Advantages And Disadvantages Of Email

Email has been around for a while now, but at times it's still hard to grasp. With all the advantages that come with utilizing email, is there really such a thing as a disadvantage? There's no doubt about it! There are definite advantages and disadvantages that come with sending and receiving emails. This article will cover both of those subjects so you can make an educated decision if email is right for you or not.

Some of the positives that come with email are the following:

Blind carbon copying (bcc): This is a great function of email recipients will not receive a second email, nor will they know that they have been sent on to others.

There is a search function attached to each and every email that is sent out. This can help you keep track of everything you have sent out. Sometimes it's hard to remember what all you have sent out, but with this search feature, everything can be brought up on your computer/mobile device at one time.

It is very easy to personalize your emails. It is, in some ways, easier than using snail mail. If you want to add a graphic or picture to your email, it's done within minutes and sent out. Another great feature of email is that you can open up a document that someone has sent and make changes right on the spot.

  This can save you time if you need to send the document back with changes made because if you wouldn't have changed it right then and there, the sender would have had to come by the office or whatever place they are at at the moment.

This brings me to another point of using email. There are many different ways to work with email. Also, you can customize it to the point where it is very easy for you to read. With a variety of fonts and colors available, it can be changed to fit your own liking. This is a great way of maintaining personal business relationships and sending only attachments that pertain to that specific business relationship.

There are also disadvantages with email that should be addressed:

It's not as fast as a normal telephone call or letter/postcard. For people that really need their phone calls answered quickly or if they need something sent out within 24 hours, this can be very hard to do in comparison to how quick the delivery time would be if using email only.

Also, if you are receiving phone calls via email, they are not as personal as a phone call would be. This is not to say that email is lacking in any way, but if you are accustomed to receiving personal phone calls from those clients/co-workers that call you up often, it can be quite different to receive an email asking for something or giving you important information. Especially if this is one of your close buddies who would make the trip just to see you.

Lack of emotion: The characters used in an email don't seem to have the same impact as when a person physically writes down an answer or comment that was made during a conversation.

They can be read by anyone, even co-workers with whom you are not close with. It's also a good idea to password protect your email account in order to protect your privacy, but in a way, that's just another disadvantage because it means you have to write the password down somewhere.

No way for immediate response: There isn't a way to send an immediate response back when either sending or receiving an email. If you send one and someone is generous enough to reply (which might take hours sometimes), it will then be sent out on their end. Not all people are patient enough or very technologically advanced when it comes down to this kind of thing.

Conclusion:

Email is a wonderful thing. It's a great way of keeping track of everything. You can search and sort every single email you have sent out, and depending on the level of security you want to have, it gives you the opportunity to work on your email at any given time and place.

You can also send attachments with documents that will help the recipient understand what you're trying to say better if they cannot see you due to distance or scheduling conflicts. Also, with all this said, it is important not to overdo it! Just because technological advances have made it possible (and relatively easy), it does not mean you should abuse the privilege.