Stop Internet Pollution
By Chuck Bauer, Sat Dec 10th

As we blaze into the new millennium, technology continues it’srapid pace yet most people and businesses are not realizing theconsequence of e-mail. Even as we increase our level ofelectronic communication, so goes the multitudes of new e-mailand internet users flooding the bandwidth. Along with all thisnew hyper growth comes new internet-based abuses and challengesthat affect all of us personally and professionally.

These days everyone receives too many e-mails. Unnecessarymessages are annoying. The information contained in this articlesuggests ways to become a solution to the pollution, decreasespam and allow routine users to have higher levels of electronicsavvy. You’ll also find out through our Top Ten Starts and TopTen Stops how to take the necessary steps to protect e-mailaddresses from potential abuses.

TOP TEN STARTS: 1.Deleting most e-mails when you do notrecognize the sender. 2.Compressing information down to concisepoints. 3.Identifying who you are in the subject field.4.Addressing distribution e-mails to yourself. 5.Placingaddresses in Bcc field when sending distribution e-mails.6.Being respectful of other’s e-mail privacy and time.7.Cleaning up e-mails if your intent is to pass them along.8.Educating yourself to increase your Internet savvy.9.Forgiving others when they mess up. 10.Using spell checkbefore sending e-mails.

TOP TEN STOPS: 1.Placing your entire e-mail database or listsinto the To or Cc field. 2.Using sarcasm and humor in somee-mails. 3.Opening e-mails with a “fwd” or “fw” in the subjectmatter. 4.Using ALL CAPS or CAPS LOCK in your messages.5.Writing anything you don’t want shared in public. 6.Changinge-mails addresses every so often. 7.Sending unnecessary attachedfiles. 8.Sending messages using typical spam titles in thesubject field. 9.Passing along virus alerts. 10.Replying to spam.

TOP TEN STARTS:

1.START deleting most e-mails when not recognizing the senderDue to the huge amount of spam, along with the on-going presenceof virus’s embedded into e-mail messages, the current trendtoday is to automatically delete any messages that you are notcertain who the sender is. Purge your “deleted items” folderoften.

2.START compressing information down to concise points Keep yourmessages short, concise and to the point. In other words, have apoint then get to it. Most users do not enjoy reading lengthymessages or novels on their screens and they have a tendency todelete or ignore these type of messages. See additionalinformation about information compression by clicking here orclicking your browser to: http://www.enspiron.cc/article.asp?ID=1

3.START identifying who YOU are in the subject field Make surethe recipient knows your e-mail address or is expecting youre-mail. If I am speaking to a client on the phone and followingup via e-mail, I’ll alert the client to my forthcoming messageor reference the phone call in the subject field.

4.START addressing distribution e-mails to yourself Eachreceiving recipient sees only two e-mail addresses of which bothare yours. It will be seen on the receiving end like this: To:“Your e-mail address” Fr: “Your e-mail address” And . . .

5.START placing addresses in Bcc field when sending distributione-mails It is a discourtesy to give out someone's e-mailaddress. When you send an e-mail message to multiple people anduse To or Cc to address the message, everyone sees each other'se-mail address.

Creating A Bcc (Blind Carbon Copy) Field: To send a messagewithout the recipient's name showing: In a message, click To. Inthe Type name or select from list box, type the name, or clickFind. In the Name list, click the name, and then click Bcc.Click Send. Or . . . You can display the Bcc box in all newmessages that you compose. If Word is your e-mail editor, in anew message, click the arrow to the right of the Options button,and then click Bcc. If you are using the Outlook e-mail editor,in a new message, on the View menu, click Bcc Field. If the Bccfield isn't visible when you create a new message, you can addit.

6.START being respectful of other’s e-mail privacy and timeEveryone is very busy and most place a high level ofsignificance on their time and privacy. Be respectful byapplying the things learned in this article and by sharing thisvaluable information with others. 7.START cleaning up e-mails ifyour intent is to pass them along We’ve all seen it, the folkswho view an e-mail and want to pass it along so theyautomatically click “forward.” In the To field they click intheir entire e-mail database and hit send. Instead, stop thepollution by (a) click “forward” on the tool bar (b) remove allthe fwd’s, message headers and anyone’s e-mail address that mayappear (c) place your own e-mail address in the To field and (d)place the e-mail addresses you want to send the message to inthe Bcc field.

8.START educating yourself to increase your Internet savvyEducate yourself on the proper uses of the Internet and stopwith excuses such as “It’s too late to teach an old dog newtricks.” An easy way to educate yourself is to search out on thevarious search engines for information about Internet Pollutionor e-mail etiquette. Your company might consider “E-MailEssentials,” a significant half day training offered by theauthor through The Enspiron Training Company.

9.START forgiving others when they mess up Almost daily, Ireceive e-mail messages from acquaintances that violate most ofthe information contained in this article. Instead of spendinguseless energy registering a complaint or ignoring it, Ipolitely make a specific request for them to change what it isthey are doing and why. If you’re going to be part of thepollution

solution then provide suggestions on “what they shoulddo.” 10.START using spell check before sending e-mails Usingyour built in spell checker is a sure way to avoidembarrassments, especially when communicating professionally.Don’t compromise your messages, use spell check.

