Email etiquette

How do you communicate with your loved ones from a distance? It most likely would not be the old snail mail since the rise of the Internet. Emails these days have fast risen in their popularity whether it is for work or play. However, as convenient as it is, this form of communication still has its downsides. Like the old mail, emails lack the presence of non-verbal cues, giving the risk of being misunderstood. One sentence, read differently by the sender and the recipient, could mean different things. This however, can change with the use of the emoticon, a combination of 'a colon, a hyphen and then parenthesis' can help interpret emotions present in the mail (Davies 2007).

The problem with convenience is probably it being more likely to be misused. This is especially so when you are at your workplace and with the risk of losing your job (Osborne 2008). There are several ways for emailing to be considered bad. One of them would be the existence of 'office gossips'. One person having a bad opinion of Colleague A decides to send her thought through email to Colleage B at the other end of the office. Colleague B reads and sends her reply but the worst scenario here is that she hit 'Reply All'. Great, now the whole office knows.

Emoticons are nice and can help send out the emotions you would want to depict. For formal situations, however, Lynn (2008) recommends no use of the emoticon, or the smiley face, as an office etiquette. For communication with friends or basically in a casual setting, smiley faces are fine. In fact, that is not the only emoticon available for use.

As you can see, emoticons have since evolved since its original design but note to all, one should use it sparingly and be aware of the context. ":-)".

References:

Davies, A 2007, Emoticons & Email Etiquette, viewed 9 November 2008, http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2007/2064342.htm.

Lynn, J 2008, Misuse of Company Email Can Cost You A Job, BellaOnline, viewed 19 October 2008, http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art31271.asp.

Osborne, D 2007, Email etiquette key to workplace harmony, News.com.au, Australia, viewed 19 October 2008,
http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,22756508-5012427,00.html5012427,00.html.