Times have really changed! One upon a time there was no such thing of the internet and blogs. Yet, today here I am discussing issues relating to publication an design via blogs and the internet. Almost every day, people around the world churn out millions of emails and text messages to one another. There has never been a period in history that's involved so much correspondence.
However, the emergence of technology does not guarantee a generation of people who are good in communicating in the Internet era. Many people still have no idea how to write, and many others have no idea how to interpret what they receive from others. Thus, this issue leads to miscommunications and misinterpretation of meaning among individuals which unfortunately might damage the relationship between the sender and the receiver. This incidents happen mostly online via e-mails and and non-verbal communications.
E-mails are shorthand terms meaning electronic mail. (Internet Guide, 2007).
In email communication for instance, individuals tend to be very confident that they tend to perceive an e-mail in a different way. Due to their high self-esteem, they tend to pick up cues in an e-mail in terms of judgment of emotions which are not there in the first place. That is where they make mistakes but unfortunately, they do not realise they made those mistakes. "People don't even understand that they have misperceived an email, they just take it at face value, this is what the email said, and this is how I understood it, and that must be what the sender intended" according to Professor Kristin Bryon.
Picture of how an e-mail is tranferred online.
Source:(www.nuigalway.ie/microbiology/, 2009)
Professor Kristin asserts that when individuals receive e-mails from people in a higher authority such as bosses, individuals tend to be more observant and 'want' to make sure they interpret the meaning of the e-mail well. However, this leads to more problems as they tend to pick up cues which are not there in the first place.
There is also regular usage of emoticons in e-mails which are nice in certain scenarios but not all the time.Emoticons, according to Search Mobile Computing (2008), are short sequence of keyboard letters and symbols, usually emulating a facial expression, that complements a text message. Different countries with different cultures may use emoticons such as smiley face in many different ways.
Examples of emoticons used in e-mails
Source: (GoogleImages, 2009)
E-mails are a great way to send out information and keep in touch with people. "E-mail isn't just e-mail, it actually is a symbol of the way we treat each other, and if we're vague, annoying and demanding on e-mail, we're not just vague and annoying and demanding on email, we're just plain old vague, annoying and demanding", Will Schwalbe, new York Publisher.
E-mails can be personal with family members and friends but not when it relates to professional matters. There is a right way to address individuals. Informal and flowery language for example are not allowed when discussing work issues or say applying for a job. Different cultures might appear to be "too friendly" with everyone because their cultural background but this will create misunderstandings between people and might ruin your opportunity for a particular issue.
E-mails have also been used in a negative way by some people. For instance in America, 400 hundred RadioShack employees received these e-mails: "Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated." The e-mails said workers would meet with their managers that day at 9:15 a.m. to discuss their severance packages. Those managers "reiterated why the reduction took place and extended appreciation for their employees' service," Wendy Dominguez, a spokeswoman, said by e-mail.
RadioShack Comapny logo
Source: (Radioshack.com, 2009)
That is one example of total unprofessional behavior shown by the Company which made a lot of the employees very angry and dissapointed. As an employing company, they are expected to show some set of respect and courtesy towards their employees and probably do it in a more sophisticated and gentle manner. According to Gardner (2006), usage of e-mails in a negative way to sack employees is a common ritual today although it is unethical and unprofessional. Therefore, to avoid misunderstandings and miscommunications among individuals, cultural backgrounds should be taken into consideration. An individual should know when to be professional and with whom and in what situations to be informal. They must be able to identify for whom are they writing, why are they writing and how are they writing the e-mail. (43 Folders, 2009)
References
Gardner, M 2006, You've got mail,
viewed 9 June 2009,
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0918/p13s02-wmgn.html
Internet Guide 2007, What is an e-mail? viewed 12 June 2009,
http://www.internet-guide.co.uk/email.html
Joyce, A 2006, Fired Via E-Mail, And Other Tales Of Poor Exits, viewed 14 June 2009,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/09/AR2006090900103.html
Search Mobile Computing 2008, What is an emoticon?, viewed 12 June 2009,
http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci212057,00.html
43 Folders 2009, Writing sensible email messages, viewed 12 June 2009,
<http://www.43folders.com/2005/09/19/writing-sensible-email-messages>
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