Netiquette for Email – The Fastest Social and Demographic Equalizer

As a person involved in Netiquette and email everyday, there are issues which fall into other categories besides proper Netiquette. There are long and short term effects that are now beginning to come into light with social, economic and communication areas not often discussed. Just as there are widening income gaps in the United States and most other countries, there are are also widening gaps in accessibility, affordability and capability for certain demographics when it comes to email and Netiquette. Below is part of a document I put together for legislators to look to leveling the field for disadvantaged groups.

I hope you will find this to be of value, especially with the removal of equal access for all in the United States.
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          The following document is a summary of items that educational institutions, professional organizations and legislators can institute to benefit those they service and represent.  This compilation is intended to have those in positions of authority to assist Netiquette IQ in implementing their products and services.  Society is undergoing a rapidly increasing wealth gap. The demographic areas most negatively impacted include:

1.    Minorities

2.    Immigrants

3.    Those with lesser education

4.    Unemployed

5.    Underemployed

6.    Those with no familiarly of Netiquette

7.    Younger users who primarily text or tweet

8.    Inner cities

There is no area today that can bring about a quicker parity realization for minorities and the disadvantaged with majority middle and upper class groups than proper email communications. 

Public speaking and self-improvement pioneer, Dale Carnegie said, we are judged by four things:

1)    What we do

2)    What we say

3)    How we look

4)    How we say it.

Additionally, research studies contend that:

 

·         Up to 85%  of one’s success is due to how they present themselves

·         Only 15%  of a person’s training is usually related to achieving long term goals

A simple course in Netiquette comprising one semester or trimester of study can bring a person low in email Netiquette skills to a significantly higher and considerably more competitive level of capability. Unfortunately, the tools necessary for this education are virtually non-existent.   So of the four aspects of Dale Carnegie’s axiom, the three that can be conveyed in an email, what we do, what we say and how we say it, will be addressed.

Allowing minorities and underprivileged children to foster and maintain poor Netiquette and email ethics is detrimental to their long term successes much as junk food and soft drinks are detrimental to their long term health.  Not giving children and young adults Netiquette is a form of educational suppression. This puts our children and young adults, particularly minorities, even further behind in opportunities to advance.  As with many aspects of education, many disciplines are far more difficult to learn or adjust to once a person leaves school and goes past their formative years.

Senior Citizens are also a Netiquette minority

Senior citizens, many of them new to email use, often are far less familiar with how email works and they are at a disadvantage with low Netiquette skills, even though their basic writing skills are above average. Their skills can be greatly improved with, most often, fewer improvement resources than other demographic groups.

To conclude, implementing Netiquette improvement tools, programs and resources will have both significant short and long term effects.  The former will be increased communications skills and more empowerment for all users to realize their potential.  Long term benefits will be many including an improvement in the world educational ranking, bringing the global community closer together and utilizing all of the technology advancements to help all in a highly constructive rather than a destructive manner. 
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In addition to this blog, I have authored the premiere book on Netiquette, " Netiquette IQ - A comprehensive Guide to Improve, Enhance and Add Power to Your Email". You can view my profile, reviews of the book and content excerpts at:

 www.amazon.com/author/paulbabicki

 If you would like to listen to experts in all aspects of Netiquette and communication, try my radio show on BlogtalkRadio  and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and  Yahoo.  I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ and  PSG of Mercer County, NJ.