Email gets easier

T+D,  Feb, 2003  by William Powell

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I stand by my December column, in which I maintain that email threatens to overwhelm U.S. workers. But findings from the Pew Internet and American Life Project claim that the majority of U.S. workers with email access--"work emailers" as the report refers to them--are handling their email load with relative ease. Of the nearly 2500 work emailers surveyed, 60 percent receive 10 or fewer messages on an average day; less than half (48 percent) report an increase in incoming mail over the past year. In fact, 65 percent describe their email load as not being a problem.

Those figures may come as a surprise. When I think of dealing with email, the word that typically springs to mind isn't easy, but it does have an e with double hockey sticks. I often receive 10 emails every couple of hours. According to Pew, I (and about 20 percent of work emailers) fall into the category of "power emailers." We're the ones that typically receive more than 30 emails per day, check our email obsessively, and then write about how the rest of the working world is e-swamped. Actually, power emailers appreciate email even more than standard users do, says the report, valuing its "impact on the substance of work and peripheral benefits in the workplace." In other words, they can't live without email. And with that, I agree completely.

The Pew study is a fascinating read that addresses the whole of email's effect on working life, from the way we handle daily tasks to how we communicate with those around us. For a full report, visit the Pew Internet and American Life Website [greater than or equal to]) http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/pdfs/PIP_Work_Email_Report.pdf.

RELATED ARTICLE: You've Got Discs

Last holiday season, anyone who purchased items over the Web or through mail order likely found a little something extra in one of their boxes: a gift from the folks at AOL cordially inviting them to sign up and receive 1000 hours of online use free.

What? You say you received more than one? Well, you're not alone. Despite having 35 million subscribers worldwide, Internet provider AOL continues a marketing campaign with free discs of the latest version.

Jim McKenna and John Liberman have created a Website devoted to ending AOL's practice. Their plan is to collect 1 million CDs (nearly 17 tons) and haul them across country from their home in El Cerrito, California, to AOL's front door in Virginia. Included with their delivery will be a request for AOL to stop sending the CDs.

"AOL is unlikely to change its behavior without a large public demonstration [of] dissatisfaction. Getting some of its junk mail back each day will have little if any effect. However, receiving several truckloads of their CDs all at once in broad daylight, with the media in full attendance, will have a larger impact," say the two on their Website [greater than or equal to]) www.nomoreaolcds.com.

AOL is far from alone in its CD-by-mail campaign. Microsoft, AT&T Worldnet, and Earthlink all follow the same practice. But AOL has gained the reputation for being the worst offender. The company won't say how many CDs it mails each year, but you'll have a hard time finding someone who hasn't received at least one in his or her mailbox.

In the Internet company's defense, AOL's policy encourages recipients of unwanted CDs to return them to AOL for recycling. However, Nomoreaolcds.com counters that AOL discs are sent 4th-class with no return postage paid, forcing postal workers to sort and throw them into the trash.

At last count, McKenna and Liberman's site had collected 103,989 program CDs, well shy of their goal. But the movement is spreading and already has global alliance members in France, Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

One group that won't be rushing to send in their AOL CDs are collectors. Ebay is doing a brisk business. In October 2002, for its premier of AOL 8.0, even AOL got on board and distributed 8000 designer discs to Bloomingdales customers. The CDs sported designs from Kate Spade, Donna Karan, and others and brought upwards of US$100 each on eBay. Rare ones with tie-ins to popular films, such as Star Wars, consistently sell for more than $50.

What would make collectors and conservationists happy is increased availability of affordable broadband connections. New users could download AOL's latest version in just a few minutes, rendering the CDs impractical, which, in turn, would drive up prices for collectible ones.

Quick Tip

Ever feel as if you've come in on the wrong end of an email conversation? Microsoft Outlook, like most email applications, lets users toggle the order in which email is displayed.

To avoid confusion, email connoisseurs suggest that you list your messages from oldest to newest. To do so with Outlook, find the Receive heading atop the pane for your Inbox. Following Receive is an arrow pointing either up or down. To toggle to oldest message first, click on the heading so that the arrow points up