Since e-mail and social networking have come on the scene, it is a new way for us to make blunders and bloopers. Unfortunately, because it is in writing it can turn into a pretty sticky situation and it sure makes it harder to take your words back. People have been fired over e-mails sent to the wrong person, gotten more attention than they wanted because of them and some are just plain annoyed receiving them.
As serious as it can be, there can be a humorous side. I have seen e-mails where a typo has changed the whole meaning of the message. One e-mail I recently received used the word pubic instead of public. Without going into much detail, I’m sure you can see how embarassing that one might have been and since it was sent to a large distribution list...Well, you see what I mean.
In another e-mail, the person introduced themself as "...one of your fellow “sinners”" from a recent awards ceremony where they were both "winners."
E-mail is useful. I mean what would we do without it now that we have experienced instant messaging? It is also the number one complaint I hear from co-workers -- too much e-mail! E-mail can be annoying at times, but because of the speed we send them (sometimes without much thought or proofreading) they are also a good source of blunders and bloopers.
HELL NO• I was writing an e-mail to a board member, but instead of writing “Hello Mr. Smith” I wrote “Hell Mr. Smith.”
RECALL FAILED
• My boss came rushing out of his office. “Quick, I need to know right away how to recall a message.” He was a lawyer and had just sent some legal advice meant for our client to the opposing counsel. Oops!
NEVER SAY NEVER
• I was reading through e-mails that were going to be used as evidence in a court case. In one e-mail the woman had e-mailed her boss (who she was having an affair with) and wrote “Thank goodness nobody will ever read these e-mails.”
Moral of the story. Don't press SEND and regret it...think, proof and if you still really want to send it...then press SEND.
Practice makes perfect
5 years ago
2 comments:
I worked at a company that used Lotus Notes for email (and a lot of other stuff). I've used Outlook too and as much as I cursed Notes, I like it better than Outlook. It did have one failing though. Neither of us could spell inconvenience properly. But Lotus Notes spell check always always always suggested incontinence instead. Luckily I always caught this but I got several emails from others apologizing for the incontinence.
It's funny you should mention that word as years ago I used to do homecare and once when I was helping with an elderly patient the visiting nurse asked me if he was incontinent. Up to that point I had never heard of the word, but I didn't want to sound like I didn't know, so started blabbering about how he was doing that morning and tried to cover everything hoping that it would answer her question. I did get a strange look from her and decided after that that there was no dumb question...
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