The Chronicles
December 2008
Salutations dear readers and fellow Laurentian neighbors,
Ho-ho-ho, it's Christmas yet again ... Happy Holidays, my Friends! In keeping with the spirit of the Season we are going to revisit the subject of e-mailing. Did you know that there are three kinds of e-mails that one can send and receive? Yup, only 3 - not 5 nor 10, only 3. So, let's look at these more closely:
The first is the most common and easiest and is used on a daily basis by all of you out there who enjoy the magic of e-mailing. It is simply known as the "Text only" e-mail. As the name says, it is an e-mail which contains only text such as "What time will you be arriving for Christmas dinner?". It could be likened to a good old, traditional letter.
The second is an e-mail with "Attachment". In this case we would be talking more about a parcel than a letter and it is represented by a paperclip on the line of the new message in the "Inbox". There are many different kinds of Attachments such as photos, documents (eg. letters, contracts ...), powerpoint presentations (eg. jokes, slide-shows of fauna/flora), videos etc ... My experience reveals that this is the kind of e-mail that most of you enjoy ... sending to your "Contacts" the attached info you feel they too will enjoy. I understand that many of you do not have any other real use for e-mails, however, keep in mind that one should know HOW to send these messages without putting your loved-ones and friends' computers in jeopardy. Since I have touched upon this subject in the past, I would like to refer you to the February 2008 “Forwarding e-mails safely” http://www.monamilordi.com/english/reviews/2008/08-02.html article.
The third kind of e-mail is, in my humble opinion, the most interesting of all. It is an e-mail containing a Weblink and is the BEST way to share interesting information which you have found whilst navigating on the Internet. Let me give you a few examples: Maybe you are a group of ladies who like to talk "cooking" together and maybe last night you found a fabulous new Christmas turkey recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/follow-that-food/christmas-turkey-recipe/index.html. Instead of writing down this recipe in a "Text only" e-mail, you can copy and then paste the Weblink into your e-mail which points directly to the information. Or perhaps you think that your grandchildren would like to send a letter to Santa ... http://www.emailsanta.com/email_santa.asp ... or your husband/father may enjoy choosing his own gift this year http://www.findgift.com/Holidays/Christmas/Him/Dad/. The possibilities are as endless as the pool of information found on the Internet and your inquisitiveness (http://www.wordreference.com/definition/inquisitiveness).
So there you have it readers, that's it, that's all. Once you've mastered these kinds of e-mails along with the “Basic e-mail principles” http://www.monamilordi.com/english/reviews/07-10.html you will indeed be considered e-mail savvy. And, of course, if you have any difficulty appropriating the "how to", you know where to find me ... I'm always happy to help ...
See you in 2009,
questions.monamilordi@gmail.com
This article originally appeared in Main Street – The Laurentians' English Language Community Newspaper.
