Saturday, September 27, 2014

Netiquette IQ Blog For 9/27/14 - Google CEO Eric Schmidt Outlines His Company's Nine Basic Rules of Email


Many people put together their personal email Netiquette basics. Most of these are very simplistic. Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, offers some basics I would rate as above average but not nearly detailed enough.Here they are. If you really want to have a thorough set of these, consider purchasing my book on Amazon (see below).
============================================

9 Rules For Emailing From Google Exec Eric Schmidt
Sept. 24, 2014
From How Google Worksby Eric Schmidt  & Jonathan Rosenberg
Communication in the Internet Century usually means using email, and email, despite being remarkably useful and powerful, often inspires momentous dread in otherwise optimistic, happy humans. Here are our personal rules for mitigating that sense of foreboding:
1. Respond quickly. There are people who can be relied upon to respond promptly to emails, and those who can’t. Strive to be one of the former. Most of the best—and busiest—people we know act quickly on their emails, not just to us or to a select few senders, but to everyone. Being responsive sets up a positive communications feedback loop whereby your team and colleagues will be more likely to include you in important discussions and decisions, and being responsive to everyone reinforces the flat, meritocratic culture you are trying to establish. These responses can be quite short—“got it” is a favorite of ours. And when you are confident in your ability to respond quickly, you can tell people exactly what a non-​response means. In our case it’s usually “got it and proceed.” Which is better than what a non-​response means from most people: “I’m overwhelmed and don’t know when or if I’ll get to your note, so if you needed my feedback you’ll just have to wait in limbo a while longer. Plus I don’t like you.”
2. When writing an email, every word matters, and useless prose doesn’t. Be crisp in your delivery. If you are describing a problem, define it clearly. Doing this well requires more time, not less. You have to write a draft then go through it and eliminate any words that aren’t necessary. Think about the late novelist Elmore Leonard’s response to a question about his success as a writer: “I leave out the parts that people skip.” Most emails are full of stuff that people can skip.
3. Clean out your inbox constantly. How much time do you spend looking at your inbox, just trying to decide which email to answer next? How much time do you spend opening and reading emails that you have already read? Any time you spend thinking about which items in your inbox you should attack next is a waste of time. Same with any time you spend rereading a message that you have already read (and failed to act upon).
When you open a new message, you have a few options: Read enough of it to realize that you don’t need to read it, read it and act right away, read it and act later, or read it later (worth reading but not urgent and too long to read at the moment). Choose among these options right away, with a strong bias toward the first two. Remember the old OHIO acronym: Only Hold It Once. If you read the note and know what needs doing, do it right away. Otherwise you are dooming yourself to rereading it, which is 100 percent wasted time.
If you do this well, then your inbox becomes a to‑do list of only the complex issues, things that require deeper thought (label these emails “take action,” or in Gmail mark them as starred), with a few “to read” items that you can take care of later.
To make sure that the bloat doesn’t simply transfer from your inbox to your “take action” folder, you must clean out the action items every day. This is a good evening activity. Zero items is the goal, but anything less than five is reasonable. Otherwise you will waste time later trying to figure out which of the long list of things to look at.
4. Handle email in LIFO order (Last In First Out). Sometimes the older stuff gets taken care of by someone else.
5. Remember, you’re a router. When you get a note with useful information, consider who else would find it useful. At the end of the day, make a mental pass through the mail you received and ask yourself, “What should I have forwarded but didn’t?”
6. When you use the bcc (blind copy) feature, ask yourself why. The answer is almost always that you are trying to hide something, which is counterproductive and potentially knavish in a transparent culture. When that is your answer, copy the person openly or don’t copy them at all. The only time we recommend using the bcc feature is when you are removing someone from an email thread. When you “reply all” to a lengthy series of emails, move the people who are no longer relevant to the thread to the bcc field, and state in the text of the note that you are doing this. They will be relieved to have one less irrelevant note cluttering up their inbox.
7. Don’t yell. If you need to yell, do it in person. It is FAR TOO EASY to do it electronically.
8. Make it easy to follow up on requests. When you send a note to someone with an action item that you want to track, copy yourself, then label the note “follow up.” That makes it easy to find and follow up on the things that haven’t been done; just resend the original note with a new intro asking “Is this done?”
9. Help your future self search for stuff. If you get something you think you may want to recall later, forward it to yourself along with a few keywords that describe its content. Think to yourself, How will I search for this later? Then, when you search for it later, you’ll probably use those same search terms. This isn’t just handy for emails, but important documents too. Jonathan scans his family’s passports, licenses, and health insurance cards and emails them to himself along with descriptive keywords. Should any of those things go missing during a trip, the copies are easy to retrieve from any browsers.
   ============================================
 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 Rider University and  PSG of Mercer County New Jersey.

