Table of Contents
Concept 5: The mobility of electronic digital data
“It is very easy, with forward for example, to simply 'pass on' information without processing it or, without processing the dynamics of the communicative relationship between you and the forwardee or without realising that you are establishing a third relationship - between the original sender and the final recipient.
Moreover, once people begin to use email and realise that information can be copied and forwarded very easily, there is a tendency for this 'mobility of data' to become a cultural given in which, routinely, we include more people within circuits of communication than are necessary; or include them in ways that are inappropriate.” (Allen, n.d.)
Information overload - have we gone too far and is it necessary
Email distribution is a powerful tool. Once you compose a message, it can be distributed around the world in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done to retrieve an email once it has been sent, so it is important to ensure you have identified the recipients and checked the content is relevant for the recipients prior to clicking the send button.
This is just as important when composing emails as well as when an email is forwarded. Don’t forward emails lightly, take time to think about why you are forwarding the information, and who you are forwarding the email to - would the recipient find it useful, does the recipient need to act upon this information?
What additional information can you add or modify in the email to ensure the recipient makes use of the email effectively? If you are forwarding an email, is the subject still relevant or would it be more effective to add to it or change it completely? Take time to think about the subject of the email, would it be clear to the recipient you are forwarding the email to if you were to change or alter the subject. These are important questions you should answer before sending your email.
If you have a habit of forwarding emails to the same recipients it will lose its effect. If you are constantly forwarding emails to a recipient which includes irrelevant information, when there is something important you want them to take action on, the email may have gone astray.
Information overload is a common problem amongst email users. Eppler & Mengis (2009) talk about the IABC Research Foundation report examining email usage from the sender’s side and how to reduce information overload for recipients. One of the recommendations is to provide an overview of the email at the beginning of the communication so the recipient will know whether it is relevant or not. This is a useful way of ensuring your recipient is not wasting their time by ensuring the content is relevant.
Zambroksi (2006) also reiterates the need to think before you send emails. “Speed versus quality is an issue” (2006). With the need for getting things done quickly, there is a need for people to stop and think about what they are sending, not only because of sending the incorrect or misleading information, there is an issue with sensitive information being sent via email.
Another reason why you should think about your actions before forwarding emails is to ensure the email’s author has given permission for the email to be forwarded. The email may contain confidential information and was not intended to be forwarded to other people. Take a step back and think about the consequences before filling up people’s inboxes with unimportant emails.
It is possible to yield a lot of power with the send button but it is worthwhile to think before you send and contemplating the importance of the email and its recipients and what action if any is required from the recipient.
Annotation 1: Flying Solo
http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p265208426_Email-overload-When-email-becomes-the-enemy.html
I found this website to be quite useful with interesting articles and information relating to managing email and other forms of communication. The website includes contact information, terms & conditions and a privacy policy which helps validate the credibility of the site. The articles give an insight into how emails are dealt with from both a sender and receiver viewpoint. Managing emails is an important part of job functions and it is important for this to be efficient to ensure users are not overwhelmed with email messages. There is also an article on confidential emails and how forwarding emails can be detrimental if not thought out before sending.
Annotation 2: Net Manners
http://www.netmanners.com
This website gives constructive advice on how to send and receive email successfully. There are some quite useful tips included and also some obvious suggestions however if you are new to sending email this site can be very helpful. It can also be regarded as a refresher to those who have sent email for years but need reminding of the importance of some rules which can be overlooked. The site is copyrighted and there are contact details of the author available. The content is regularly updated and users are able to leave comments to encourage participation and community.
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Concept 6: Reading the difference between ‘surface’ metadata and ‘implied’ metadata
“While email messages need certain key elements of metadata to make them sendable, and also routinely contain other key elements to make them useable, many websites do no really have good metadata and, with the URL, no-one needs that data. Furthermore, URLs are, rarely, much help as metadata in themselves, unless the site is carefully constructed in such a way as to make the URL communicate to you as well as to the computer. However, as you can see by looking at the metadata in websites, it is important for the proper functioning of search engines and other finding tools.” (Allen, n.d.)
