Enter the addresses after the message is composed.
Many messages are sent before they are finished. Waiting to add the addresses will keep the message in your draft bin until it’s ready to be sent.

Attach the attachments first.
We have all sent or have been sent a message with a missing attachment. Also be sure that it is attached and not embedded in the email. I’ve made a recent mistake like that and embedded a 4 meg pdf file in the email to a group of people. They couldn’t see the file and on their reply back the large file was in their reply. Needless to say this used a lot of band width and storage space.

Remove large attachments from replies.
Band width and storage space, see above.

Use spell and grammar check.
Business letters have a professional look, so should an email.

Keep personal messages out of business emails.
It’s possible that the email may need to be sent to an associate or supervisor for additional actions. They won’t want to know how the fishing trip went.

Don’t add a new subject to an ongoing thread and don’t combine threads.
When new subjects are added to an ongoing thread it can be confusing to the reader. If the reader only needed to be advised of what was going on, but the added subject needed their action, that action could be delayed. Combining threads generally just confuses everyone. Many email reader programs will continue the thread causing even more confusion.

Address correctly.
If it’s an informational message to many members it’s a good idea to use the Bcc: field to protect other people addresses. In my opinion this or sending the message to yourself is the only correct time to use Bcc:.

When sending to multiple persons with multiple assignments, or to let a supervisor or associate know the mail was sent, address the responsible person by name in the message.

Watch the Reply all.
Does everyone need to see your reply or only the sender? If it’s only the original sender it could save embarrassment.

Be sure to enter a subject.
The information that you put in your subject line can pass information to the recipient the importance of the message as well as how soon a respond may be needed. By leaving the subject line blank it may be ignored completely.

Check before hitting the send button.
Once the send button is press the email is in the stream and on its way to its recipient. It’s always a good idea to proofread the message and check that you have attached the attachments and addressed the message to the correct parties.

Originally published in part in 2008.
© 2008-2010 Steven G. Atkinson – All Rights Reserved

It doesn’t matter whether you consider Global Warming a fact or a hoax. The one thing for certain is that we do harm the environment every day. These are things we can do to not only save and conserve energy but also help the environment.

10) Follow The Three ‘R’ – Recycle/Reuse/Reduce
American’s have become a very wasteful society. When our founding fathers were forming our nation, they used everything with little waste. Washington at Valley Forge, the frontier families who settled west of the Mississippi, even the families of World War II used everything.

Today nearly every item that we purchase is in some type of disposable wrapper. This wrapping is used once and thrown in the trash. This uses another piece of a resource that is diminishing. By following these three ‘R’s’ one may or may not not see a direct savings. But in some cases the cost of manufacturing the products might be less. A recycled aluminum can requires less energy to reuse. than having a new one produced from the raw materials.

9) Drive Smart
There are a number of ways that we don’t drive smart.

We are a mobile society. Many times we jump into a vehicle to attend a meeting across town without looking to see if there are other things we can be doing while in the area. How many of us have gone one place, come back only to realize we also needed to go to another either a few miles farther or someplace between the two? Planning our trips will allow us to use less fuel. it also saves time as well..

Poor maintenance of our vehicles causes us to use more fuel than required. Having the engine routinely serviced, will keep it running at peak efficiently. Don’t forget the tire pressure. Tires at the wrong pressure, especially ones that are low, is a big fuel waster. And don’t forget to have the brakes checked. A dragging brake not only causes the brakes to wear out faster, it will make the engine work harder. And use more gas.

When driving, don’t make rapid stops and starts. This, as well as exceeding the speed limit, can quickly reduce gas mileage. By using the speed control on long trips, the vehicle runs at a constant speed.

8) Heat or Cool the Living/Work Space – Not the World
Does the building have enough insulation? Older homes and building probably don’t. Windows are also an area where energy costs are moving from their desired purpose to change the temperature of the outside air.

Many homes are heating or cooling areas that are seldom used. By setting up heating and cooling areas, one can save money and energy by keeping the seldom used areas warmer or cooler than the rest of the house. Many people may like a warm living room in the winter, but wants a cool bedroom. This would be another reason for separate environmental areas.

Use a programmable thermostat. By using a programmable thermostat you can automatically turn down the heat when it’s least needed, at night when sleeping or during the day when no one is home. Have it raised to a comfortable level shortly before getting up or arriving home. Be certain that it is the correct type of programmable thermostat for your heating or cooling system. Some heat pumps and air conditioning systems require specialized programmable thermostats.

