Mark Likes Music

E-mail, man . It's the worst. Back in the old days, I used to love making that walk down to the computer lab to see if any one of the handful of people who had my email address had fired an electronic missive my way. Staring at that two-tone, black-and-yellow screen, filled with anticipation, feeling that burst of joy at the sight of a line in the inbox: it was the highlight of my day. I still enjoy checking into my trusty Google account, but at work, I avoid my inbox at all costs. It's where my productivity goes to die, and it's not necessarily because of e-mail itself, but how and when people decide to send it to me. I wish more people would follow the advice of Harvey Schachter in the Globe and Mail , who also takes the time to realign our ethics of e-mail. For one, he dispells the assumption that short e-mails are rude, and asks us to "consider that lengthy emails are disrespectful of others' time." To that end, he recommends we follow a five-sentenc...

I got an email from Ragan's PR Daily today that pointed me to David Ogilvy's famous 10 tips on writing . Although he wrote these in 1982, Ogilvy concludes with a rule that everyone who uses e-mail should always follow: If you want ACTION, don't write. Go and tell the guy what you want. Or at least make a phone call. E-mail was once a nice tool to share information, faster than regular mail and more cheaply than a messenger. Today, it's a stage upon which co-workers can soliloquize and demonize (thanks to CC), and a quick and easy way to pass the buck. So, if you're really committed to solving a problem, if you really want to move things forward, take Ogilvy's advice. Get off your seat or pick up the phone and have a conversation.