June 2010

OfficeSmarts is committed to helping you eliminate barriers in your business.  We believe we can help you achieve your business goals by providing you with valuable information about the Internet and the computer.

E-newsletters from OfficeSmarts are designed to provide you with important tools and tips, plus interesting information to keep you "smart" about your office.

For many of us, it’s hard to imagine getting through a day without using email.  Without a doubt, it has revolutionized the way we communicate and do business.  But like anything that is literally at our fingertips, it can be both a blessing, and a curse.  While we can communicate worldwide in a matter of seconds, our inboxes often are clogged with spam and other unwanted email.

There are many ways to manage and organize incoming mail, but maybe one of the simplest ways is to have multiple email addresses.  That’s right, multiple, as in more than one!  This may sound counterintuitive as a means to get email under control, but it does work as long as you use the emails carefully.

What can OfficeSmarts
do for you?

	Create dynamic email campaigns customized for your business.
	Keep you informed with our Be Smart Internet Tips.
	Host your web site on a secure sever.

Just exactly how many emails does a person need?  The answer really depends on how you use emails and the Internet, but in general, having at least two email addresses is a good place to start:

• Private or Business - An email address only for friends, close trusted contacts and business contacts.  As long as these contacts are trustworthy and are careful with their computer security, you should get little or no spam.
   

• Public - An email address that you use when you must supply an email address, but don’t necessarily want any further correspondence from that contact.  You might use this email if you post a comment on a forum, make an on-line purchase or sign up on a website.  If you start getting spam, or if the spam gets to be too much on this account, you can easily get a new address.

Ideally, you want to have a separate inbox for the different email addresses.  This will prevent the mail from all your addresses from dumping into one mailbox.  There are several ways to do this:

• Some email programs are set up so that each address is a separate mailbox/account; only emails to that specific address will be delivered to that mailbox.  Hotmail is a good example of this.
   

• Other email accounts allow you to have multiple email addresses.  Depending on the email program you use, i.e., Outlook Express, you can make different identities that are associated with each email address you have.  The mail sent to each address is then directed to its identity which has its own separate mailbox.  To access the different mailboxes, one simply switches identities with a couple mouse clicks.  This way, you keep your private and business emails separate from the unwanted email.

As for the spam sent courtesy of your public address?  Ignore it, or delete it without opening them.

Got questions?   Send us an email at besmartaboutit@officesmarts.ca and we’ll be happy to help you out or visit our web site at www.officesmarts.ca.

Are you satisfied with your web site?  Want to jazz it up, add some new features, or simply want to generate more traffic?

Click here to learn more. 

The Internet in Everyday Life
by Barry Wellman

Any suggestions for our next e-newsletter?
Send us your ideas to besmartaboutit@officesmarts.ca.

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