7) Use Water Wisely
Water may be free, but getting it from the ground to the home costs a lot. There’s the cost of pumping it from one location to another, as well as the cost of treating it to be at a useable state. There’s also the cost of removing and cleaning the waste water.

6) Use Energy-Efficient Products
Many older appliances use a great deal more energy than a new one. The 20 year old refrigerator may be working fine, but a newer one could use half of the energy.

Water heaters can use as much as 14% of the energy bill. The older it gets the less efficient it is with one over 10 years being as much as 50% less efficient than as it was when new.

And don’t forget the light bulbs. Most of the energy used by old style incandescent lights is turned into heat. A 15-Watt Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) gives the same light as a 60-Watt incandescent using a quarter of the energy.

5) Turn Off and Unplug
Unplug devices that use a transformer when not in use. Example; battery chargers. Whenever these devices are plugged in they consume minor amounts of energy. Many devices such as TVs and DVD players still use energy when not in use. Turning them off may only save a small amount of the total energy used. Unplug them when they won’t be used for a long period of time.

Turn off computers at night, and use sleep mode as often as possible. When not in use turn off televisions, radios and other entertainment equipment.

4) Light the area reasonably
Office lighting can be the one single source of using the largest amount of electric each month. Reducing the energy used by lights can make a quick and noticeable impact to the bill.

Many offices either use too much light or does not use the most efficient type of lighting. It’s important to have enough lights in an area so that it’s safe, but there may be places where lights can be removed, the size of the fixture reduced or more economical sources of light are use.

Use task lights to reduce the amount of overhead lights. Task lights puts the required amount of light on the project at hand allowing the room lights to be at a lower light level, therefore saving energy.

Don’t light areas that aren’t being occupied. Install timers and occupancy sensors. These are great in offices for restrooms, storage closets and copier rooms.

3) Make it a Habit
Habits are those things that we do without thinking. Developing a habit takes time. At first it may take some constant thoughts and reminders. By spending time considering your actions and doing the things to save energy each day, these actions will become a habit.

2) Pass Along the Word
It’s amazing how many people there are out there that just don’t know, don’t have an understanding or just need to have a person they know and respect to assure them. Pass along the information. Let your friends know when you replace an appliance and see a drop
in the electric bill. Or when they throw a plastic bottle or newspaper in the trash let them know it can be recycled and used again. The more people hear it from someone they know, the more apt they are to follow the advice.

1) Switch Off the Lights
When being the last to leave a room turn out the lights. It will always be saving energy with few exceptions also saving money.

To put it bluntly, as safe as you want to be. In some ways you could compare the Internet to walking the streets in a big city. Most of the time, nothing will happen, but when it does, it could be murder.

If you walk the main streets of the Internet, usually no harm will befall you. But just like walking a big city streets when you venture into the dark alleys and the more dangerous sections, you are obviously going to be in more danger.

There are ways to help to be safe while using the Internet. One of the best ways is to be aware of what you are doing and think before reacting. If something appears too good to be true, it probably is. There aren’t really any ways to get rich by doing nothing.

Be prepared.

It can help by keeping the software on your computer up-to-date. Sometimes a newer version may need to be purchased, but often all that is needed is to make certain that the ones you are using have all of the security patches installed.

There are many malicious programs cruising the Internet. Some of those are just out there knocking on doors to see who answers. Others may be hiding in the shadows of attachments to emails messages that appear to be from friends.

To keep these malicious programs from infecting your computers, the computer needs to protected. Use Anti-virus programs and Anti-spyware. Anti-virus programs can be set up to scan the computer from time to time as well as to check email messages for hidden viruses. Anti-spyware can keep programs such as Adware (programs that sits your computer and feed ads to you) from taking roost on your computer

You will want to fun a firewall on your computer as well. A firewall hides the computer from automated attackers.

Just as walking the streets in a big city there are things to follow to keep you safe.

• Do Not Open Spam.
• Before opening an attachment, check and double check that it is not a malicious program. It’s easy to steal and fake someone email address so even attachments from someone you know may not safe, check.
• If while on the Internet an Ad pops up, such as one saying you have a virus on your computer, you may wonder how do they know. They don’t. They are just trying to sell you a product and lead you to their site.
• Purchase products from locations that you are familiar.
• If the site looks like it leads to a dangerous path, leave and don’t go back.

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” — Western Union internal memo, 1876.

