Computers are indeed weird inventions - apart from a lot of plastic, some metal and the occasional carbon/silicon giant polymer, most of our interactions with computers are dealing with untouchable, ‘virtual’ things. From the intangible bits of information on our hard drives, the fleeting images on our screens, and to the vibrant hues reflected in our CDs and DVDs, this virtual world has a whole new set of rules and customs as compared to the physical world.
In business circles, people have long since perfected the art of coping with physical information: inboxes, outboxes, photocopiers, filing cabinets, shredders - all the paraphernalia of a typical paper based office.
But in the virtual world, we’re not so proficient in managing our information as robustly - in many many cases, I see people who are experts in paper-based systems treat their equivalent electronic systems without any of the same proficiency nor zeal.
The ‘digital divide’ is said to delineate ‘Generation X’ from ‘Generation Y’ - those who grew up with personal computers vs those who grew up before them. While the definitions of the range of ages of these two generations differs depending on who you talk to, I would suggest that it’s not so much age-based, but confidence-based.
That said, let me pose a few typical computer filing situations, and show you how to ‘file with style’ in the virtual world, and feel more confident with your own digital information.
Email - love it or hate it, it’s ingrained into our personal and business lives - the communication tool of choice for many small businesses, due to its speed, reach, and universal appeal.
Email has changed the way we write our business communications. Compared to typically quite formal written documents, an email allows us to be a little more personal - a little more humanistic in our language - after all, we’ve gone from a turnaround of a few days for snail mail to a few seconds for email.
But even though the humble email has only been in existence for 10 or more years, it has already begun to change again, this time into something even more casual and - worse still - something that often fails to do what it is meant to do - to get a clear and concise message through to its recipient.
The following is a refresher on good email ettiquette, good email habits, and good formatting tips for writing emails with clarity and punch.
If you’re anything like me, your computer is more than just a tool that you use for work - it’s likely that your computer is your virtual ‘filing cabinet’ - full of projects and work in progress, special applications for special purposes, resources and documents for reference when things get tricky, as well as a treasure trove of emails dating back to the last millennium.
In the real world, the physical world, we have places like Ikea to keep our socks and our shoes and our offices organised - but in the virtual world - inside the computers we rely on so heavily for our businesses, we’re (almost) on our own.
We often file things away badly, and often, we don’t file at all. Our productivity in the real world is seen as critical, but our productivity in the virtual world is often way behind. Sound familiar? Read on!