Effective extraction of metadata and what we can learn from it
Until I started this course I didn’t think about metadata in emails but it is clearly evident. There is a lot of information to be gleaned from an email sitting in your inbox without even opening it. I will know the sender’s name, the topic of the email (presuming there is a subject message), the date and time it was received, if there are attachments included and the size of the email (which is important if there are large attachments).
Once a week I will look in my spam folder and without opening any of the emails, I will know instinctively if they are spam or not. Usually they will be from an unknown source, the subject will be generic, eg. ‘hello’ or ‘hi there’ or blank and usually they arrive at the same time.
Partridge (2008) looks at the history of internet email and how it has evolved over the years. Part of this evolution is the way email messages have been formatted and how the metadata has been an integral part of how emails appear in our inbox today. Partridge (2008) refers to the format of the email as the ‘envelope’ as it has all the information attached to it so it can be successfully delivered. This is true and is even more intuitive than an envelope as it contains even more information than a simple name and address.
Metadata is also used to describe websites. When searching in Google and a list of results appear, it is the metadata which will entice you to click on a particular search result. What is it that attracted you to that particular site? The wording of the description, the url looked familiar the url looked trustworthy or it was at the top of the list? Marketing Departments can spend a lot of money optimising their website to appear at the top of the list, so whilst the majority of the time the site is the most relevant, it also may be good marketing practices that put it there.
The url is not going to be of much help unless you are familiar with the company name. www.apple.com – if you didn’t know any better, you might start thinking of Granny Smith, Pink Lady, or Red Delicious, not iPhones, iPods, or iTunes. It is important to have the correct metadata when describing websites to ensure the appropriate people are visiting the site and time is not wasted.
As detailed by Bird & Simons (2003, p.573), “’Metadata’ is structured data about data – descriptive information about a physical object or a digital resource”. Metadata is the description of the content of the data. It is very effectively used in library resources. “Library card catalogs represent a well-established type of metadata, and they have served as collection management and resource-discovery tools for decades” (Bird & Simons, 2003, p.573). Metadata which is described correctly has an effective use and can inform users of as much information as possible regarding the subject matter.
Annotation 1: Australian Flexible Learning Framework
http://e-standards.flexiblelearning.net.au/background/metadata.htm
This website provides a simple explanation of metadata and what it is used for. It also includes some interesting resources in terms of how and why to include metadata in websites. It is also helpful in providing information on website standards and explains how useful and effective metadata can be with finding the correct resource when searching. Being a website associated with a Government organisation I would consider the information to be reliable and credible. The connection between metadata and educational resources is evident as the process to go through online educational resources for searching information is crucial to online learning.
Annotation 2: Search Engine Watch.com
http://searchenginewatch.com/2167931
If you are new to metadata and metatags then this article explains in detail the pros and cons of using metatags in websites. It gives a detailed description and shows examples of how to use metatags and how to write them. It also describes optimising metatags for successful search results and clarifies some myths about the use and influence metatags has within search engines. There are also related articles which are informative and relevant to the subject matter. The article is dated 2007 which may be slightly dated however a lot of the content is still relevant. The related articles are more up to date and the website has contact details, copyright statement and a privacy policy which makes it more credible.
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Concept 8: The invisibility of difference
“When you meet someone who you can see is hearing impaired, you tend to compensate (sometimes too much) for the mismatch between your 'communicative systems' – speech and hearing on both parts. But if you cannot see that the person you are emailing is using a low resolution, slow older computer running a simple ASCII text email program, then you tend to forget that there are such users out there and do not compensate. There are many differences between computers and computer users, but we tend to forget them when, positioned in front of our own computers, we are able to communicate rapidly and - apparently – effectively across time and distance.” (Allen, n.d.)
Inconsiderate, thoughtless, selfish or just ignorant. The difference between the have and have not's
With so many different browsers, operating systems, computers, and monitors available today it’s a wonder the internet can sustain such a wide variety of access. It is difficult when designing a website to have the resources to be able to test the outcome of every possible access route.
