Archive for E-mail

Teamwork, But Less Technology

Teamwork, But Less Technology

Mid-tier firms don’t use collaboration tools as much as larger companies do. Is that wise?

Small and growing businesses are not technology laggards. Mid-tier companies are more likely than large companies to be early and midstream technology adopters, and they are increasing IT spending faster, according to past CIO Insight surveys.

Fascinating article which looks at the differences in IT use between large and small/medium firms. If you look at the chart there are differences across the board, but the largest differences appear to be in specific collaborative technologies. The article speculates why this might be the case, but it would be useful to dig a bit deeper into how the large companies are using these technologies. What are the demographics that are different? Are the companies more productive or less when they use these technologies. On chart is particularly interesting:

25 March, 2008 | No comments

Age Determines Technologys Value

Age Determines Technologys Value

Younger generations rarely notice the technology in the devices they use. Baby boomers raised in the 1960s only saw the programming and didnt think much, if at all, about the technology and infrastructure that brought them Bonanza, The Ed Sullivan Show and Laugh-In. Not only do younger generations perceive technology differently from their elders, including the CIOs and other executives who manage IT organizations and corporations, but they use it differently, too.

I know it’s been awhile since I posted, I’ve been busy. My class server crashed (we did not have a backup) and I just reconfigured my new Tablet PC (Lenovo X61 - Vista is wonderful on a Tablet - so far), so life has kept me busy. But this article kept coming across my desk…um’ e-mail and it is causing me to think. The other day my son and I were discussing something and I said “did you follow up on those e-mails I sent?” to which he replied “no, if you want me to read something, send it to Face Book.” Now I thought that a bit odd, but it did not jump out at me until I read this article and then it all made sense. The cool thing is my son has no problem with me being one of his friends on Face Book. When I asked to be added he immediately added me and then changed the setting so it says i am his Dad. Pretty cool I thought. But it’s nothing new for him. Just SOP.

We are starting to take technology for granted as it continues to improve and we are just now seeing the start of social networking. The future will amaze us and the way we connect with other stakeholders will amaze as well.

28 November, 2007 | No comments

Twelve-steps to curing e-mail addiction

Twelve-steps to curing e-mail addiction - CNN.com

An executive coach in Pennsylvania has devised a plan to teach people how to manage the electronic tool, which some users say can be as much an intrusive waste of time as it is fast-paced and efficient.

Developed for cases such as a golfer who checked his BlackBerry after every shot, and lost a potential client who wanted nothing to do with his obsession, Marsha Egan’s plan taps into deepening concern that e-mail misuse can cost businesses millions of dollars in lost productivity.

Fascinating article that for me touches on many levels. First is the addiction part. Sure I think many are addicted to the instant gratification that e-mail can provide and also the idea of living up to expectations. For academics this can be very real. Last semester I had a student e-mail me at 6:30pm with a question, but I was out at a family function. When I returned home and checked e-mail at 9:30pm (just 3 hours) I was greeted with a nasty note “why have you not responded”.

But the reality of this article is that it is more about time management and setting priorities than then addiction. There are some good tips for keeping e-mail under control. As our attention spans continue to get smaller and smaller we need to work hard to bring them back up or the IQ of the entire nation will eventually suffer.

20 February, 2007 | No comments

Inappropriate photos, off-color jokes forwarded in e-mail

Charlotte Observer | 07/25/2006 | Nude photos, off-color jokes forwarded in e-mail

A review of a month’s worth of Weston’s e-mail shows he also sent other e-mails on his county account that include nudity and race-themed jokes. The records show he sent an e-mail to someone outside the county that said: “pleasing 2 afro-am bosses is a chore …”

While this story is nothing new, for me it made me think a bit. The title of the article is a bit misleading, the guy was not sending lewd pictures to his co-workers, but some inappropriate political humor. I am sure many of us have received inappropriate jokes (especially political ones) in the name of humor, but when it involves the work account it can mean trouble. But how many of us use our work accounts for personal communication? Isn’t that technically inappropriate? This could get sticky before it gets better, but technology will make it better. VOIP technology already allows for SIP (session initiation protocol). The cool thing about SIP is the idea of presence. It can bring multiple technologies together and send the information to where you are. So your e-mail, voicemail etc. is available to you at home, on your cell phone or at the office. In the future we might use on account (a personal one) for sending everything, but have different addresses for receiving things. All arriving at the same place….wherever you are. But until then we better watch what we say while using corporate resources. Not just becasue you could get caught, but because it is the right thing to do.

