How do you keep up with the groups of people in your life?  For instance, you have a family, right?  How do you exchange photos and videos and keep each other abreast of events and updates?  Maybe you need a way to keep up with a group of college friends.  What about long distance colleagues?  We all have groups of people in our lives and sometimes we are looking for the perfect way of keeping up with them.

In the past we’ve used email lists.  You know, where you enter all of the email addresses of the people in your group and you begin to send emails back and forth.  Social media sites such as Facebook eventually took over that type of communication but there is still issues.  For instance, maybe not everyone in your group uses Facebook. The functionality may not be exactly what you need.  Then there are the privacy issues.

As a user of the ever-so-cool life-blogging site Posterous I am signed up for their newsletter.  The latest email I received from them really caught my attention.  Could Posterous actually be putting together a group site that will rival Facebook’s groups?  Well, I checked out the new group features just released by Posterous and in this post I will give you a run-through to see if it is as mad-cool as it sounds.  [LINK: Posterous Groups]

What Is Posterous Groups (in their own words)?

There are a couple of key phrases they used to describe what Groups is all about.  ”…a brand new service for communicating privately with your friends, family and colleagues.”  Two key parts of that statement are “communicating” and “privately.”  ”See how easy it is to create and maintain a group on Posterous.”  OK, so we ought to be able to maintain a group easily.  So if I get the story right, Posterous groups ought to help you keep up with a group privately by making communicating easily… or something like that.  So, if you have a group that you need to easily and privately keep up with, Posterous Groups may just be your answer.

Let’s go through the setup process and see how it goes.

Click “give it a spin” and you’ll get this pop-up:

Once you create the group, you get to begin adding email addresses.

After completing this task, the email addresses you entered ought to receive an email detailing some instructions.  Hopefully easy instructions, right?  Let’s check out one of those emails, shall we?

OK, so the email recipients should receive a link to the group site, the email address to use to post stuff to it (yes, you can post via email just like regular Posterous!), and a link to register if they want to use the site itself rather than just email.  Seems simple so far, right?  Clicking on the link will bring them to a page asking for a password and that ought to be all there is to finishing the setup process.

Once in you’re given instructions and you can see the other contributors.

Notice that on top of posting via email, you can also post via the site.

You’ll notice that creating a post is easier than using a word processor.

When the post is published, all of the email recipients will receive an email that looks like this:

If they click on “see the full gallery on posterous” they will be brought to the group page.  If they are new, they’ll be asked to set a password.  It seems if they hit Esc they’ll be brought to the page anyhow.  This is because Posterous can tell they came from the email sent.

The one concerning thing I noticed is that even before someone accepts the invite to the group, they still receive the emails.  There is a link at the bottom of each email allowing them to unsubscribe so I suppose it’s not that big of a deal.

All in all, I can see this replacing email lists.  A lot of people like Facebook and will still opt for whatever they are offered by them, but for many people Posterous Groups can definitely be a cool replacement.  It depends on the needs.  One positive I can see already is the fact that people who are only familiar with email lists will feel comfortable.  If they only want to use their email, they are welcome to, but even if they opt to use the Posterous page (which is way cooler), the learning curve is very minimal.  Your older relatives won’t have to be schooled in all the idiosyncrasies of a whole social networking site like Facebook.

My opinion?

It is what they say.  Easy, private communication to help you keep up with your group.  Again, I like how it keeps a certain familiarity with those comfortable with email.  This opens it up to keeping up with people who enjoy differing modes of communication.

I can see several possible applications in my own life.  I have family that would find this a whole lot easier than Facebook or email lists.  I also think that I could use it for keeping in touch with people involved in ministry with me, whether it be parents or team members.

What do you think of Posterous Groups?  What types of uses can you think of?

Check out Posterous Groups.