There are also security settings which differ between browsers. Looking at the web statistics for the website I administer, there are 17 varieties of browsers, 8 different operating systems, screen colours vary from 32-bit to 8-bit, screen resolution ranges from 800x600 to 1920x1200 and 45 versions of flash all used to access one website. Aside from this, there are also numerous plugins to download – pdf, flash, quicktime, etc., not to mention the latest hand held devices such as iphones. To also have to cater for hearing and/or sight impairment is usually the last thing web designers consider, if at all.
Larry Hull (2004) agrees, “people with older browsers, low bandwidth, mobility impairments, or cognitive disabilities – all these folks deserve access too”. Is it possible to cater for all the people, all the time? Is it up to the user to upgrade to the latest technology or fall behind? Most websites let users know the latest versions of software required to access the website, which leaves it up to the individual to upgrade their technology or be denied access.
There are other forms of access disabilities. As Hull (2004), identifies if all websites were accessible for everyone there are over 6,000 languages worldwide which would make each website be translated in every language. This is an impossible task and therefore even writing a website in one language has its problems.
Theofanos & Redish (2003) observed blind users and how they access the internet through screenreaders. The results are interesting and users get used to doing things a particular way. It seems that screenreaders are not user friendly and there are problems with reading the code within web pages. It gives an interesting insight into how screenreaders read web pages and how a lot of the information is repetitive. The software is not sophisticated enough to realise when menus are repeated on each page however this paper was written in 2003 so hopefully the software has been upgraded since then. Web developers need to realise this type of software is available to users and build their websites with this in mind. There should be a consideration for disability access to websites.
Another form of communication to consider is email. Can users read html email or is their email configures only for text email? When sending out html email this needs to be a consideration as it can be frustrating not to be able to view images in a html email. A version using text only need to be created as well to cater for these users. Also users bandwidth and the size of the mailbox. It is inconsiderate to send emails with large attachments as this can create problems for the receiver.
Annotation 1: Arch-Online.org
http://arch-online.org/disability-internet-access-legal-rights.htm
Disability and the internet is a sensitive topic and there are articles in this website which are objective and motivating. It covers other disability topics which some are related to internet disability. The website is informative and provides up to date news and facts of interest. The article looks at internet guidelines set out by W3.org and examines accessibility of commercial websites and provides results of their findings. The site includes contact information and a privacy policy which outlines the site is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Annotation 2: W3
http://www.w3.org/WAI/
This site is the source of accessibility information on website design and implementation. The site is up to date and is regularly developed. The content is in accordance with W3 standards and is an invaluable source for website designers and developers. It includes user accessibility guidelines and defines website standards. It covers all types of internet accessibility from disabled users to aging users who have difficulty in accessing websites. There is a wide range of publications available and also lists events and presentations related to particular topics on website accessibility.
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Concept 13: Communication is not complete upon receipt
“A major disadvantage of email and similar asynchronous communications systems is that, often or sometimes, human users assume that when a message has been received, then it is automatically going to be acted upon or read or similar processed by the human(s) to which it was sent. While computers are very good at automatically processing information, humans are not.
The key to effective email management is to consistently and conscientiously respond to and act upon the email you receive, while recognising that others may not be as efficient as yourself.
Equally, a website is not complete when it is created and presented: it has to be used. Websites are, basically, a very indirect form of communication and so, if we wish to use the web effectively, we can apply the same lesson: simply visiting a website is not sufficient…doing something with it is what closes the circuit of communication.” (Allen, n.d.)
I have just built a website, what next?
The reason people build websites often varies. There may be some websites where the reason for it to be built is the satisfaction of having created a website. But the majority of websites are built for a purpose and one purpose is so the website receives visitors. There is not much point of people visiting a website if there is nothing for them to do. It is an important step in website implementation is knowing why the website is being built in the first place and why people will want to visit the website.