TOP TEN STOPS:

1.STOP placing your entire e-mail database or lists into the Toor Cc fields As previously stated, some people place all theiremail addresses in the To or Cc field. There are twodisadvantages to this: (a) the recipient knows you have sent thesame message to a large amount of people, and (b) you arepublicizing someone else's email address without theirpermission.

2.STOP using sarcasm and humor in some e-mails Without face toface communications your joke or statement may be viewed withdisapproval or even worse – you may hurt someone’s feelings.Genuine intimacy with our fellow human beings is a rarecommodity these days – and many people who shy away fromintimacy hide behind the veil of humor. If it doesn’t buy youanything, then don’t say or write it.

3.STOP opening e-mails with a “fwd” or “fw” in the subjectmatter These types of e-mails create a huge amount of pollution.The messages are typically laced with multiple forwardedsubjects not to mention including each person’s e-mail list thatdecided to hit reply or forward to the original message.

4.STOP using ALL CAPS or CAPS LOCK in your messages USING ALLCAPS MAKES IT LOOK LIKE YOU'RE YELLING! TRY READING THE WHOLESCREEN LIKE THIS – NOT EASY TO DO!

5.STOP writing anything you don’t want shared in public Neverassume your email messages are private or that they can be readby only the recipient. Face the fact, sending e-mails is justlike having a “LIVE” microphone around a politician. 6.STOPchanging e-mails addresses every so often Much of our Internetpollution is due to people changing e-mail addresses every sooften. Many people have to change due to the high amount of spamthat they receive. Others change because of the all new ISP thatjust came out. Yet, messaging everyone in the world about a newaddress, again, pollutes the electronic traffic, not to mentioneveryone needs to update their database.

7.STOP sending unnecessary attached files Sending someattachments can annoy friends, family, and clients. Many filesmay even seize their e-mail system. Compress attachments andonly send them when they are necessary and productive. Or, loadyou attachment onto a website and direct your recipients to viewthe document using a URL link instead.

8.STOP sending messages with a typical spam title in the subjectmatter A relative every once in awhile sends a message and inthe subject field it says “Hi.” Great . . . especiallyconsidering “hi” is one of the most recognizable spam subjecttitles. Spammers use basic titles in their subject lines thatare designed to create curiosity with the recipient so they’llopen or forward the message. Amazingly enough, we use some ofthe same titles in our legitimate e-mails. Another way spammersinfiltrate is to misspell words in the subject line. Watch outfor specific subject titles such as Urgent, Important, Sunday,Your Message, Invoice, Send Card To, Your Account; or anysubject fields that are misspelled.

9.STOP passing along virus alerts E-mail users are stillforwarding virus alerts – thinking that by sending these they’llsave some poor soul from a for-sure computer melt down. The factis some virus alerts have embedded viruses in them. If youreceive a virus alert, delete it without opening it orforwarding it. Check the main homepage of your virus protectionsoftware often. Keep an eye on your favorite television newsstation or Internet news station like CNN or Fox News for yourofficial virus alerts.

10.STOP replying to spam Each time you reply to spam or hitunsubscribe, you are confirming that your email address is“live.” Authenticating this will only create even more spam.Just hit the delete button or use email software to remove thespam.

The Internet and E-mail is everything they said it was going tobe. People all around the world are using this medium to connectand communicate with others. The “Net” has certainly changed howwe live, work and play. Even Senior Citizens are now jumping inat a unprecedented rate of activity. Before they can speak, ourchildren now have a mouse in their hand. Major corporateaircraft now have a mouse for the pilot and one for the co-pilotlocated on the cockpit consoles.

As the Net continues to evolve, so do we as users utilizing thelatest and greatest types of technology. Because of thiswonderful phenomenon, we have no idea of what it will be like inten years or how we‘ll all be affected by this incrediblemedium. We have just barely scratched the “tip” of the iceberg.Yet, we have a duty to safeguard and defend the Internets uniquemakeup.

Become a solution to the by implementing the ideas andsuggestions found in this article. Start now on the road ofincreasing your awareness and reducing the huge amount ofInternet that we deal with on a daily basis.

If you have questions about this article or would like toschedule a training in regards to “E-Mail Essentials,”leadership, customer service or sales matters, contact Chuckdirectly or you may view all his speaking topics at:http://www.enspiron.cc opics.asp View other articles by Chuck athttp://enspiron.cc/articles.asp

About the author:Chuck Bauer is an accomplished speaker, writer, and author. Hehas performed hundreds of trainings and workshops throughoutNorth America. He is a member of the National SpeakersAssociation, Coach University, and Attraction University. Whenhe is not training or writing, he is a committed bodybuilder andprivate pilot. Find out more about Chuck and the EnspironTraining Company at www.enspiron.cc.