It's hard to believe that in a world filled with communication done over the Internet, that some companies have still yet to perfect online etiquette.
There is nothing more irritating than knowing a company even has a department to handle customer questions and needs via the Internet and you never get a response to your email. Or my favorite, they send a mass email with answers to frequently asked questions, when you had to look threw all the FAQs before you could email them your very original question. Still no reply.
I thought the first reading was very helpful in helping you understand why email etiquette is important a company's efficiency and their reputation.
Out of the 32 tips given I believe the most important were
-Be concise and to the point.
No one wants to read an email hoping their questions will get answered eventually. When responding to an email, get to the point asap. People don't have time to struggle with technology that's supposed to be time efficient.
-Answer all questions and pre-empt further questions.
It is really annoying when you send an email, or any communication for that matter and have a question or questions that are not all answered. Then you wonder if you should try again or just let it go, both wasting even more time. It is really enjoyable when a company is smart enough to answer all your questions and even make clear what might come up after your current question has been fully answered.
-Answer swiftly.
If the goal is to save time, to use this communication rather than others because of its efficiency, then companies need to understand that time is of the essence. Those searching for answers don't want to compile an email, send it, wait too long, just to have to go find the answer somewhere else, to get the email and answers far too late. Efficient emails make progression possible.
As for our second reading on Netiquette the highlights for me were...
Remembering the human- Because the Internet can be so impersonal its hard to remember people's feelings and real objectives. Use the golden rule, and remember once its online, it could come back to haunt you.
It’s hard to convey messages when you cant use facial expressions, remember that your punctuation and capitalization obsession might convey the wrong or unintended message.
The Internet is a great thing, it allows people who otherwise wouldn't or couldn't communicate to do so. Don't allow the absence of the human to enable you to say what you usually wouldn't in a way that you might regret.
It’s hard to remember to use ethics online when its rarely done on blogs and some email groups, but remember you can get in real trouble if damaging things are said to the wrong person.
Be sure that the time of others isn’t wasted when you publish things online, or valuable space. Make posts valuable in some way, not just meaningless words wasting people’s time.
Be well educated about what your posting about. Don’t publish information that might not be true because inaccuracies spread and are believed to be true very rapidly.
Spelling and grammar are important online too. No one wants to read information that’s hard to sift threw when spelling and grammar are poor. When correcting another individual's errors be polite and as private as possible. Don’t start a needless spelling flame war.
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