Reading Response Week 2
Email is a wonderful tool. It lets us communicate like never before. However, with every new form of communication, new etiqutte is required. I think it is important to address the correct way to write an email in business. We are so used to using email casually that we forget that it sometimes needs to be professional. I use email to talk to my parents when I'm at school and my friends when they are at work. I also use it when I'm at work to contact employees at different offices and coordinators at different companies. It is the greatest work tool ever. I think it works so well because it is easy. It takes hardly anytime to write something down and click send. I can't imagine working where I do today before email. All the work would be so much slower. It is also really nice becasue you can read an email and then save it for later to take care of. It is still in the "inbox" so it doesn't get forgotten. Email keeps even the most unorganized people a little more organized. At school I use email to talk to professors about assignments and get questions answered that I wouldn't take the time to do otherwise.
In the reading today, I thought the section on Improving Subjects was really interesting. I realized that my subjects are not nearly as detailed as they should be. I need to start including more information so that the people that I am writing have a better idea of what it is about and that later lthey can quickly find the email that they need to find the information they need.
I also liked how they addressed the different types of formatting and the difference between plain text and HTML. I never knew that italics words would be separated by _underscores_. I guess that helps explain why sometimes emails look so confusing.
My favorite section was that on the "Ten Habits of Successful Emailers." I liked the advice about not responding too quickly to emails that might be connected to strong emotions. This is really important. Sometimes tempers fly when emails are written and writing back to quickly might not have let them cool down yet.
Comments
Email
Email is an amazing tool. Every day life would be different without it. Whether you are at work or just staying in touch with your family and friends, communication would be much slower without email. With all email be so important, it is surprising that a lot about it remains unknown to many people, including myself. You mentioned how words in italics would be separated by underscores. I had no idea until reading that. Also, all the different formats you can send your text in just seems remarkable to me. It guarantees that the person you are sending your email to can receive your message pretty much no matter what. The guaranteed ability to communicate is what makes email so important.
Reply
I also think that email is a great tool. It allows us to quickly communicate and share information with multiple people. Email saves us a lot of time. The workplace would not be the same today without email. Projects would get done so much slower. I also like how you talked about how email can help organize us by sorting junk from important messages. It’s also a convenient way to keep in touch or to ask a quick question. We have to make sure that it does not replace more traditional forms of communication. We have to remember to speak in person when dealing with more emotional issues. It’s hard to write an emotional email without misrepresenting your feelings.
emails
Emailing is a great new way to communicate. To me emailing can be written in two ways. One is casual like you had stated when you said you emailed your parents and friends. The other is professional and tends to not be taken as seriously as it should. The 10 tips to successful emailing were very useful for me as well. As I thought about my idea of two ways of writing emails I found these only to be helpful when writing in the professional world. It seems that many times these tips are broken with personal/casual emails. It is nice to know that there are tips out there to help us in the professional world of emailing.
E-mail
I agree that e-mail has made work much more efficient and and productivity has increased as a result of this. It is very easy to get caught up in being informal with essays but it needs to remain important. I do believe, however, that some coworkers enjoy a casual e-mail exchange because it makes them feel as if you are on their side or are their friend at work.
I also believe that subjects are something that need to be carefully and concisely written. Too many times I have looked through my e-mails, trying to find something that was sent a while ago, and coming up lost among a list of subjects that are too vague. If people would write a more detailed subject, it would come in handy.