==========================================



Netiquette IQ Technical Term For 9/27/14 - Automatic Vehicle Locator


automatic vehicle locator (AVL)

An automatic vehicle locator (AVL) is a device that makes use of the Global Positioning System ( GPS ) to enable a business or agency to remotely track the location of its vehicle fleet by using the Internet. These devices combine GPS technology, cellular communications, street-level mapping, and an intuitive user interface, with the ostensible goal of improving fleet management and customer service. For example, a company using an AVL system is able to pinpoint the longitude, latitude, ground speed, and course direction of a given vehicle. The vehicle's location can be quickly found and it could be rerouted to provide timely delivery to a nearby customer. AVL systems also enable companies to structure delivery routes more efficiently by compiling a database of vehicle information, including location of customers in relation to established delivery routes.
AVL systems generally include a network of vehicles that are equipped with a mobile radio receiver, a GPS receiver, a GPS modem, and a GPS antenna. This network connects with a base radio consisting of a PC computer station as well as a GPS receiver and interface. GPS uses interactive maps rather than static map images on the Web. This means users can perform conventional GPS functions such as zoom, pan, identify and queries.
AVL systems can be used to increase the accountability of field personnel and boost the efficiency of a company's dispatching procedure. Dispatchers can get a real-time snapshot of driver adherence to a route, provide customers with an estimated time of arrival, and communicate directly with drivers. Public safety agencies, such as police department or fire departments, can use AVL technology to improve response times by being able to dispatch the closest vehicles for emergencies.
Most AVL suppliers have created products that don't require dedicated servers and require minimal training of dispatchers. AVL systems use mouse clicks instead of keystrokes to page a single vehicle, a designated group of vehicles or an entire fleet. The Aertrax system, for example, operates without expensive receivers or other equipment. It can be operated with a PC or desktop that connects to the Internet. Aertrax includes a completely self-contained unit that uses a minimal amount of power from the vehicle in which it is installed. This unit transmits GPS location data, either on a regularly timed basis or in response to a command. This data is then converted into mapping that is instantly available via the Internet.
In Corpus Christi, Texas, a regional transit authority is collaborating with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to develop an AVL system that not only would enable it to track bus locations but also enable automated ridership data collection and dynamic routing. Until recently, the availability of GPS to the commercial and civil sectors had been controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense through an internationally imposed degradation standard known as Selective Availability. This standard degraded the accuracy of civilian GPS so that the highest degree of accuracy was reserved for the military. SA restrictions have since been lifted, enabling GPS to be dispersed for commercial application.
   ============================================
 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 Rider University and  PSG of Mercer County New Jersey.

==========================================



Netiquette IQ Quotation of The Day is On a Premature Report of a Demise

My blog of 9/26 was about the "death" of email. I believe, as Mark twain did below, that this belief is quite exaggerated!
=============================================
"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."
Mark Twain
   ============================================
 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 Rider University and  PSG of Mercer County New Jersey.