Physical manifestation of what my email inbox would look like

If you are anything like me, you have tons of email.  If you are a user of one of those web-mail sites like Gmail or Hotmail where you have tons of space, you may not even delete old email messages (with Gmail’s archiving option, why would you need to?).  For instance, in my old Hotmail inbox I currently have 3119 messages and most of them I have no intention of going back to organize them any time soon.

This brings up the question of this post: How do YOU organize your email messages so you can go back to find them when you need them?

Many webmail sites use folders that you can set up in order to organize your messages by topic or importance.  You can either drag and drop your messages into the appropriate folders or you can set up filters to automatically send them there.  Gmail uses a different, but similar, but much more flexible system with what they call tags instead of folders.  This way messages can have several different tags and therefore they can be in several different categories at the same time.  Either way, there is always a way to organize those email messages.

You’ll also notice that most webmail sites also have an email search box.  This way if you are looking for a very specific email in a very disorganized inbox (cough, cough!), all you have to do is type in a few search terms and you’ll hopefully find the message without an issue.  In fact, if a message in Gmail is archived, it is removed from the inbox altogether but it’ll still show up for searches.  When I began to hear that people are beginning to lose patience with organization tools and are beginning to rely on searches to find their long lost email messages, I began to not feel as guilty about my own jumbled up mess of an email inbox!

OK, so come clean!  How do you go about finding those lost emails from 5 years ago that you never thought you’d ever need?  Let me know, I could use the help!

Photo by Daniel Ventura

I got this email the other day (I found it today because it was filtered to my spam folder so I didn’t notice it right away).  I thought it was interesting for two reasons: I’ve actually heard of people being pulled in by emails like this, AND the story shared in the email is actually a neat story (they usually are).  Read it, remember the tactic, and NEVER be pulled in, it is ALWAYS a scam!

YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS MAIL WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGE
From: Lady Agatha Shaw.
A MAILING ADDRESS WAS SHARED HERE,
London , England .

I am the above named person but now undergoing medical treatment in London , England . I am married to Dr. Jim Shaw who worked with British Railway Commission in Chelsea England for over a decade before he died on 5th of July in the year 2003. We were married for fifteen years without a child. He died after a brief illness that lasted for two weeks.

Before his death he made a vow to use his wealth for the down trodden and the less privileged in the society. Since his death I decided not to re-marry or get a child outside my matrimonial home.

When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of $10 Million (Ten Million Dollars) in a Vault with a Bank here in Europe . Presently, this money is still there. Recently, my Doctor told me that I would not last for the next 150 days due to cancer problem. Though what disturbs me most is my stroke. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to an individual or better still a God fearing person who will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct here in. I want an individual that will use this to fund and provide succor to poor and indigent persons, orphanages, and above all the less privileged in the Society.

As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of my Lawyer. I will also issue you a letter of authority that will empower you as the original beneficiary of this fund, through my Lawyer. I want you to always pray for me. My happiness is that I lived a life worthy of emulation.

Whosoever that wants to serve the Almighty must serve him with all his heart and mind and soul and also in truth. Please always be prayerful all through your life. Any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing for an individual for this same purpose. Please assure me that you will act according to my specification herein. Hoping to hear from you.
Thank you and may the Almighty bless you.

This mail should be replied to my private email box:
E-mail: NOT SHARING THE EMAIL – sorry!

Yours sincerely,
Lady Agatha Shaw (Benefactor)

If you get email like this, just delete it.  They may make for interesting reading, but that’s about it!  Just another type of email SPAM.

Interesting news lately!  It seems a hacker has leaked some confidential information on some of the employees over at Twitter (not good press) and some news sources (namely TechCrunch) have said they’ll publish some of it!  Now there’s a bit of a debate over whether or not it would be good practice or even legal to publish “stolen” information.  I’ll let the lawyers work that out (you can still comment on the issue if you want).

