E-Mail

E-mail is a joy -- quick and efficient; it is a major reason users go online according to a study by PCMeter .

But for e-mail to be effective users must check their accounts once or twice a day, otherwise the immediacy which can characterize and enhance e-mail will be lost.

It is amazing to see how e-mail addresses are now routinely printed on business cards and letterheads, and yet e-mail is not answered for days at a time. This is frustrating to senders, and useless to recipients.

While e-mail is quick and convenient, users should observe a caution: Be careful with what you say.

E-mail lacks dimension. Not just physical dimension, but texture and context as well.

The result is that a joke in person may not be so funny on e-mail. A negative comment regarding a colleague or a company may well be fodder for damages in a lawsuit.

Thus, three suggestions:

• Check your e-mail once daily, or more often if possible.

• Respond to e-mail as quickly as possible. E-mail is a big part of interactivity on the Web, but the value of interactivity declines with time.

• Regard e-mail as public speech. You never know who will ultimately read your words.

Peter G. Miller is an image, marketing, and public relations consultant whose clients include selected national corporations, associations, and web sites. Mr. Miller can be reached at peter@boardroomarts.com