Here is a great related article with a good analysis of how e-mail can get people in trouble, even if the e-mail itself is not a problem. I really like the analogy that e-mail is now like a company’s DNA.

25 July, 2006 | No comments

Survey: e-mail violations led to firings at 1 in 3 companies

Survey: e-mail violations led to firings at 1 in 3 companies - Jun. 5, 2006

Nearly one in three U.S. companies has terminated an employee for violating e-mail policy in the past year, a survey released Monday said.The survey of 294 U.S. companies with at least 1,000 employees found that, in many cases, employees who sent e-mails containing confidential information about the organization or e-mails that were considered obscene and offensive were disciplined or terminated.

Interesting, but nothing shocking here. This will be a continual concern especially in light of the liabilities companies can face in regards to e-mail content and company secrets. Many students are shocked when they learn the employers can do this. I wonder how many employees actual know the computer use policies of the employers?

5 June, 2006 | No comments

Glitch delays e-mail from AOL, others

CNN.com - Glitch delays e-mail from AOL, others - Jun 2, 2006

Millions of AOL, Compuserve and Netscape customers around the world were experiencing delays in sending and receiving e-mails Thursday.A problem was discovered about 11 a.m. ET, according to Nicholas Graham of AOL Corporate Communications.

“It is not an outage, it is a delay,” he said. The company is queueing up millions of e-mails, and they will all flow through when the problem is solved, he said.

Have you considered how dependent we are on e-mail? I have. It seems as more of my colleagues get spam control at theis institutions, more of my e-mails are sent to the spam bin. Not that I send spam, but often when forwarding a good article or insight, it might fit with some of the “spam” rules, so off I go. However many don’t check their spam bins, so I am left following up with a …”did you get this…”

It has made me very aware of how dependent I am on e-mail.

2 June, 2006 | No comments

To: Professor@University.edu Subject: Why It’s All About Me

To: Professor@University.edu Subject: Why It’s All About Me - New York Times
At colleges and universities nationwide, e-mail has made professors much more approachable. But many say it has made them too accessible, erasing boundaries that traditionally kept students at a healthy distance.

Here is a pretty interesting article about how e-mail is changing the student - professor relationship. Some of it is for the good and some if it not so good. I personally remember one experience, years ago, with a student who was having some issues during the semester. I worked and worked with the student, but class requirements can’t be changed. In frustration the student sent me a nasty e-mail claiming that I was insensitive…I simply replied, let me think about your e-mail and get back with you. This caused the student to think about what they said, they quickly apologized. It seems that I was one of the few professors working with them through this tough time and a problem with another professor caused them to strike at me. I had more than 70 e-mails from this student at this point in the semester, so I knew that I was doing all that I could, but e-mail enabled the student to strike before thinking.

We all need to spend more time thinking about what we write in e-mails…I know I do.

24 February, 2006 | No comments

50 Things we know now

StarExponent.com - The Culpeper Star Exponent | 50 Things we know now

Twenty-six percent of the organizations surveyed by the American Management Association said they have fired workers for misusing the Internet. Another 25 percent have terminated employees for e-mail abuse, and 6 percent have canned them for misusing office phones.

Ok, I admit not all of these have to do with the Digital Stakeholder topic, but it is an enjoyable read. Some will make you say “I didn’t realize that…” and others will make you laugh, which is a good way to start a new year

2 January, 2006 | No comments

E-Mail Is So Five Minutes Ago

E-Mail Is So Five Minutes Ago

As if an explanation is necessary. The analytically gifted investment banker had morphed into a zombie-faced thumb man, wheeling through his engorged in-box as his last activity before going to bed and his first upon waking. The time squandered on his electronic mistress made his brain reel. Of the 250 e-mails he received each day, he says “85% were totally not important to my job.” Think that ratio of e-waste sounds depressing? It gets worse. Legitimate e-mail will drop to 8% this year, down from 12% last year, according to Redwood City (Calif.) e-mail filtering outfit Postini Inc.

