http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Business-Communication/Email A listing of the most recently indexed works about Articles and Business Communication and Email in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Business-Communication/Email http://tc.eserver.org/35135.html http://tc.eserver.org/35135.html Although extensive research has been done on teaching emails and on the use of emails in organisations, little research exists about how to incorporate organizational practitioners' views as the voices of the community of social practice. To remedy this pedagogical gap, this article uses a genre approach to discuss organizational practitioners' views on the use of email in organizational settings. It also develops seven teaching and learning stages for situated learning and teaching in business communication based upon the presented study findings. http://tc.eserver.org/34997.html http://tc.eserver.org/34997.html Phishing e-mails deceive individuals into giving out personal information which may then be utilized for identity theft. One particular type, the Personal Solicitation E-mail (PSE) mimics personal letters—modern perversions of ars dictaminis (the classical art of letter writing). In this article, I determine and discuss 19 appeals common to the PSE. These appeals were established first by conducting generative rhetorical analysis, then by volunteer coding, on 170 e-mails collected over a 12-month period. After defining these categories, I show how these letters are excellent twenty-first century teaching tools for pathos-based argumentation, logical appeals, the creation of ethos, and kairos in the development of perceived exigency. http://tc.eserver.org/34560.html http://tc.eserver.org/34560.html Learning about writing for the web has made me a better email communicator and project manager. Email would be much more effective if content was broken out in easy-to-understand sections with a clear guide for next steps at the end. http://tc.eserver.org/34447.html http://tc.eserver.org/34447.html Anyone whose ever been part of an online "flame war" has had the experience of a tiny "e-mole" becoming a mountain. Studies have shown that readers add (or invent) emotional bias that is often counter to your intent as the sender. In this case, all of the niceties you thought you were writing ended up sounding very different in the mind of your employee. http://tc.eserver.org/34192.html http://tc.eserver.org/34192.html Accessing an ever increasing number of emails, possibly on small mobile devices, has become a ma jor problem for many users. Email summarization is a promising way to solve this problem. In this paper, we propose a new framework for email summarization. One novelty is to use a fragment quotation graph to try to capture an email conversation. The second novelty is to use clue words to measure the importance of sentences in conversation summarization. Based on clue words and their scores, we propose a method called CWS, which is capable of producing a summary of any length as requested by the user. We provide a comprehensive comparison of CWS with various existing methods on the Enron data set. Preliminary results suggest that CWS provides better summaries than existing methods. http://tc.eserver.org/33407.html http://tc.eserver.org/33407.html One of the most fundamental tools used in any form of e-business is email, but most of us don't really think about it - we just use it out of habit, not with any real plan. And as business becomes ever busier it's easy to become inundated with email and fall so far behind that it becomes useless and customers get frustrated with lack of responsiveness. http://tc.eserver.org/32656.html http://tc.eserver.org/32656.html I’ve seen too many web designers dive into their first email marketing project before doing the proper planning. There are some basic things you need to square away before you send your first email newsletter. http://tc.eserver.org/32022.html http://tc.eserver.org/32022.html This case study of a faculty strike examines the crisis response strategies of a university and its faculty union and the changing uses of technology to communicate to key stakeholders. An analysis of the types of crisis response strategies reveals that both the university and the faculty union used defensive and ingratiation strategies to build their cases and protect their reputations. The university also used denial to argue that the strike was not disrupting operations. The university and the union both relied on e-mails, Web sites, and press releases to update their constituencies. The difference was that for the union in particular, technology both expanded the options for sending information and accelerated the flow of information when conditions changed. The case study illustrates that technology has diminished an organization's control of crisis communication by opening numerous communication channels for others to use to explain their positions and build support. http://tc.eserver.org/31961.html http://tc.eserver.org/31961.html Should you use CSS or (horror of horrors) tables? And what do you do when images are ‘blocked’? http://tc.eserver.org/31762.html http://tc.eserver.org/31762.html Who to target with your email, how long it should be, and what should and shouldn't go in it so that it can be an effective means of communication for you. http://tc.eserver.org/31551.html http://tc.eserver.org/31551.html Gone are the days when you called a reporter, mailed a letter or sent a fax and expected to get a callback. These days, more reporters than ever are relying on e-mail to review news pitches or story ideas. Pitching by e-mail is sometimes more difficult than sending a pitch letter by standard mail or calling a reporter on the telephone, because with more and more e-mail being sent these days, yours needs to stand out from the rest. Here are tips on how to make your pitch stand out in the maze of e-mail communications that reporters, and other media contacts, receive each day. http://tc.eserver.org/31465.html http://tc.eserver.org/31465.html With recent press surrounding