Internet Communications...Let's Do It Right!

"The products associated with the Internet are where I spend a lot of my time right now. It is a revolution that is bigger than the invention of printing. It is a revolution that's bigger than the invention of the telephone, radio, or any of the major revolutions that we've had in the past." -- John Warnock, president Adobe Systems

Warnock was correct in his assessment of the Internet's capabilities, function, reach...and future. The Internet is becoming a major source of information and entertainment for people around the globe. We are online gathering information, conducting transactions, being entertained and most of all...communicating.

Today business people like you and "others" send more than 17 billion emails every day. Unfortunately, industry analysts estimate that more than 70 percent of the Internet traffic is spam, phishing and other abuses of our bandwidth and time.

Email has become such a vital link in business communications -- business to business, business to consumer -- that the government has established clear guidelines on email archiving. Increasingly email databases are subpoenaed and the information used against the defendants. That means you as a professional have to be even more concerned about what you say and how you say it in your email communications.

For company executives, email and Internet-base communications provides a new and exciting opportunity to reach people directly -- shareholders, employees, consumers, business partners and business associates. With broadband access already available in most businesses we are accustomed to being able to effortlessly send enhanced documents, audio and video files and comprehensive presentation materials.

The same bandwidth is rapidly being deployed in homes as people begin to use the Internet to do more than just send email. In addition, the ability to access this versatile high-speed communications tool is showing people that they can enjoy Internet radio and TV. They can also instantly share photos and videos with friends and family.

In our always-on society it is increasingly easy to reach the consumer directly at his/her home computer.

Internet Communications Power
It is becoming such a widespread and immediate means of communications that Paul Vixie, author of a number of UNIX programs, warned; "The Internet is not for sissies." While Jack Welch put the technology in a more positive light when he noted, "The Internet is the Viagra of big business."

We would have said it slightly differently because the Internet puts all business large and small on a competitively equal footing if it is properly used. It provides unprecedented opportunities to reach broad and niche markets and customers anywhere in the world.

As a result, it should be one of the primary communications tools of every business professional. Unfortunately too many of us are "typical" Internet users. You're undoubtedly using the Internet more for "other" activities than communicating with business partners and customers.

And you probably do it all subconsciously.

Then at the end of the day you find your to-do list hasn't shrunk.

Peter Straub, a noted author, was very pessimistic about how effective we are in using the Internet and our time at work. He commented at a conference, "Actual work takes up approximately a third of the day, not counting the lunch hour, and the remaining two-thirds are spent in meetings, gossip, flirtations, and checking out e-mail, favorite news groups and porn sites on the Internet."

And we wonder where the time went!

Because almost all of our information is electronic today, business professionals have to assume responsibility on how they communicate as well as what the communications says about the organization and the originator. They also have a responsibility to properly protect company sensitive information.

The Two Lane Highway
Email is a high speed, two-way street. You need to make certain that no viruses or worms come into the company or are sent. You also need to ensure you don't overuse the power of email by carrying out aggressive spam activities shotgunning every present and prospective customer in your address book.

Today's executive spends even more time than the average US employee reading email. At least you should!

An inquiry from a customer, prospective customer or business associate should never go without a response for more than 24 hours. Your power tools -- cellphones and Blackberry handhelds -- allow people to reach you and for you to reach others when immediate answers and assistance are needed. No one should rationalize that they are too busy to respond.

You should handle email as though you were talking directly to the individual. Waiting 10-24 hours to respond simply isn't professional.

As a matter of company policy, we respond to every email before we leave in the evening. Nothing sits in our email inbox over night. We feel it is only professional and courteous to provide the answer, advise them we are working on the issue or get the appropriate individual(s) involved. Many leaders of multi-national organizations have a similar policy.

Are you busier than they are? Or less organized?

Even if the response is only that you need to gather the information and will get an answer within 24 hours -- and you meet your commitment -- it shows that you respect the request and the individual.

Business people today need to understand that clear, concise and timely responses are an integral part of their job. Internet communications shouldn't be as Dave Barry, the humor columnist of the Miami Herald, once wrote..."The Internet is the most important single development in the history of human communication since the invention of call waiting."

Because we all rely on email communications, it has become time-consuming and cumbersome to manage all of the messages. Develop a system of on-line file folders that works best for you and allow you to access information quickly.

Email Writing Skills
A recent study by Information Mapping Inc (IMI) found that email writing skills are "extremely" or "very important" to the effectiveness of doing their job. Thirty-four percent of the respondents said they spent 30 minutes to an hour reading and interpreting poorly written emails.

This is a needless waste of employee productivity!

Granted the survey was across a broad range of corporate employees that included MBAs and senior executives. Sloppy writing of any type shouldn't be tolerated.

If email is such a vital business communications tool, email writing is a skill that every professional must master and practice on a daily basis.

There are a lot of how-to articles regarding email writing available. We found Yukihiro Matsumoto's -- the creator of the Ruby language -- explanation the most down to earth and logical we have seen. He said simply, "Imagine you are writing an email. You are in front of the computer. You are operating the computer, clicking a mouse and typing on a keyboard, but the message will be sent to a human over the Internet. So you are working before the computer, but with a human behind the computer."

His explanation puts everything in perspective.

Clear, Concise, Fast
Organize your email message clearly and effectively. Poorly written emails are more than just a waste of time they can lead to misinterpretation and miscommunications. They are also a poor reflection on your organization and you.

Make certain:

Every computer today has two important application software packages installed that every business person should use religiously before sending an email...spell check and grammar check.

Forget what Peter Steiner said with his 1993 cartoon in The New Yorker, "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." If you can't use email effectively to communicate with stakeholders, they will find out...faster than you think!

By G.A. "Andy" Marken

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