Monday, August 11, 2014

How many times will I get that email?

In a time when electronic communication spans time and space and our inboxes tend to be overflowing, there are specific things each of us can do to protect the time and space of those we communicate with.

One specific practice we can use is "Bcc" or Blind Carbon Copy. 

I know, I'm old? Why? Because I actually used carbon paper to make copies. It was so cool. You could get a sheet of carbon paper, put it between two pieces of paper and make instant duplicates. Of course, carbon paper hasn't been used in centuries decades. "CC" or "Bcc" in our email systems still refer to this ancient practice of carbon paper. 

When sending an email, we all know what the "To" is for. That's the person you are addressing the email to. "CC" are those you believe should see a copy of the email. When should you use "Bcc"? Many use it to copy in a hidden way a recipient for an FYI. A warning on using "Bcc" to hide a recipient. Many of our mobile devices don't indicate well whether you received an email as a "To", "CC" or "Bcc". Don't trust "Bcc" as a secure way of privately copying a recipient on an email. A better way would be to forward the sent email to the person you want to see a private copy.

So how does "Bcc" help with information overload? If you are sending email to a large group and don't have a tool like Constant Contact or Mail Chimp that sends an individual "To" email to each recipient, you can and should consider using "Bcc". "Bcc" provides you a way to copy a large audience but will prevent all of the recipients on that email from accidentally hitting "Reply to All" and filling everyone's Inbox. Sometimes this can prevent embarrassment as well. It will certainly help with information overload in our email.

We have documented guidelines for sending LETU-Wide communications. Click here to review and happy communicating. 




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