WhatsTheBuzzAbout.com

Your Online Attitude

Have you ever thought about the manner in which you express yourself online? You have many different opportunities to present your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions. You may elect to project different personalities depending upon the medium.  Any response which your provide will give the recipient clues as to how to approach you in the future.

Email

For example, the manner in which you generate or respond to emails may be different than the manner in which you participate in groups and forums.  You may have adopted standard language and standard approaches to particular questions or to solicit business, etc. You may have elected to use a solicitous response which would elicit more interaction, or answer the questions raised simplistically, or answer queries in great detail, or use language which would close the door to any follow-up.

You may set “out of the office” automatic replies, even though you expect to be out of the office for less than 24 hours. You may set the same message and state that you will not check your email even though you might have access to do so. You may refer people to others in your absence. You may make all people go through a spam filter before they can reach you for the first time. You may be someone who flags all your email as important, regardless of whether your email is time sensitive or otherwise important to the recipient. You may determine that you will respond to all email that is not “junk” or that you will be selective in your replies. Your volume of email may be such that you simply decide that you will not respond to all incoming email.

You may want to be the last one responding. Perhaps someone sends you an email, you respond, the individual writes back a thank you, and you just have to write back that infamous phrase “you are welcome.” Your email persona may be that of someone who has to have the last word regardless of whether it adds true value to the matter.

 These examples simply give you an idea of how you manage your email and your contacts. Are you sending a consistent message—a message that you are comfortable in presenting?

Groups and Forums

Are you an initiator in a group or forum? Are your postings and responses lengthy or short? Are your postings and replies generally free of grammatical and spelling errors? Do you dash off a reply or do you mull over the answer and carefully prepare a response. Do you take a risk that someone may not agree with you when you post your reply?  Do you write succinctly? Are you politically correct in your postings or responses or do you choose to avoid difficult subjects altogether?  Are you tolerant of others whose views are not yours? Do you forgive people who are combative or speak ill of you or others? Are you tolerant of new participants who are just learning the rules of participation? Is your written verse free of foul language, snide comments, and disparaging and condescending language?

The General Rules

·         Be authentic.

·         Be respectful.

·         Be clear.

·         Be timely.

·         Be tolerant.

·         Do not take any negative response or comment personally.

·         Forgive people for any errors, etc.

·         Follow the rules of the group or forum.

·         Participate and contribute postings of value.

·         Set a good example for others.

People would rather hear what you have to say than have you be stealth and not participate. Remember that you are here at this appointed time for a purpose. Share and you will receive a great return. You are an asset to any group.  Let your light shine.

What is your buzz about?

Your Signature Block

Your signature block, or lack thereof, is another method of providing information or restricting information to a recipient. Many people seem to be comfortable using a single signature block as their identifier. Most of these people revert to business information which is publicly available, such as general telephone numbers and website addresses.

Closing Salutation

The closing salutation, or again lack of closing salutation, is another insight into your personality. For example, do you respond with or without a closing salutation? If you do use one, do you use any of these for example:  sincerely, yours truly, respectfully, best, faithfully yours, as ever, kind regards, fondly, regards, cheers, etc.?  Take a moment– do you recognize that each of these examples connotes a different attitude to the recipient?

Perhaps you are like many other people and have different closing salutations depending upon the content of the communication. You may have a different closing for your children than for a prospective client, and a different one for a prospective employer than for a colleague. Do you change the closing salutation depending upon the circumstance or do you choose to take shortcuts letting your standard closing salutation fly for most email?

Your Signature Block Information           

Your signature block information is your format to communicate what directory/contact information you think is important for the recipient to know or to which to have easy access.  If you have multiple business and personal interests, you may have different signature blocks for each interest.

The content becomes important, and well as the layout. For example, if you choose to list a fax number, you may find that it might increase your opportunity to receive spam faxes. If you choose to list a Twitter, Skype, or Jaxtr address, for example, it might increase the number of individuals who reach out to you on those communication platforms. If you choose to list a LinkedIn™ link or link to another social media platform, it might increase the number of people who want to add you to their connections.  Those decisions might result in additional workload to you as your connections increase and others use that connections to reach others or share your information with others. Social media has a strong viral component.   

You may have seen signature blocks with many URLs listed.  Perhaps these individuals are on many networks, involved in many businesses, have blogs, etc. Do you find lengthy URL lists interesting or do you just dismiss them?  

The General Rules

·         Use different closing salutations depending upon the situation.

·         Use different signature blocks depending upon the situation.

·         Consider the business data you want to include, such as a fax number, assistant information if applicable, etc.

·         Use the proper name for the business. For example, if the business name is Charlie’s Storage Bin and Organizing Empire, Inc., don’t list “Charlie’s Empire.” Many people take short cuts with business names which makes it more difficult for others in the long term.

·         Consider very carefully what personal data you want to include, such as mobile phone, social media contact info, etc.

·         Consider what URL links are appropriate to include.

·         Consider the length of the signature block.

·         Ensure that your signature block is formatted in order that it can be copied and pasted easily into a data base.

·         Review the closing salutation and the signature block one last time before you hit the send button in each email.

What is your buzz about?