Excellent article on the many time wasters of a digital stakeholder based society. Just becasue we can do something doesn’t mean we should. We have strategies for every component of a business, so why not communications? Definitely worth taking a look.

18 November, 2005 | No comments

Ex-FEMA Chief Wrote of His Image in E-Mails

Ex-FEMA Chief Wrote of His Image in E-Mails - Los Angeles Times

The e-mails show that Brown was discussing his image on television even as one of the first FEMA officials to arrive in New Orleans, Marty Bahamonde, was reporting a crisis situation of increasing chaos to FEMA officials.

I wonder how much of this is getting blown out of proportion? I know when my parents were seriously ill I still had to go on with life. So we often discussed which restaurant we needed to eat at etc. Is that wrong? I would see a problem if 80% of his e-mails were about these things, but if there are just a few in relation to 100, what’s the big deal? We are seeing how things are are changing with digital stakeholder relations. No one would question him if he had said to his wife “what should I wear today” but because it is “digital” format and we can retrieve it we can make a big deal out of it.

4 November, 2005 | No comments

Recruiting goes digital as college coaches use the cell to sell

ARTICLE: Recruiting goes digital as college coaches use the cell to sell (The Virginian-Pilot - HamptonRoads.com/PilotOnline.com)

In the high-stakes world of college football, keeping in touch is critical. And with increasing restrictions on recruiting, technology provides a potential edge — or annoyance, depending on who is asked.

Another good article about where old model meets new and new digital stakeholders are established. Except this time the stakeholders are coaches and athletes.

2 November, 2005 | No comments

Techno kids hang up on the real world

Techno kids hang up on the real world - 11/02/05

Across America, a symphony of unanswered house phones reminds us that there has been a sea change within families. More than half of all teens now conduct their lives on their own cell phones, or in a zillion online “instant” conversations parents never see, according to studies by MindShare Online Research and Consumer Electronics Association.

Children today have been labeled “the connected generation,” with iPods in their ears, text messages at their fingertips and laptop screens at eye level.

But their technology-focused lifestyle can leave them disconnected from the wider world, especially from their parents.

For all the good these technolgies bring there are some serious problems when digital stakeholders replace traditional stakeholders. We have already posted a CNN article which addressed declining social skills. Can it get worse?

2 November, 2005 | No comments

Yahoo launches beta of revamped Web mail | InfoWorld | News | 2005-09-14 | By Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News Service

Yahoo launches beta of revamped Web mail | InfoWorld | News | 2005-09-14 | By Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News Service

The new Yahoo Mail offers user interface features that have been common for many years in e-mail desktop applications but rare in Web mail services. The features include the ability to drag-and-drop messages into folders, a pane to preview messages’ content, the ability to have multiple message windows open and keyboard shortcuts to, for example, delete or create messages.

Sounds like Yahoo! is taking some steps in the right direction. The more comfortable we are with the interface, the more we will use it. At first I was very impressed with the Gmail interface, but the more I use it the less I like it. Perhaps it is becasue I have not made Gmail my primary e-mail client as Google intended.

14 September, 2005 | No comments

Yahoo Founder Explains China E-Mail Move - Los Angeles Times

Yahoo Founder Explains China E-Mail Move - Los Angeles Times

Yahoo earlier defended its move, saying it was obliged to comply with Chinese laws and regulations.

The demand for the information was a “legal order” and Yahoo gets such requests from law enforcement agencies all the time, and not just in China, Yang told the forum.

But he added, “I cannot talk about the details of this case.”

Further clarrification on the Yahoo! e-mail case that was posted here last week. It appears as we speculated. The government reuested and they complied, like they would have done in any other country.

12 September, 2005 | No comments

Google’s reign over the internet search industry:how they got here

The Cavalier Daily

“We took an approach that I now realize was wrong,” Gates said of his company’s earlier decision to ignore the search market.

Though Google is by far the most used search engine on the Internet all over the world, Gates pointedly added, “We will catch them.”

While the author is a little too convinced the Google is the greatest thing since sliced bread,overall this article provides a good view of the Portal wars that are ahead.

2 September, 2005 | No comments

� Next entries