18 Nov 2008

Advice on electronic communication

Businesses which invest in fast and reliable IT solutions are likely to use email as their main method of communication, but workers should be wary of the potential pitfalls that lie in store, an expert has suggested.

Email communication does not provide immediate feedback between the recipient and the sender in the same way as a conversation on the telephone or in-person, so it is much easier to "go off on one", said Rupert Goodwins, editor of IT website ZDNet.co.uk.

Google recently launched a Mail Googles application which asks the users maths questions before the message disappears into cyberspace in an effort to prevent users from sending content they might regret at a later date by checking they are in the right state of mind.

Mr Goodwins noted that general online discourse has a higher level of antagonism, compared to other forms of communication.

He added: "You have no way of telling if you've gone too far, which normally happens, but when humans talk to each other it's quite a complex business."