It is not good enough to build a website and then do nothing to promote it. How will users know the site exists and how will they find it? We want people to communicate effectively and building a website is the first step in communication. Being able to interact with users and promoting a network of people who can exchange information is a positive outcome and successful websites illustrate this.
There are now many forms of online interaction and with the ongoing popularity of discussion groups, online forums, instant messaging and social networking websites (ie. Facebook), it is becoming more of the norm to receive instant replies and action to messages.
As with websites, once a user clicks send on an email they automatically assume the receiver will immediately action the email and respond. However, this may not always be the case. The first question to consider is - did the receiver actually receive the message? There are numerous reasons why the email may not have ended up in the recipient’s inbox. The email could have been considered spam and sent directly to the recipient’s spam folder. This can sometimes happen if the sender’s email address is not in the recipient’s contact list. There are also particular words in the subject line that spam filters do not allow through, eg. free, offer, money, credit, click, discount, etc. An email address can also be typed incorrectly or the recipient may not be accessing emails for a number of reasons.
Another consideration is if the recipient finds the matter important and actions it immediately or if they have more important tasks to deal with before actioning the email. Also, the recipient hasn’t automatically deleted the email without even reading it. Unless there is an action item how does the recipient know they need to action the email?
As Whittaker & Sidner (1996) explain, “email applications were originally designed for asynchronous communication, but as our analysis will show, email has evolved to a point where it is now used for multiple purposes …”. Although I believe email communication is still the most important aspect of email, Whittaker & Sidner (1996) also look at filing and task management. It is difficult to continue asynchronous communication with inbox clutter and not being able to look back through email conversations like you can do with threading. Email clutter is a growing concern with the number of emails sent and received and can be a hindrance if not organised correctly.
Annotation 1: Read Write Web
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/evolution_of_communication.php
This website looks at email versus other forms of communication and how effective it can be. It also looks at sites like Twitter and the different experiences users have. Technology is moving so fast it is difficult to keep up. The next best thing may have come and gone. It looks at the telephone as a form of communication which may have had its day. There are other articles which relate to online communication and the way of the future. The website looks authentic and includes up to date and informative content.
Annotation 2: Dept of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
http://www.e-strategyguide.gov.au/make_email_work/effective_email
As this is a government website I would rely on the credibility of this website being acceptable. This site provides information on being connected to the internet and covers website functionality, training and resources. There are useful tips on sending and receiving email and also how to control the large volume of emails received. There is also information on instant messaging and chat rooms and spam or junk mail. I found this site covered a lot of information on the topic of email and the internet communications. Most of the content is up to date with some content static and not recently updated.
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References
Martin J. Eppler; Jeanne Mengis, Communication World; May/June 2009; 26, 3; ProQuest Telecommunications, p.38-40.
Ray Zambroski, Communication World; May/June 2006; 23, 3; ProQuest Telecommunications, p.4-5.
Craig Partridge, The Technical Development of Internet Email, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, (2008), pp. 3-29.
Steven Bird & Gary Simons, Seven Dimensions of Portability for Language Documentation and Description, Language, Volume 79, Number 3 (2003), pp. 557-582.
Larry Hull, Accessibility: it’s not just for disabilities any more, Interactions, Volume11, Issue 2 (March + April 2004), pp 36-41.
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=971270&dl=GUIDE&coll=GUIDE&CFID=47489685&CFTOKEN=97977768
Mary Frances Theofanos & Janice Redish, Bridging the gap: between accessibility and usability, Interactons, Volume 10, Issue 6 (November + December 2003), pp. 36-51.
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=947227&dl=GUIDE&coll=GUIDE&CFID=47490075&CFTOKEN=85595175
Scott F. Midkiff & Luiz A. DaSilva, Leveraging the Web for Synchronous Versus Asynchronous Distance Learning, www.ineer.org, n.d.
http://www.ineer.org/Events/ICEE2000/Proceedings/papers/MD8-2.pdf
Steve Whittaker & Candace Sidner, Email overload: exploring personal information management of email, Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems: common ground, 1996, pp.276-283.
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=238386.238530
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