Web Genre Entry #2
What is Email? | History | Features & Uses | Experience | Advice
Email is merely the ability to send messages to another person across a network. Today, that network is the Internet. Email messages are kept in a virtual space often called a "mail box" or "inbox". Email is the main communication medium for the masses now, replacing letters and memos and faxes. While these older, paper-based means of communication still exist; email is preferred because it is quicker, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly.
The "@" symbol was made famous by email. Younger generations who are familiar with email often use the @ symbol in their writing in place of the actual word "at". A standard email address consists of the form: UniqueUserName@emailSite.domain. The owner of the email address usually determines what 'UniqueUserName' will be, and the' emailSite' is the company who is sponsoring and storing the email service. The 'domain' is usually a ".net", ".com", or ".org" extension.
Email messages have a sender, a receiver (sometimes multiple receivers), and a subject line to identify the intent of the message. Unlike Instant Messaging, emails are usually more formal, and they contain an entire subject and train of thought with supporting details in one message. A big difference is that emails should contain complete sentences, whereas instant messages often are fragments and bits and pieces of information.
Internet-based email was invented in late 1971 by Ray Tomlinson. The first email was sent between two computers that were actually sitting right beside each other, but nonetheless the concept of sending a message from one computer to another was still proven. The first email message sent between these two computers was "QWERTYUIOP". (You may recognize this as the top row of letters on the keyboard!).
In response to why he chose the "@" symbol, Ray has said that his reasoning was simple - he used it tell which user was "at" what computer.
Once use of the Internet became wide spread, the use of email quickly overran paper-based communication. Popular free email providers are Hotmail, Yahoo!, Excite, and GMail.
Email has expanded from its early days as merely a means to send simple messages to others on the network, to a total communication form.
- Message Functions - Email clients have some functions that are standard across companies. These include the ability to Send a message, Delete a message, mark messages as Junk Mail, Find a message in your inbox or other folders, and more. (see above)
- Attachments - Through email, users can now send pictures, graphics, links, files, and textual information. By "attaching" an image or file to an email message, users can send valuable information back and forth to each other.
- Folders - Most email clients have the ability to store and organize messages. The user can create a folder, which is just like a folder on your actual computer, but messages stored in these email folders are only accessible through the email client. These messages are stored on the email client's servers. (see the image to the right)
- Contacts/Address Book - Email clients added this useful feature, which allows users to store email addresses of all their friends, family, and other contacts. These address books now store home addresses and phone numbers as well, so for many people, they have replaced regular paper-based address books.
Email is a wonderful invention, but it has a big problem - Spam (also called Junk Mail). Mass marketers are trying to utilize the millions of people with email addresses and are "spamming" these people with information about their products. These emailed are unsolicited and becoming a huge problem. Email clients are constantly implementing and updating their junk mail/spam filters to try and stop these messages from getting into users' mailboxes, but it is still one of the main drawbacks of email.
I use email religiously, as do most of my friends and family. I was one of those people who used to write frequent letters to stay in touch with those I knew, but now I just email them. It is quicker, easier, and free (You know, those $ .37 stamps do add up!). My messages can be formal or informal, depending upon my recipient. Email has definitely developed into a genre, driven by those who needed and wanted a quicker way to send messages to others than through the U.S. mail system!
Email wisely. Subject lines should be given careful thought. In a time when junk mail is more frequent than solicited mail, emails are often filtered into junk mail folders because of poor subject lines or no subject lines, or if the receiver doesn't recognize your name or email address, they will delete your message without reading it. Subject line writing is almost a genre in itself. Make sure the subject line is short and sweet, but says what the message is about. For example, say, "Tomorrow's Meeting Agenda" instead of "Hey".
Also, be careful of your tone in emails. Don't use ALL CAPS because it makes the receiver feel like you're yelling at him/her. Using excessive italics and bolding is also unnecessary unless you are honestly trying to make a point. Otherwise, I have found (especially in corporate settings) that a lot of formatting annoys readers. Finally, don't put tons of colors in one message. That is hard to get through!
Read The Top 10 Tips to Using Email to get more comprehensive tips from a professional.