the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act and possible future charges for sending e-mail as well as virus creators competing with each other for infection rates, how can you ensure that your e-mail communications are still effective and reach their intended recipients? E-mail has qualities that make it an ideal communication vehicle. But for all of these positive characteristics, e-mail has taken a serious blow over the past six years. An anti-spam technology company estimated that 62 percent of all e-mail sent across the Internet was identified as some sort of spam by users of their technology. http://tc.eserver.org/31462.html http://tc.eserver.org/31462.html An informal poll within the U.S. indicates that more than half of respondents favor a law restricting "spam," that is, unwanted electronic advertising that everyone with an e-mail address has been exposed to but does not know how to stop. In the poll, 30 percent favor making false e-mail headers illegal, but only slightly more than 11 percent said spam restrictions would violate the First Amendment. http://tc.eserver.org/31466.html http://tc.eserver.org/31466.html Many employers have determined that there is a need to monitor employees' computer usage. According to a 2003 survey by the American Management Association, more than half of U.S. companies engage in some form of e-mail monitoring. Often, this is in addition to monitoring work-related communications and activities—including reviewing Internet usage, videotaping the work-site or recording employee telephone calls. More and more employers are engaging in some form of monitoring. Unfortunately, without a full understanding of the risks, employers may open themselves up to potential lawsuits. In addition, such techniques may result in low morale among employees who resent being told that they cannot use e-mail for personal messages and feel that their every move is being monitored. http://tc.eserver.org/31464.html http://tc.eserver.org/31464.html Many companies carry out portions of their business via an intranet or the Internet. Other companies grant access to the Internet to some, if not all, employees. The ease with which these systems allow employees to communicate with each other and with the outside world presents obvious business advantages. Unfortunately, employers now realize that the advantages gained by these technologies bring with them the risk of a new wave of harassment claims based on the alleged misuse of these modes of communication. In order to reduce these claims, or at least attempt to minimize exposure to such claims, employers will have to adjust to meet the new dynamics of a changing workplace. http://tc.eserver.org/31467.html http://tc.eserver.org/31467.html With the advent of the Internet and the ability to send personal information to many places in very little time, privacy has become an important issue for businesses across the globe. How to retain the free flow of information without violating an individual’s right to privacy is a difficult balance to strike and one that different countries approach in various ways. http://tc.eserver.org/31385.html http://tc.eserver.org/31385.html While webmasters have long been able to study how site visitors interact with a web site, e-mail has been more elusive. No more. With the latest generation of smart e-mail software, marketers can now essentially look over the shoulders of their readers, seeing first-hand what works, what needs improvement and what is simply falling on deaf ears. http://tc.eserver.org/31340.html http://tc.eserver.org/31340.html Some of the nicest people we know send the most thoughtless e-mails. Many are telegraphic, with a smattering of disconnected words and abbreviations, leaving the reader to fill in the blanks. Most are dashed off without review and arrive in their native state: confusing, grammarless and brimful of spelling errors. That's not even to mention lack of logic and transitions. http://tc.eserver.org/30412.html http://tc.eserver.org/30412.html Electronic mail and the computer networks it travels over provide new tools for the fechnical writer to use in researching, composing, and submitting documents. Over these networks, the writer can query authors, seek guidance from other professionals, browse through electronic libraries, and exploit other information resources to aid the writing process. http://tc.eserver.org/30380.html http://tc.eserver.org/30380.html The features of time, place, speaker, and audience define the situational context of any communication--face-to-face, paper-based, or electronic. However, they are significantly altered in electronic communication. If participants in electronic communications do not recognize how these features are altered they may not be able to use their electronic mail effectively. http://tc.eserver.org/29322.html http://tc.eserver.org/29322.html What did the kids say? Email is dead. It's hanging on as a mode of communication for adults (that's us) and within businesses. Kids will even use it to communicate with adults. But for the majority of kids, email has been replaced by two things: text messaging and social networks. http://tc.eserver.org/29113.html http://tc.eserver.org/29113.html The purpose of this article is to help determine whether the use of emoticons in computer mediated communication (CMC) are truly nonverbal cues. A review of the literature revealed that the traditional nonverbal theorists failed to predict the future employment of nonverbal cues in electronic CMC. A variety of emoticons are then described including the traditional happy face 3 and sad face 3, numerous variations of faces employing keyboard keys, a number of abbreviations commonly in use, and FLAMING. Inasmuch as emoticons are presently in widespread though informal use, the problem of how and what business communication instructors should teach about emoticons is discussed. The conclusion reached is that of a generational recipient determinism. It is recommended that recipients who are Traditionalists (born before 1946) should not be sent e-mail with emoticons; those who are Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) probably should not be sent e-mail with emoticons; those who are Generation Xers (those born between 1964 and 1980) may be sent e-mail with some of the more common emoticons; and those who are termed Millenials (born after 1980 and coming of age after 2000) may be sent e-mail with generous use of emoticons. http://tc.eserver.org/28840.html http://tc.eserver.org/28840.html If you do business online, there are times when you send your customers, prospects and subscribers an email or two. The emails you send tend to fall within one of three categories. Each of these three types of emails requires a slightly different approach. Their purposes are different, and each should be optimized to perform their respective tasks. http://tc.eserver.org/28843.html http://tc.eserver.org/28843.html I don't recall the last time I received a commercial email that made me take notice or smile. http://tc.eserver.org/28832.html http://tc.eserver.org/28832.html The best buddy approach works within specific product and service sectors, where readers can easily be tripped into a state of dissociation...because they have problems that the writer promises to solve. http://tc.eserver.org/28806.html http://tc.eserver.org/28806.html E-mail styles and preferences can vary from country to country, presenting a possible challenge to effective communication. Read on for how to add a personal touch to your messages so that e-mail becomes an asset to your business. http://tc.eserver.org/28149.html http://tc.eserver.org/28149.html Sometimes copywriters and content writers write in clichés. To a reader, the line has barely any meaning, and certainly no impact. Why not? Because it is too familiar. Because he or she has read the same phrase so many times before, in too many other places. http://tc.eserver.org/26628.html http://tc.eserver.org/26628.html Lack of personalization made an email newsletter completely useless to the recipient, damaging long-term customer relationship efforts. http://tc.eserver.org/26271.html http://tc.eserver.org/26271.html If you are using email to market your small business, here's what you need to know about the new spam law, the CAN-SPAM Act, which went into effect on January 1st. http://tc.eserver.org/25953.html http://tc.eserver.org/25953.html Ever had an e-mail message go missing in cyberspace? With about half the e-mail messages sent daily being spam, it's no wonder that Internet Service Providers are installing spam blocking software. But are your legitimate messages being blocked too? Find out how to avoid triggering spam alerts with your everyday mail. http://tc.eserver.org/25784.html http://tc.eserver.org/25784.html Use this checklist to ensure that your e-mail reflects a high level of professionalism and increases your credibility within your company. http://tc.eserver.org/23395.html http://tc.eserver.org/23395.html We can't halt the flow of incoming email messages, but we can give you some suggestions that will help you become a better email communicator. http://tc.eserver.org/21301.html http://tc.eserver.org/21301.html How do you write an effective email that your recipient finds clear and easy to understand? There's more to it than just typing a few words and clicking the Send button. These notes give you some guidelines on the following: technical issues, document structure, the importance of knowing your audience, language issues and layout and visual design. http://tc.eserver.org/21061.html http://tc.eserver.org/21061.html When you ask readers whether they want your e-mail newsletter in HTML or text e-mail, be sure to honor their preference. http://tc.eserver.org/21073.html http://tc.eserver.org/21073.html Email usability can be dramatically increased or decreased by how URLs are designed and placed in messages. An example of one problem is described in detail in this article. Also, a couple of simple tips are provided to help you improve the URLs in your email messages. http://tc.eserver.org/20814.html http://tc.eserver.org/20814.html Transactional email can be a website's customer service ambassador, but messages must first survive a ruthless selection process in the user's in-box. Differentiating your message from spam is thus the first duty of email design. http://tc.eserver.org/19620.html http://tc.eserver.org/19620.html The informal e-mails you exchange with your friends don't have to meet any particular standards, but if you want to be taken seriously by professionals, you should learn proper e-mail etiquette. http://tc.eserver.org/18855.html http://tc.eserver.org/18855.html In a conversation, there is some minimum of shared context. You might be in the same physical location, and even on the phone you have, at minimum, commonality of time. When you generate a document for paper, usually there is some context embedded in the medium: the text is in the proceedings of a conference, written on a birthday card, handed to your professor with a batch of Econ 101 term papers, or something similar. With email, you can't assume anything about a sender's location, time, frame of mind, profession, interests, or future value to you. This means, among other things, that you need to be very, very careful about giving your receivers some context. This section will give specific strategies for doing so. http://tc.eserver.org/14690.html http://tc.eserver.org/14690.html Hay-Roe presents nine rules for writing clear, concise e-mail messages. http://tc.eserver.org/13560.html http://tc.eserver.org/13560.html Email is a powerful way to reach customers, but overdoing it is risky. Let users know up front that you'll respect their mailboxes. Otherwise, they won't give their email addresses, and you'll lose a unique channel for marketing and customer service. http://tc.eserver.org/13049.html http://tc.eserver.org/13049.html This document offers 10 tips to help you write effective professional e-mails. The informal e-mails you exchange with your friends don't have to meet any particular standards, of course, but if you want to be taken seriously by people who use e-mail frequently, you should know e-mail etiquette.