Email Services

Using electronic mail (email) services is quite common these days. Many people depend on email as the first line of communication for business transactions as well as personal communication with family and friends. Most likely the greatest benefit to using email is that you can almost instantaneously send and receive communication over the Internet. Of course, there are many other benefits too, such as the ability to communicate with multiple people at once and accessibility anywhere that you have access to the Internet.

Email addresses all have a standard format which includes a username combined with a domain name of the service provider, always joined with the “@” symbol. There are hosted email providers and there are free, web-based email providers. Hosted emails are usually issued by a business or organization and are typically bound by the organization’s terms of use.

CLICK! In the next video would explain us a little bit more about What Exactly is Email.

(The video helps a lot because you can see the parts of the email and how it works)

What is Email?

Electronic mail ( email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email entered limited use in the 1960s, but users could only send to users of the same computer. Some systems also supported a form of instant messaging, where sender and receiver needed to be online simultaneously.

Three of the most popular webmail options today are Yahoo, Microsoft Outlook, and Google Gmail. These and other webmail providers often have some productivity features included with their service. Some of these features include an address book, calendar, and instant messenger options.

Introduction to email

Email (electronic mail) is a way to send and receive messages across the Internet. It's similar to traditional mail, but it also has some key differences. To get a better idea of what email is all about, take a look at the infographic below and consider how you might benefit from its use.

Email advantages

Productivity tools: Email is usually packaged with a calendar, address book, instant messaging, and more for convenience and productivity.
Access to web services: If you want to sign up for an account like Facebook or order products from services like Amazon, you will need an email address so you can be safely identified and contacted.
Easy mail management: Email service providers have tools that allow you to file, label, prioritize, find, group, and filter your emails for easy management. You can even easily control spam, or junk email.
Privacy: Your email is delivered to your own personal and private account with a password required to access and view emails.
Communication with multiple people: You can send an email to multiple people at once, giving you the option to include as few as or as many people as you want in a conversation.
Accessible anywhere at any time: You don’t have to be at home to get your mail. You can access it from any computer or mobile device that has an Internet connection.

Webmail providers

Popular webmail providers are Yahoo!, Microsoft's Outlook.com (previously Hotmail), and Google's Gmail. These providers are popular because they allow you to access your email account from anywhere with an Internet connection. You can also access webmail on your mobile device.

Email productivity features

The tools offered will vary by provider, but all major webmail services offer the following features:

Instant messaging, or chat, which lets you have text-based conversations with other users...
An online address book, where you can store contact information for the people you contact frequently...
An online calendar to help organize your schedule and share it with others...
A public profile that you can use for basic social networking purposes, like sharing photos, previous work or school history, and status updates, among other things...

Common email features

No matter which email service you choose, you'll need to learn how to interact with an email interface, including the inbox, the Message pane, and the Compose pane.

Inbox

The inbox is where you'll view and manage emails you receive. Emails are listed with the name of the sender, the subject of the message, and the date received.

Message pane

When you select an email in the inbox, it will open in the Message pane. From here, you can read the message and choose how to respond with a variety of commands.

Compose pane

You can click the Compose or New button from your inbox to open the Compose pane to create your own email message. From here, you'll need to enter the recipient's email address and a subject.

(A Compose pane will also appear when you select Reply or Forward. The text from the original message will be copied into the Compose pane. )

Contacts and calendars

Most webmail providers offer an online calendar and address book. These features make it easy to stay organized and access your important information from anywhere.

Contacts basics

Online contacts lists help you organize contact information for your friends, family, and coworkers, just like an address book. Once people are added to your contacts list, it's easy to access their information anytime and anywhere.

Adding contacts

It's easy to add people to your contacts list. When you create a new contact, you should (at the very least) enter a first and last name, as well as an email address. However, you can also enter other information, like a phone number, home address, and more.

Selecting contacts

Once you've added people to your contacts list, you'll never have to worry about remembering an email address. Whenever you create a new email, you can select the To or Add Recipients button.

Linking contacts

If you already have a lot of contacts saved in another web-based service, such as Facebook or LinkedIn, it's easy to link them between accounts, which can save you a lot of time. For example, you could import your Facebook contacts to your webmail service or use your existing contacts list to search for friends on Facebook.

Contact groups

If you frequently connect with the same group of people, you can create contact groups for quick access. This allows you to quickly sort your contacts by type.

Calendar basics

Online calendars make it easy to schedule appointments, organize tasks, and manage your time, just like a desk calendar. But unlike a physical calendar, online calendars give you the freedom to quickly edit and rearrange your schedule whenever you want.

