -  Family - Personal - Important - Bills

Use Filters
Now that you have folders it’s time to put them to use and fill them! While you can manually sort through new and existing messages and drag them to a folder, wouldn’t it be nice if they just went their on their own? Imagine the time you could save! It sounds like magic but you can do it by creating a filter. A filter is an instruction set for your email that tells it how to sort messages. Filters need at least two pieces of information; what to look for in a message and what to do with a message that matches the search criteria. You can set up filters to automatically sort messages from specific people, with certain words in the subject or body or other parameters.

Use Proper English
Just because you’re writing an email doesn’t mean you can’t use proper English. Use capitalization and punctuation correctly. Spell your words correctly and use the correct word. An old trick I use is to read your message out loud before sending it; you’d be surprised what mistakes your tongue will uncover that your brain “auto-corrected” for you.

To, Cc, and Bcc
While these fields may seem redundant, they each serve a function. The To field is obvious; this is the person or persons to whom you are sending the message. The Cc field is used to send a “carbon copy” of the message to additional people. That way you don’t have to send your message multiple times. The downside to Cc is that everyone in the list sees everyone elses’ email address. Not only is this unsightly (especially when there are many recipients) but it’s also poor email etiquette as most people don’t want their email address being sent far and wide. This brings us to Bcc. The advantage here is that you can send a message to multiple recipients while simultaneously hiding all those email addresses. The downside is that no one will know that other people are getting the same message so you may want to mention that fact in the message itself.

This article is the first in a multi-part series about email. 

This week we’re taking a somewhat whimsical deviation from the norm and we’ll introduce to you some personal favorites. These are web sites, software and utilities that Joe and Tiffany enjoy and use semi-regularly or recommend to customers.

Software
While Internet Explorer is included with nearly every Windows computer, other web browsers are available. We prefer Google Chrome. It offers a clean interface, various extension options, and speed. Some Chrome extensions we recommend: AdBlock Plus (used to block annoying 3rd-party ads and videos on sites you visit), Avast Online Security (helps protect you from phishing attacks and websites of ill repute), Google’s Keep My Opt Outs (prevents websites from generating personalized Google ads based on your cookies) and Read Later Fast (lets you make a list of websites to “read later”). Something else you can do in Chrome is sign in to the browser with a Google account. This will allow you to sign in to Chrome on other computers and sync your extensions, history, favorites and passwords automatically. This can be very handy if you use multiple computers and mobile devices.

Microsoft Office might be the “standard” for document creation but did you know that you can get other products that do the same thing for free? The OpenOffice platform has many variations but all provide similar programs to Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Publisher. Libre Office and Kingsoft Office are also both excellent alternatives if you need an office suite but don’t have a budget.

Picasa is free software made by Google. It’s a great option for photo editing for those who want something that isn't professional grade. It won’t rival Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, but for a free program it provides some great options. If you need or want more advanced image editing tools, GIMP is a free alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

Websites
Classic DOS Games--if you remember playing games on DOS, you can find hundreds of them here! Best of all, they’re free! You might think that because they’re old that they’re boring or too easy but try a few and be amazed at how challenging they can be. Two of Joe’s favorites are Monuments of Mars and Arctic Adventure.

Pinterest (think Pin + Interest) is a favorite of Tiffany’s. Tiffany loves to keep track of favorite blog articles, web sites, home decorating ideas, and recipes on Pinterest. Pinterest is a virtual pin board. You can use it to keep track of thousands of web sites in an organized manner. It’s a wonderful tool!

LibriVox is free audiobook source that Tiffany enjoys. They have numerous recorded books that are in the Public Domain. You can search for your favorite author, book title, or just browse their catalog. It’s a lovely option for chilly days when you’d prefer to be  inside with a cup of tea.

Opacity is a large photo gallery of abandoned buildings from the US and Europe. There are some amazing shots and locations to be found there. Each entry also includes a brief history of the location and historical shots when available.

The Internet Archive is an extensive library of Internet content. Ever wondered what a website looked like 10 years ago? Just enter the address at www.archive.org and see if they have it on file. It’s fun to see how the your favorite sites have changed over time. You can also find extensive collections of manuscripts, music and videos that have been uploaded by college libraries. The goal is to create a massive, online, digital library that anyone can access from anywhere.

Utilities
Feedly is a blog reader program. Blogs are a popular option these days. While some people do personal blogging--journaling their thoughts or recording their lives for their own personal pleasure--others blog professionally on topics in which others find interest: health, organizing, pregnancy, politics, food, etc. For any topic you pick, there’s probably someone out there blogging about it. For people who enjoy keeping tabs on several blogs, Feedly makes it easy. You can use it for free, and subscribe to your blogs via Feedly. There’s an app you can download for smart phones, making it easy to take on the go.

We hope you have enjoyed reading about some of our personal favorites!

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Do you have a question or topic you’d like us to address? Email and let us know!