“Everything that can be invented has been invented.” — Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?” — David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s

“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” — H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” — Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” — Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.

Now you are probably waiting to read the famous quote that Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft said. That being, “640k ought to be enough for anybody.” But that just happens to be an Urban Legend. Nowhere has it been documented that he spoke those words, and the closest may have been a conversation on the original IBM PC, which used a processor that could only be able to use 640k of memory.

But an interesting quote that I remember occurred in 1983 by the fictional character Travis McGee, created by the novelist John D. MacDonald, in the novel Cinnamon Skin. It goes as such;

“Soon the bosses of the microcomputer revolution will sell us preprogrammed units for each household which will provide entertainment, print out news, purvey mail-order goods, pay bills, balance accounts, keep track of expenses, and compute taxes. But by then the future managers will be over on the far side of the thickets, dealing with bubble memories, machines that design machines, projects so esoteric our pedestrian minds cannot comprehend them. It will be the biggest revolution of all, bigger than the wheel, bigger than Franklin’s kite, bigger than paper towels.”

In 1983 the IBM personal computer was only 2 years old, the MacIntosh was in development by Apple and Radio Shack was one of the major players in the computer industry. Fact can be stranger than fiction, but sometimes fiction can just predict the future.

By doing an Energy Audit savings can be seen quickly by finding the energy wasting hot spots.

When looking at the electric costs, there are three major places where it’s used. Lighting, Office Equipment and Heating/Cooling. Each area needs to be looked at individually as well as in total.

Lighting:
• Reduce lighting by using task lights.

• Turn off the lights when they aren’t needed.

• Use timers and sensors for seldom-used areas such as storage closets, conference room and rest rooms.

Office Equipment:
• Shut off computers, copiers and other office equipment at nights and on weekends. If these items are always on just by turning them off during these times will reduce energy costs associated to Office Equipment by over 50%. While some computes, such as servers, need remain on at all times, the monitors do not.

• Use Power Management on computers, copiers and laser printers.

• If you still have the CRT style monitors replace them with LCD monitors. They save in desk space as well.

Heating and Cooling:
• Don’t open windows and doors.

• Lower the thermostat in the winter and raise them in the summer.

• Make certain that the thermostats are not blocked and can get a correct reading of the room air temperature.

When performing and energy audit, it’s important to walk around the office with an energy checklist to help identify areas where savings cane be found.

This walk around should involve the employees and done at different times during the day, during work hours as well as after-hours and on weekends. Since seasonal conditions may change it should be done on average once each season.

Once the checklist is finished items needs to be itemized and prioritize. Those that can be accomplished quick and with little expense can be done first. Those that have costly upfront costs need to be part of the annual budget review and made part of the business plan.

© 2007-2010 Steven G. Atkinson – All Rights Reserved

Don’t Print Unless Needed
When you receive an email or reviewing a document, do you automatically print it to read and/or review? If the paper goes in the recycle bin shortly after being printed it’s not needed.

Print Only What Is Needed
Following an email thread and want to print to keep for your records. Instead of printing the entire thread, which may be a number of pages long with much of it already in the paper file, only print what is new.

Use Draft Mode
Using the draft mode of the printer will conserve ink or laser toner. The print may be a bit lighter, but the savings in ink or toner adds up quickly. The only time really not to print in draft mode is the final draft and the sent copy.

Use Recycled Paper
Only an original that is distributed needs to be printed on the best paper. Use cheaper recycled paper for drafts and ordinary printing.

Print on Both Sides
Seems logical. Printing on both sides of the paper can safe half of the paper used.

Have The Printer Use Sleep Mode
Less electric is used when the printer is sleeping. Less electric means energy savings.

Here are some helpful tips to try to keep your money in your pocket. Some of these may seem like ancient history, but could still happen.

Don’t be slammed. Slamming is when your long-distance telephone service is switched to another company without your permission. This could happen in many ways, it could be in the form of what appears to be a check, cashing it will allow them to change your present service to theirs, usually at a much higher rate. Another way is to receive a telephone call offering you lower rates, even declining the service you may have been switched.

Watch for Cramming. Cramming is when optional services such as voice mail, paging, a personal 800 numbers or club membership appears on your telephone bill. This can happen, like slamming, by filling out a contest entry form, failing to respond to a negative option sales pitch, or calling a 900 number. It can happen simply by the crammer picking your telephone number out of the blue and placing charges on your bill through your local telephone company by claiming that you agreed to purchase the services.

