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Speaking just for myself, email is now my preferred way of doing business
and I find that I am comunicating less and less with people who do not have
email.
Email can be just as formal or informal as the occasion calls for.
I don't know if spelling and grammar suffer. I think it's more likely that
typing errors occur, and are usually overlooked, because of the speed with
which you can respond to messages.
I can't imagine sending a paper memo anymore. I can control when I read my
messages, I'm not at the mercy of a beeper or cell phone. I even prefer
e-mail over the phone. I don't have to play phone tag. I get answers to my
questions much sooner than I would if I had to wait for a return call.
******************
At 10:31 11/18/94 -0500, Christopher Miller wrote:
>Two weeks after subscribing, I have de-lurked.
>I am a student in the Business and Technical Writing Program at the
>University of Delaware. I am writing a short paper for my Rhetoric
>class on electronic text. Will you answer some questions about e-
>mail? My concern is with e-mail in the business environment.
> * Do people use a less formal writing style using e-mail? Is a
> less formal style indicative of a less formal function? What are
> those little faces called? :-)
> * Is a less formal style encroaching on the more traditional
> methods of communication such as letters, memos and
> proposals? For instance have spelling and grammar suffered?
> * Is e-mail replacing memos? Telephone calls? Or has e-mail
> formed its own niche in business communication?
>I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.
>Chris Miller
>cmmiller -at- brahms -dot- udel -dot- edu
Regards,
Marc
M_a_r_c_ A. _S_a_n_t_a_c_r_o_c_e_________________________
Technical Writer/Trainer
TRW Financial Systems, Inc.
300 Lakeside Dr.
Oakland, CA 94612-3540
santa -at- tfs -dot- com santacroce -at- aol -dot- com
"Better to be judged by twelve, than carried by six"
