[EndlessMac]

I read this article: "Death by email" from Macworld and if you use email at work you can probably relate. At the end of the article you'll read about a company which has tried to reduce email by going back to the old school method of face to face conversation or by phone. They are implying that it has cut down on the time wasted emailing which has increased productivity. So for them the best upgrade is a downgrade.

[downinflames68]

I would read this but I'm too busy updating my facebook status while reading some twitter updates.

[Dork.]

I often write e-mails to myself at work just to have a handy place to store ideas. Writing them in a notebook doesn't work for me, because then you have to remember when you had the idea and find where it is in the notebook. I routinely search my E-mail archive to find out what I was doing months ago. And I often follow up face-to-face conversations with an E-mail just to have a record of them.

Then again, I rarely get more than a few dozen E-mails a day. If I really were getting hundreds I'd probably ignore most of them.

[Gankdawg]

The problem isn't with email, it's with the people using email.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

I really want to say "that's what she said" but can't figure out if it works or not

[Uncle Skeleton]

If you just start charging people .1¢ per KB (per copy) to send email, people wouldn't inundate each other with extraneous nonsense.

[andi*pandi]

Shh, that's what the government's planning...

[Eug]

What pisses me off are irrelevant announcements, with irrelevant 3 MB attachments.

In an organization with hundreds or thousands of employees, I really don't give a chit if Sarah from personnel is leaving us to pursue other interests, even if it's in a message with a cute Xmas tree motif background.

[olePigeon]

I waste time on MacNN when I'm not fixing something.

[lpkmckenna]

Why face to face, when you can just webcam?

[Andy8]

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

Why face to face, when you can just webcam?

Exactly.

[Oisín]

Sometimes the old method is better than new technology

Case in point:

Sex > in vitro treatment.

[EndlessMac]

Originally Posted by Gankdawg 

The problem isn't with email, it's with the people using email.

Yes I would agree with that. There are definitely people who are abusing this technology.

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

Why face to face, when you can just webcam?

That is a good point. Although webcam isn't as common in some companies as in others. I'm sure that will be abused if it gets popular. That reminds me of some telecommute works who were horrified about the whole webcam technology. It meant that they had to actually get dress and look presentable when talking to their coworkers. Before then they just communicated through emails and telephone....in their underwear.

Originally Posted by Oisín 

Case in point:

Sex > in vitro treatment.

No argument there.

[downinflames68]

Originally Posted by EndlessMac 

That reminds me of some telecommute works who were horrified about the whole webcam technology. It meant that they had to actually get dress and look presentable when talking to their coworkers. Before then they just communicated through emails and telephone....in their underwear.

Been there, done that, awesome.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by EndlessMac 

That is a good point. Although webcam isn't as common in some companies as in others. I'm sure that will be abused if it gets popular. That reminds me of some telecommute works who were horrified about the whole webcam technology. It meant that they had to actually get dress and look presentable when talking to their coworkers. Before then they just communicated through emails and telephone....in their underwear.

Why change? That'd be a good way to get out of future meetings. "Oh god, I don't want to have a meeting with that guy in his underwear. We'll just email him the minutes and get feedback later."

[Uncle Skeleton]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

Why change? That'd be a good way to get out of future meetings. "Oh god, I don't want to have a meeting with that guy in his underwear. We'll just email him the minutes and get feedback later. fire him and hire someone who knows how to dress and bathe themselves."

fixed

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

fixed

What if he was in a dress?

[Shaddim]

I'm a journal writer and have been since I was a teen. I started out with pen & paper but soon started using a word processor. This evolved into the formation of a private BBS where I posted my personal thoughts and where those closest to me could share their ideas as well. Not long after the Web really took off I began a semi-private blog, though it wasn't known as a "blog" then, and that's gone on for years. Now, although I still do some posting on that site, I've returned to where I started and went back to the pen. There's just something warm and comfortable about writing in a big heavy book, in a way it's as if what I'm putting on paper is more real. I still have digital copies of all the important things, but there's nothing like tangible media.

[lpkmckenna]

Originally Posted by EndlessMac 

It meant that they had to actually get dress and look presentable when talking to their coworkers. Before then they just communicated through emails and telephone....in their underwear.

They could still do it in their underwear, just wear a nice shirt too. I guess shaving and combing your hair would help also.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

They could still do it in their underwear, just wear a nice shirt too. I guess shaving and combing your hair would help also.

You don't even have to go as far as a shirt, you could just ware one of those front suit covers the put on corpses in Walmart caskets.

[Uncle Skeleton]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

What if he was in a dress?

It's called a muumuu

[olePigeon]

Do Snuggies count as clothes?

[Uncle Skeleton]

Only if they have a tux printed on the front

I read that telecommuters who actually get dressed are more productive than those who work in their underwear, pajamas, etc.

But seriously, the problem is not the technology, it's the lack of perspective and knowledge of etiquette when using the technology. Employees should be issued warnings when improperly using email (e.g. Reply to all, replying with redundant attachments, using email where a forum is more appropriate, etc.)

If I was a carpenter, and couldn't use a hammer properly, I'd be fired. So why are employees not being forgiven when they can't use email properly.

[vcutag]

Originally Posted by hayesk 

I read that telecommuters who actually get dressed are more productive than those who work in their underwear, pajamas, etc.

I can see that. I'm currently "between jobs" (euphemism for living on whatever photography gigs I can scrape together,) so I spend a lot of time at home now. On days I don't sleep in and put off getting dressed until later, I feel far less productive. If I get up, shower and get dressed before breakfast, I generally get more done, even if I don't leave the house all day.

[EndlessMac]

Originally Posted by hayesk 

But seriously, the problem is not the technology, it's the lack of perspective and knowledge of etiquette when using the technology.

I agree with you because I also think it is a lack of etiquette and sometimes the lack of knowledge in how to use email. A similar problem was when cell phones came out. People were using them like they were in a private booth and picked up their phones no matter what like in movie theaters. I remember reading an article that said our science is creating new technology faster than we can develop etiquettes for their usage. I'm sure everyone has experienced social network spammers who think that everyone would be interested in hearing about what they ate this morning.

Some of the problems do come from the lack of knowledge and training in how to use emails because I had a former coworker who didn't know the difference between reply and reply all. Apparently companies will tolerate their lack of knowledge rather than take the time and money to train these workers.