Be aware of scams. Two of the most common ones are the “809 area code” and the “90#” scam. The 809 scam is a valid concern since 809 appears as a usual US area code but you’re actually connected to a phone number outside the United States, in the Caribbean, and charged international call rates to some number. Other area codes associated with this are 284 and 876. Because they are outside of US they are not under any US regulations. The “90#” is also true, but only to a degree. It only works on systems that require a user to dial a ‘9’ for an outside line and there aren’t any other restrictions placed on the service.

Because of these things it’s important that you check your telephone bill each and every month. It’s your right to dispute any charges you do not agree, but you should put those reasons in writing. Be sure to pay your bill on time, you may subtract the disputed amount and any taxes or fees associated with it along with written notice on the reason for your dispute. Your phone service should not be disconnected, but be aware that these charges could be referred to a collection agency.

© 2006-20010 Steven G. Atkinson – All rights reserved

This post will list a few of the most common ones. There are many others. I use, to some degree, all of these. Along with the listings I will give my address so if you wish you can follow me.

Twitter
Twitter.com. is listed as “best way to share and discover what is happening right now”. Members have 140 characters to get their message out to their subscribers or, in the twittering world, followers. This site is on twitter at Twitter.com/SMBTechTips and I am on at Twitter.com/StevenGAtkinson.

Facebook
Facebook.com is a social networking website where users gathers friends. Once friends are added you can send them messages, share photos, and share a personal profile to notify friends about themselves. Additionally, users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region. Facebook pages are used by businesses and other organizations to share the same type of information. I am on facebook at Facebook.com/steven.atkinson.

LinkedIn
Linkedin.com is a business-oriented social networking site and is mainly used for professional networking. The site allows for a member to keep a list of business contacts, called connections. When a connection is made, it’s generally with a person that they know and trust. My Linkedin page is www.linkedin.com/in/sgatkinson

MySpace
MySpace.com may not be the oldest of the Social Networking sites, but it was for a time the biggest. Facebook has recently overtaken it to become number 1. Unless you are in the entertainment industry, it is not one that I would recommend for business. I have not used MySpace in over a year.

8 – Oral Sex

Banana – Penis

FB – F*** Buddy

FOL – Fond of Leather

GNOC – Get Naked On Cam
GYPO – Get Your Pants Off

IMEZRU – I Am Easy, Are You?
IWSN – I Want Sex Now
ILF/MD – I Love Female/Male Dominance

J/O – Jerking Off

KFY or K4Y – Kiss For You
Kitty – Vagina

LMIRL – Let’s Meet In Real Life

NIFOC – Nude In Front Of The Compute

PRON – Porn

Q2C – Quick To Cum

RU/18 – Are You Over 18?
RUH – Are You Horny?

A simple email Signature will have your Name, Title and Company name such as;

Steven G. Atkinson
Owner/Chief Consultant, E/S Technology Consulting

But it should have a lot more. Let people know how to get in touch with you. Put your telephone number on it so they can give you a call. You could also add your mailing address as well.

But you can go further. If you have a website and all businesses should have a website, add it too. While we are talking about having a website, your email address should have your business identity and not a generic one such as @yahoo.com, @gmail.com or @aol.com. A customer who has a question may feel more at ease sending it to @YourBusiness.com than one of those listed.

Now adding your telephone number and website to the email signature it looks like this;

Steven G. Atkinson
Owner/Chief Consultant, E/S Technology Consulting
443 480-4999
www.estechnologyconsulting.com

To make your web address clickable in many email programs, simply add http:// to the beginning of it.

But there is actually more that you can add to the signature. You can use your signature as a way to promote a special, a new product or service.

My usual eMail signature looks like this;

Steven G. Atkinson
Owner/Chief Consultant, E/S Technology Consulting
443 480-4999
http://www.estechnologyconsulting.com

SMB Technology Tips – http://smbtechnolgytips.com

While you are at it, why not add your twitter page. Don’t have a twitter pager or wondering what is twitter? Twitter is a Social Media site that is gaining ground within the business community. It’s becoming a way to instantly contact those with who you do business.

Follow me on Twitter at Twitter.com/sgatkinson

Or this site at:
Follow me on Twitter at Twitter.com/smbtechtips

Now whenever you send a email your are promoting your business in a friendly, inexpensive and professional manner.

© Steven G. Atkinson – All Rights Reserved