Creating appointments

It's easy to schedule, track, and edit upcoming appointments or events. When you create a new appointment, you should (at the very least) include a title, start and end time, and location, but you can also include other information, such as reminder preferences, detailed notes, and more.

Switching views

You can choose a variety of view options for your calendar, including a daily, weekly, and monthly summary of your upcoming appointments.

Using multiple calendars

If you keep a lot of different appointments, you can create multiple calendars to help organize your schedules. For example, you might use one calendar to keep track of your personal tasks and another to manage your family's schedule. Each calendar is assigned its own color, so it's easy to organize lots of different appointments.

Sharing calendars

You can share your calendar with anyone who uses the same webmail provider. Once you've shared a calendar, you'll be able to view and even edit a friend's calendar, depending on your sharing preferences.

Email etiquette and safety

Etiquette is a set of rules and guidelines that people use to communicate more effectively. You should also know how to protect yourself from certain risks, like malware and phishing.

Email attachment etiquette.

Attachments are an easy way to share files, photos, and more, but many people aren't aware of some of the most common attachment mistakes. Be sure to follow these basic rules when including attachments in your emails.

Mention included attachments

Never attach a file without mentioning it in the body of your email. Something as simple as "I've attached a few photos to this email" will help your recipients know what to expect. On the other hand, make sure the attachments you mention are actually included with the message—it's easy to focus on your message and forget to include the file itself. We recommend attaching any files before you start writing.

Consider file size and format.

Avoid sending excessively large attachments or uncompressed photos, which can take a long time for your recipients to download. You can always ZIP or compress files to make them easier to send.

Only include related files

If you need to send a lot of different files to the same person, consider sending the attachments through multiple emails.

Email safety

Email is not totally secure, so you should avoid sending sensitive information like credit card numbers, passwords, and your Social Security Number.

In addition, you may receive emails from scammers and cybercriminals. The first step in dealing with email safety concerns is understanding them so you know what to look for.

Spam

Spam is another term for junk email or unwanted email advertisements. It's best to ignore or delete these messages.

Phishing

Phishing scams are messages that try to trick you into providing sensitive information. Certain emails pretend to be from a bank or trusted source in order to steal your personal information.

Attachments

Some email attachments can contain viruses and other malware. It's generally safest not to open any attachment you weren't expecting.

Avoiding spam and phishing

To protect yourself from email scams, malicious software, and identity theft, you'll need to understand how to identify and avoid potentially dangerous content in your inbox, including spam and phishing attempts.

CLICK! on the video to understand how Spam and Phising works and how you can avoid them.

Gmail

Gmail is a free email service provided by Google. In many ways, Gmail is like any other email service: You can send and receive emails, block spam, create an address book, and perform other basic email tasks. But it also has some more unique features that help make it one of the most popular online email services.

Google accounts

Creating a Google account is needed to access Gmail because it is just one of the many services offered by Google to registered users. Signing up for a Google account is free and easy, and naming your new Gmail address will be a part of the sign-up process. This means whenever you're signed in to Gmail, you are automatically signed in to your Google account. You'll be able to easily access other Google services like Google Docs, Calendar, and YouTube.

Gmail features

Gmail offers several useful features to make your email experience as smooth as possible, including:

Spam filtering. Spam is another name for junk email. Gmail uses advanced technologies to keep spam out of your inbox. Most spam is automatically sent to a separate spam folder, and after 30 days it is deleted.

Conversation View. An email conversation occurs whenever you send emails back and forth with another person (or a group of people), often about a specific topic or event. Gmail groups these emails together by default, which keeps your inbox more organized.
Built-in chat. Instead of sending an email, you can send someone an instant message or use the voice and video chat feature if your computer has a microphone and/or webcam.
Call Phone. This feature is similar to voice chat, except that it allows you to dial an actual phone number to call any phone in the world. It's free to make a call to anywhere in the United States or Canada, and you can make calls to other countries at relatively low rates.

Setting up a Gmail account

To create a Gmail address, you'll first need to create a Google account. Gmail will redirect you to the Google account sign-up page. You'll need to provide some basic information like your name, birth date, gender, and location. You will also need to choose a name for your new Gmail address.

To create an account:

Go to www.gmail.com.
Click Create account.
The sign-up form will appear. Follow the directions by entering the required information.
Next, enter your phone number to verify your account. Google uses a two-step verification process for your security.
You will receive a text message from Google with a verification code. Enter the code to complete the account verification.
Next, you will see a form to enter some of your personal information, like your name and birthday.
Review Google's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, then click I agree.
Your account will be created.

