ChickSpeak

With technology all around us and showing up constantly in our everyday lives, it can be difficult to remove ourselves from our various communication tools and remember how to use them responsibly.  To help you out, here are some frequently asked questions that I hear all the time and have struggled with myself. 

I hate that I can’t use my laptop at home because we don’t have wireless Internet.  Can I tag on to my neighbor’s wireless Internet since it doesn’t have a password?

Generally speaking, you should always ask before taking or using something that isn’t yours.  Wireless Internet is no exception.  Tagging onto someone else’s wireless Internet can slow down the connection for the owner, and it’s almost a given that they will kick you off if it interferes with what they’re trying to do online.

If your parents are a little slow on upgrading your Internet connection (like mine were until this summer), my first suggestion would be to try going to a local coffee shop or Panera that offer free Wi-Fi.  Be sure you aren’t taking advantage of their services, though.  Always be considerate and order something from the menu.  Restaurants often say that their bathrooms are for “paying customers only” - the same goes for wireless Internet.

If you don’t live near someplace that offers free Wi-Fi services, talk to your parents about getting a wireless connection of your own.  It’s much more convenient than driving somewhere every time you want to use your laptop for Web surfing, and you don’t have to worry about a slow connection when you’re the only one using it. 

However, if you find yourself in a worst-case scenario where none of the suggestions above will work, try talking with your neighbor to find a solution to your problem.  If you know you will be using his connection a lot while you’re home, offer to pay a portion of the monthly cost.  That way, you’ll have the same service for cheaper than what it would be to buy a router and your own wireless Internet.  It will also relieve any guilty conscience whenever you log on to connect. 

At what point in an email chain can I stop using “Dear …” greetings?

This can be tough to determine since the rules for sending email are largely unwritten and subjective.  I always like to follow the other person’s lead, especially if it’s someone older than me or in the professional world.  Some people expect you to use formal communication and refer to them as “Dr. …” or “Mrs. …” and others are more informal and prefer to be called by just their first name. 

If you are sending emails back and forth with someone from the former scenario, I would suggest always using some sort of greeting and salutation.  It doesn’t have to be the same each time, and you might not always use their name.  If you find yourself in an email chain with someone from the latter scenario, they are usually likely to drop a formal greeting after about the fourth or fifth response. 

I’ve found that often times, if the email message could just as easily have been a text message type of response had you known each other’s cell phone numbers, it isn’t always necessary to include a greeting or salutation.  However, never leave off a greeting or salutation until the other person does it first. 

For more information about when to use a closing in your email conversations, click here.

My boss just asked me to be his friend on Facebook. Should I accept?

The line between our personal and work lives is blurring, especially when it comes Internet based communications and social media, so it’s important for us to pay attention to our technology behaviors now more than ever.

For this one, I’d say use your best judgment.  If you know the person very well and have developed a friendship on top of your work relationship, then it might be okay.  Just be sure you “edit” your profile to show only what you really want your boss to see. 

Some people, however, prefer to keep their personal life separate from their professional life.  If that’s the case for you, try joining a professional networking site like LinkedIn where you can create a profile about your work experience and interests.  You can find and connect with other people at your school, workplace, or your geographic location in a more sophisticated way.  I would highly recommend creating a LinkedIn profile before you graduate at the very least.  It’s a great way to stay connected to your favorite professors and search for employment opportunities or companies that you are considering in your “big girl job” search.

I just got a nasty email from a friend (or coworker). What should I do?

First things first - never, never, never hit the reply button in the same sitting that you read the nasty email.  I can guarantee that you will regret it later. 

Instead, step away from the computer screen.  Seriously, go make a snack and watch a little TV or read a chapter from your favorite Twilight book.  Do whatever it takes to get your mind off that email for at least an hour; if the matter isn’t urgent to resolve, don’t respond until the next day. 

Waiting to reply to a nasty email will help keep your mind clear.  It will be much easier for you to separate yourself from the situation. Rather than writing a heated email back to the person right away, try to determine if that person was just having a bad day and decided to take it out on you even though you may not have deserved it.  Or maybe that person was trying to make a joke and you accidentally read too much into it.  (There should really be a separate font or symbol for sarcasm one of these days.) 

Check out this article to learn more about how to handle rude emailers.

The other day I was walking to class and listening to my iPod when I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in a while.  I really liked the song I was listening to so I only took out one headphone while I was talking to her.  Is that bad?

Believe it or not, some people find it disrespectful to leave your iPod headphones in while you’re talking to them.  By not taking out your headphones, you may be sending a message to the other person that they aren’t as important to you as your music.  There’s nothing more annoying than talking to someone whose eyes glaze over a little when they’re trying to focus on the lyrics playing in their head.  

If it’s a short, “Hey, what’s up?” line or two, then you can probably get by without interrupting your playlist.  If you physically stop on the sidewalk to talk to the person, however, consider taking out both headphones.  It’s always good to be polite, even if the other person doesn’t think anything of it.

“Technology should not be an opportunity to multitask conversations,” said technology etiquette expert Laurie Puhn, President of Laurie Puhn Communications, in an interview for Microsoft’s Small Business Center. “We’re not realizing these behaviors are rude.”

Ali Thompson is a graduate of Hope College in Michigan with a degree in Communications.  She enjoys freelancing in graphic design and magazine writing as well as unwinding with hazelnut mocha lattes and shopping for red peep-toe flats.