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| Dan Fisher |
I recently received a newsletter from my friend (the sharp-looking fellow pictured above) that included useful advice on posting to the web, via social media and in other ways, and some good things to remember when emailing. Here are a few of Dan's tips:
When posting anything on the Internet, remember:
- The "enter key" is not your friend. Once you hit that enter key and what you wrote is posted, you have lost control. I'll add one exception: Facebook does have edit and delete options. You'll find them under the little dots to the immediate right of your post.
- Anything you post on the Internet may very likely out-live you regardless of how young or old you are. And, if you're an older adult and you post something a bit strange, your grandkids will think you're weird.
Regarding email:
- Never send an email when you're mad. Your blogger here has done that and I spent a lot of time repairing the damage. And - most of the time - I've found that getting mad and flying into a verbal emotional rage doesn't really get you anywhere. A little sugar and a smile has gotten me a lot further in making a point.
- Never use "reply to all" unless you really know what you're doing and you've carefully checked the reply list. If your multi-recipient reply went to someone who shouldn't have received it, perhaps someone you were negatively referring to in your group email, I've found it takes a lot of time and effort to repair the damage. Much more efficient to carefully check that "reply to all" list before you send it.
- In Dan's pointers, he says that a "poorly thought-out email can document your thought process." Think about that. Is that something you want a colleague, boss, or client to know about you? Your "thought process." Carefully go over your message and edit it before you send it.
- Asking to "recall" an email invites everyone to read it and, perhaps, share what you shouldn't have sent in the first place. You're just pouring gas on the fire. Again, your blogger has done that and it took time, effort and no small measure of ingenuity to repair the damage.
The reminders here can be summed up in one word: CAUTION! Think! And use a good measure of caution before you hit that "enter key." Remember, that key is not your friend.