To access your mail settings:

Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the page, then select Settings.
From here, you can click any of the categories at the top to edit the desired settings.

Adding contacts

Like all major email providers, Gmail lets you keep an address book of contacts so you don't have to memorize everyone's email addresses. You can also add other contact information, like phone numbers, birthdays, and physical addresses.

To add a contact:

Click the Google apps button.
Click the Contacts button in the drop-down menu.
Your contacts screen will appear. Click the Add new contact button in the lower-right corner.
Enter the contact information, then click Save.

Understand sending an email

When you write an email, you'll be using the compose window. This is where you'll add the email address of the recipient(s), the subject, and the body of the email, which is the message itself. You'll also be able to add various types of text formatting, as well as one or more attachments. If you want, you can even create a signature that will be added to the end of every email you send.

Here some steps to send an email:

In the left menu pane, click the Compose button.
The compose window will appear in the lower-right corner of the page.
You'll need to add one or more recipients to the To: field. You can do this by typing one or more email addresses, separated by commas, or you can click To to select recipients from your contacts, then click select.
Type a subject for the message.
In the body field, type your message. When you're done, click Send.

Reading email

By default, any email you receive will go to your inbox. You'll be able to tell which emails are unread because they'll be bold. You can also see the name of the sender, the subject of the email, and the first few words of the email body.

To read an email:

From your inbox, click the email you want to read.
The email will open in the same window.

Opening attachments

Sometimes you'll receive emails that contain attachments. Generally, you will need to download an attachment to view it. However, many common file types, like Word documents and images, can be viewed within a browser window.

To open an attachment:

Open the email message that contains the attachment.
Click the Download icon to save the attachment to your computer. If your computer asks whether you want to Open or Save it, choose Save.

To reply to an email message:

While viewing the message, click Reply at the bottom of the message. If the message was sent to multiple recipients, you will also have the option to Reply to all.
You may want to double-check the To: and Cc: fields to make sure you're sending your message to the correct people.
Type your message in the Body field, then click Send.

To forward an email message:

While viewing the message, click Forward at the bottom of the message. You can also select Forward from the More drop-down menu next to the Reply arrow.
Type the recipient's email address in the To: field, or click To to choose a recipient from your contacts.
Type your message in the Body field, then click Send.

Using the Gmail app

We'd like to give you a quick overview of Gmail for Android and Gmail for iPhone. While the interface for these apps is somewhat different, you'll notice that each app gives you access to the same basic features.

Gmail for Android

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn more about using Gmail for Android.

Gmail for iPhone

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn more about using Gmail for iPhone.

How people communicate online

When people are not online, they use a variety of communication methods, including phone calls, written letters, and face-to-face conversation. We use these different methods depending on the situation. Online communication is very similar: People may use instant messaging, video chat, or social networking depending on the situation.

How you communicate through email is important because is not the same as talking to someone face to face because they cannot see your expressions and neither the way that you are saying stuffs.

CLICK! in the video to understand why! how we communicate online us important!

Chat & IM

Chat and instant messaging (IM) are short messages sent and read in real time, allowing you to converse more quickly and easily than email.

Chat and IM are generally used when both (or all) people are online, so your message can be read immediately. By comparison, an email message won't be seen until the recipient checks his email, meaning that chat and IM are better for quick messages and conversations.

Chat vs. IM

The terms chat and IM are sometimes used interchangeably. However, they can have slightly different meanings:

Chat often occurs in a virtual chat room, which can include many different people who may or may not know each other. Many chat rooms focus on a particular topic or interest.
IM usually includes a list of your contacts, called a Buddy List or Friend List, which allows you to see who is online. IM is especially suited for one-on-one communication, but it's possible to send messages to multiple people at once. IM is technically a kind of chat, and some IM services use the term "chat" instead.

Pros and cons of instant messaging

Will chat or IM work for your needs? Review some of the pros and cons to help decide:

Pros:

It's instant; you don't need to wait for the other person to check his email.
It's great for quick messages, questions, or notifications.
Compared to email, it's easier to carry on a conversation (or even multiple conversations).
You can stay logged in while doing other things on your computer, which makes it easy to multi-task.

Cons:

If someone is not online, you may have to contact him another way.
It's not as convenient as email for lengthy or complicated messages.
It's not always instantaneous: If your friends are busy or away from the computer, it may take a while for them to respond.
Since people may type quickly or use abbreviations, messages could be difficult to understand. Also, as with email, it's possible to misinterpret someone's tone.

