Email Etiquette

I have had an email address since Grade 6.  To this day, I'm still not sure about the exact format that an email should be in, how it should be worded, how formal or laid back it should be based on the recipient, etc.  I feel as though I should have this all figured out by now, but at the same time, I've come to realize that no one ever taught me how to write an email.  It's funny to think that, in elementary school, we spend so much time learning our printing and our spelling, and eventually letter-writing.  And we practice many different forms!  But when it comes to email, once we know how to type, we seem to be let loose to discover the wild world of Internet mail on our own.

Email has a lot of conveniences, and I'm sure that's why it's become so popular today.  It is instant, free to send (provided you have an Internet connection), and easy to respond to.  One of the best things about email for me is that I can read a message, think about it, and then choose to respond when I have time, or have been able to think of an appropriate reply.  In fact, I get my emails on my phone, so that if something is really "pressing" I can respond to it right away.  Yet, it used to be that we could go hours, even days without receiving mail or a phone call.  It's difficult to imagine a world without the types of communication we have come to rely on.

As casual as it is sometimes, I can appreciate the widespread reaches of email, and the trouble it saves us.  And even though I feel under a little bit of pressure every time I send an email, trying to make sure that everything sounds right, from the greeting to my signature, I don't think I can imagine my life without it.