==========================================



Friday, September 26, 2014

Netiquette IQ Blog Post of The Day - Is Email Dying? Yet Another Perspective

There have been a number of theories regarding the demise of email. Some of these come subjectively from companies which have much to gain from users moving to their own platforms. However, most pragmatic voices see the impossible likelihood this will happen soon. The following article presents a bit of both sides.
======================================================
 Kepes Forbes 9/25/2014
Is Email Dead? Tipbit Is Adamant It's Not Following Comments Unfollow Comments http://i.forbesimg.com/assets/img/loading_spinners/16px_on_transparent.gif
I wrote recently about collaboration vendor Kato.im. The company believes that for many collaboration needs, email is a broken paradigm that needs to be displaced. The scourge of many of our working lives, massive inboxes, reply-to-all, no context and disconnection from core processes, plagues us. With all of these issues surrounding email, one would be mistaken for assuming that everyone agrees with email being broken within many contexts. That would appear to not be the case if an email I received (ironic, no?) from Tipbit CEO Gordon Mangione is anything to go by.
Mangione believes that these various solutions that seek to displace email (and there are plenty – from enterprise social solutions like Chatter and Yammer to group solutions like Kato.im, Hipchat and Slack) are flawed models. Mangione strongly holds the view that these approaches seek to create new siloes that are closed and proprietary.
Mangione takes a very strong view on my “email is dying” theme so it’s worth seeing what his perspective is. Mangione takes a dim view of what Kato.im CEO Andrei Soroker states about email usage for internal collaboration. Soroker suggests that within most new startups email has been displaced for internal communication. Mangione suggests he is plain wrong and goes into some reasons why he believes email is still a good option.
  • Email is an open standard. It’s independent of underlying implementation or adoption and is universally accessible to anyone in the world. It is a (while admittedly clunky) highly evolved experience; contributions and collaboration from thousands of companies and individuals have evolved email for decades. The specification is managed by the IETF, which is THE foundation for the world’s communication needs. The world. Where customers and partners and investors and others outside a startup team live and work. Think how ridiculous it would be for companies to say, “the Web needs to die and be replaced.” It’s insane, irresponsible, widely inaccurate and disingenuous.
  • The Web is addicted. Every service on the web has some dependency on email – whether it’s signup, customer service or customer engagement. It’s the only system in the world where a user can send a message regardless of infrastructure. Here are some stats that prove how vital email is to us:
    • There are more than 4B email addresses in the world.
    • The human race generates 166B email messages every single day.
    • Even the major social networks – Facebook, LinkedIn – generate over 1B emails/day to communicate with customers.
  • Privacy matters. Equally important, email is private. It’s your data and your information. You decide where to host your email on whatever infrastructure meets your needs. You can have several email addresses for each role in your life – for work, for family, for collecting the emails from advertisers and marketers…You can even choose to use a free email provider that swaps your privacy for ads.
Mangione makes a lot of sense here. Of course it needs to be pointed out that Tipbit is an email vendor. Tipbit is a mobile application that seeks to resolve the issues that are caused by delivering a desktop-optimized email experience onto the mobile form factor. Tipbit is essentially a new front end – it leverages the mechanics of email but presents it in a new way.
And that gets to the crux of the matter, it’s important to separate the issues caused by poor delivery approaches of email from those that have to do with the failings of email as a protocol. The reality is, I suspect, somewhere in the middle of the continuum that exists with Soroker’s viewpoint at one end and Mangione’s at the other.
Electronic communication and collaboration into the future will likely be a very nuanced thing – the success of social overlays such as Chatter, and new collaboration paradigms such as Kato.im show that. The vast majority of communication will continue to happen via email, and vendors like Tipbit will continue to try and make the experience within email better. Meanwhile there will continue to be a plethora or vendors who try and displace email, and they will see their own success. We all wail about email, but continue to use it.
   ============================================
 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 Rider University and  PSG of Mercer County New Jersey.

==========================================



Netiquette IQ Technical Definition of The Day - Bit Torrent


Definition supplied by whatis.com



BitTorrent

Part of the Internet technologies glossary:

BitTorrent is a content distribution protocol that enables efficient software distribution and peer-to-peer sharing of very large files, such as entire movies and TV shows, by enabling users to serve as network redistribution points.
BitTorrent's protocol has been described as a "swarming, scatter and gather" file transfer protocol. Rather than having to send a download to each customer requesting it, the distributor or holder of content sends it to one customer who, in turn, sends it to other customers. Clients share pieces of the download back and forth until everyone has the complete download. This distribution scheme makes it possible for the original server to handle many requests for large files without requiring immense amounts of bandwidth.
Bram Cohen wrote BitTorrent in Python and made it available in 2001. BitTorrent is distributed freely under an open source license.
   ============================================
 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 Rider University and  PSG of Mercer County New Jersey.

==========================================