Where to find chat and IM services

There are numerous chat and IM programs you can download, including Hangouts, Skype and ICQ. In addition, there are many browser-based services that don't require downloading.

Hardware and software requirements

In order to make phone calls from your computer, you'll need a microphone and speakers, or better yet, a headset with a microphone. If your computer has a built-in microphone and speakers, you may be able to use those instead. There are also adapters that will let you connect a regular phone to your computer or your router.

Pros and cons of online phone services

Will an online phone service work for your needs? Review some of the pros and cons to help decide:

Pros:

Some services are free or very inexpensive.
Unlike chat or email, you can actually talk to someone.
You can use it as a replacement for your landline, or just to save minutes on your mobile phone.
It's possible to set up a conference call (or group chat) with multiple people.

Cons:

Compared to IM or chat, it's more difficult to carry on several conversations at once.
Unlike a traditional phone, it won't work if the power goes out.
Some features, like the ability to call phones, may cost extra.
You may need to purchase a microphone, speakers, or headset if you don't already own these.
On slower Internet connections, it may not work at all or could be unreliable.
Most online phone services cannot be used to make emergency calls.

Where to find online phone services

There are numerous online phone services, but a couple of popular ones include Skype and Google Hangouts (which can also run within Gmail). Skype is especially flexible, as it allows you to choose from various levels of service, which range from free to paid subscriptions.

Video Chat

Video chat allows you to see and hear the people you're communicating with in real time. Whether you're talking with a family member or collaborating at work, video chat can add a personal touch to your conversations. Just like voice chat, it's included in many IM and chat services, and it's often free.

Hardware and software requirements

Like voice chat, you'll need a microphone and speakers, or a headset that contains both. You'll also need a webcam so the other person can see you. Many computers have a built-in webcam, usually located just above the screen.

Group video chat

With some services, it's possible to video chat with multiple people. This is often called group video chat or video conferencing, while the meeting itself is often called a webinar (short for web seminar).

Pros and cons of video chat

Will video chat work for your needs? Review some of the pros and cons to help decide:

Pros:

You can see the person you're talking with.
Many voice chat services are free and may be included with your IM or chat program.
It's possible to chat with multiple people at once.

Cons:

You may need to buy a webcam and headset if you don't already own them.
It may not work with slower Internet connections.
Even though you can see the person, it's not the same as talking face to face. Due to the camera angle and picture quality, you may find it a bit awkward or unflattering.

Where to find video chat services

There are a variety of services that provide video chat. The most well-known service is Skype, but others include:

Texting without a mobile phone

Text messages are designed to be sent from one mobile phone to another. However, there are some websites, such as textem.net, which allow you to send a text message from a computer to a mobile phone.

Pros and cons of text messaging

Will text messages work for your needs? Review some of the pros and cons to help decide:

Pros:

Texts can be sent and received with almost any mobile phone—not just smartphones.
They are great for quick messages, especially if you are away from a computer.
People you text will see your message either immediately or the next time they look at their phones.
It's possible to send text messages from a computer to a mobile phone.

Cons:

Text messages generally cost money, unless they are included in your mobile phone plan. Also, recipients may also be charged when they read the message.
The 160-character limit makes text messages unsuitable for longer messages.
Unless your mobile phone has a full keyboard, it may take a long time to type your message.

Direct Messages

When are direct messages used?

Direct messages are often used when email is not an option. For example, eBay sellers may keep their email address private, but you can always contact them through eBay's direct message feature. Direct messages allow both parties to communicate without sharing their email addresses.

There are two main types of websites where you might use direct messages:

Online stores: If you have a question about an item, you might send the seller a direct message. This is especially common on websites like eBay and Etsy where items are sold by regular people, not retailers.
Social networking sites: Websites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn let you send direct messages to other users. This allows you to send a private message without posting it to a public profile.

Pros and cons of direct messaging

Will direct messages work for your needs? Review some of the pros and cons to help decide:

Pros:

Your contact info stays private. Neither person has to reveal an email address.
You can send private messages that are visible only to the recipient.
It gives you an alternate way to contact friends if you lose their email addresses.
It's included with sites you may already use, such as eBay, Facebook, and Twitter.

Cons:

Like email, it may take a long time for the other person to see your message.
It can't really be used as a replacement for email, and its usage is more limited.

Where to find direct messaging

There are many websites and apps that offer direct messaging features, including:

Social Network

Communicating in a social network

Once you've joined a social network, you can start posting your thoughts, questions, pictures, links, videos, or anything else you'd like to share. These are called social posts because they are visible to other people, unlike direct messages or email.

Pros and cons of social networking

Will social posts work for your needs? Review some of the pros and cons to help decide:

Pros:

You can communicate with a lot of people at the same time.
It's easy to post your thoughts, pictures, links, and more.
It provides a richer social experience than email or instant messaging.
You can stay in touch with people who live far away or who you don't see often.

Cons:

If you have friends who use a different social networking site (or don't use any at all), they won't see your social posts.
You can accidentally post sensitive information that will be seen by many different people.
Things that you post may be permanent, so you have to be careful not to post things that could harm your reputation in the future.
Some sites have complex privacy options, which may be a bit confusing to set.

Where to find social posts

There are many websites that include social posting features, including:

PLUG-INS

Leaving feedback with social plug-ins

If you're viewing something online, you may notice buttons with the Facebook or Twitter logos. These are called social plug-ins, and they're designed to let you give feedback on a webpage. When you Like, recommend, or tweet a website, a link to that page will be posted on your profile, allowing you to share that site with all of your friends at the same time.

Sharing and comments

People use comments to give feedback, ask questions, or simply continue the conversation. Comments sections often appear at the bottom of a page or article. Not all webpages have comments, but they're especially common on blogs, news sites, video sites like YouTube, and image hosting sites like Flickr.

Pros and cons of comments and plug-ins

Wondering if you should start adding comments and using social plug-ins? Review some of the pros and cons to help decide:

Pros:

Interacting with the things you see on the Web provides a better online experience than simply reading webpages.
You can easily provide feedback on a page by telling the author what you think or adding information that may be useful to other people.
When you find something you like, you can share it with your friends, whether it's a product, article, video, or other website.

Cons:

Trolls and cyberbullies may add negative or offensive comments.
Things you post may become permanent, so you have to be careful not to post things that could harm your reputation in the future.
With social plug-ins, it's possible for companies to track your browsing history to collect data about your preferences.

BLOGGING

Many blogs focus on a particular topic or interest, like music, cooking, technology, or parenting. Others are less structured and cover a variety of topics. It's easy to find a professional design for your blog, even if you don't know much about building a webpage.

Different types of blogs

You don't necessarily have to be a writer to create a blog. Some blogs focus on a particular type of media, such as video or photos, instead of having full-fledged articles. Others have shorter posts. Below are some common types of blogs:

Video blog: Also known as a vlog, this is a type of blog composed mainly of videos. Many YouTube channels are classified as video blogs.
Photoblog: This is a blog that is mostly photos, with or without descriptions.
Microblog: A microblog consists of very short posts. Status updates are a form of microblogging. Twitter and Tumblr are two of the most popular microblogging services.

Blogging privacy

It's important to remember that blogging is a public form of online communication. Generally, anyone in the world can view your posts and your profile. This means you should be extra careful not to post sensitive information.

Pros and cons of blogging

Thinking about starting a blog? Review some of the pros and cons to help decide:

Pros:

It gives you an opportunity to write about things that matter to you.
Your blog can be read by people all over the world.
A blog is much easier to set up than a regular website.
You can choose a design and layout that you like.

Cons:

It can be time consuming, especially if you post frequently.
You'll need to avoid posting sensitive information because it can be viewed by anyone.
Writing derogatory or offensive content could harm your reputation.

Where to find blogging services

There are many websites that allow you to create a free blog. Here are a few of the most popular ones:

5 Free Instant Messenger Services

If you're looking for a way to keep in touch, we've collected five instant messenger services that allow you to chat with friends online:

Google Hangouts: Once you've downloaded Google Hangouts, you can chat from your computer's desktop, make video calls, and participate in group chats with other Google Hangouts and Gmail users.
Facebook Messenger: If you already have a Facebook account, this can be a convenient option. All of your Facebook friends will be easy to find through Messenger, so you won't have to spend time adding people to your list of contacts.
Skype: Although Skype is probably best known for offering voice and video calling, it also has instant messaging features. One advantage of Skype is its language-translation feature: It can translate instant messages, voice calls, and video calls automatically.
Pidgin: Pidgin is a basic instant messaging service for Windows that allows you to chat with users of other instant messaging services like Google Talk, ICQ, and many more.
Adium: Similar to Pidgin, Adium is a basic instant messaging service that allows you to chat with users of other instant messaging services like Google Talk and ICQ. The service, designed for macOS users, also lets you combine contacts if a contact has more than one instant messaging name.

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