Its interesting to note that Twitter does not lay blame to the security of Google Apps (apparently where information was held).  It’s also apparent that it wasn’t the fault of Twitter’s technical security technology.  The hacker actually weased his way in via an emplyee’s private email account!  This isn’t the first time a high-profile personal email has been hacked into (remember Sarah Palin?).  He then used his access to that account to find access to the company documents.

Here’s the interesting thing.  I’ve read articles using this case as a case against cloud computing, at least where it is today.  Its true that SaaS (software as a service) and cloud computing has some improving to do, especially in the area of security, but I don’t see this as much of an example of it.  Let me explain where I think the leak could have been avoided.

In this modern age of computing and Internet use, many company security policies are in dire need of updating.  For instance, one security standard that should have been upheld is the avoidance of the use of personal email for the access of company information (that goes from documents to network access).  The company should have full control over the security of services such as email.  If there was a breach in the security of the company’s email, it would be the fault of IT and hopefully it would be kept up to date and monitored so there is very little chance of such a leak actually happening.

For a personal tip (one I must also take advantage of), you probably have username and password information for various services throughout your email inbox.  For instance, do you remember that time you signed up for such and such service, or that other time you lost your password for that other service so a new one was emailed to you?  Just stop for a moment and think about how many of your accounts throughout the web can and probably will be compromised if someone got a hold of your email password.  Perhaps it’s time to search those out, write down or otherwise securely save those passwords, and delete the email messages containing them.  Also, you SHOULD be periodically changing those passwords in case they become compromised without your knowledge (check out this article about making strong passwords that you can remember).

I’ve taken the liberty to link to some sources that should help with company securtiy as it would relate to the Internet, mobile work forces, and personal equipment used for work.  Check these out and see how you can keep yourself, and/or your company, secure from nightmares such as Twitter is now dealing with.

1. Securing Our Clients’ Data While on The Road
2. Wireless Insecurity
3. Managing the Security and Privacy of Electronic Data in a Law Office – Part 1
4. Managing the Security and Privacy of Electronic Data in a Law Office – Part 2
5. 5 things you should know about wireless security
6. You should have a data security policy.
7. Email Best Practices – Email Policies in an Organization
8. Email Best Practices – Personal Email Management

These are just a few of many links and sites dedicated to helping other secure their data.  in encourage, nay IMPLORE you to do some research and get yourself secure.  Your livelihood could depend on it!

TGIFF!  Thank goodness it’s Firefox Friday!  It is that time again!

This time I want to address an annoyance I’ve had through the years fo using web based email.  Are you sick of constantly having to go to the site just to check your email?  Everytime I need to check the mail, I had to open up a new window or tab and go directly to Hotmail.com (not cool).  How much time is wasted?  Well, Firefox and one of its many wonderful extensions has once agai come to the rescue!

I found this nifty extention that shows how many messages you have, alerts of new email, and offers a quick and easy link to the site!  It’s called “Webmail Notifier.”  It’s quick and easy to install and use so there’s almost no excuse!

When I first tried it out, I had to laugh because it showed how many messages I have in my inbox!

It would seem that I’m one popular person but the reality is that I am actually just lazy!  I haven’t deleted old messages in I don’t know how long!  Anyway, now time is saved and I’ll always know when I have new email waiting to be read and returned!

Head over to the download page and check it out: Webmail Notifier

Buy Firefox and Mozilla T-shirts

Hello to all you Windows Live Hotmail users out there! For years, we have been without the option to use software like Outlook or Thunderbird to check our Hotmail.  People have been trying to get around this obsticle for years and have even switched to other web mail providers like Gmail in order to have this ability.

Finally, Hotmail has POP3! This means that if you follow the simple instructions on Microsoft’s help site, Send and Receive Windows Live Hotmail emails from a Mail Client, you can check your Windows Live Hotmail from your favorite email client!

I know, I know, most of you geeks out there think that gmail is better anyways!  I’ve had Hotmail since the 90′s and I’ll probably always have it.  Now I can fetch email from my Gmail AND my Hotmail with an email client so THERE!

I’m sorry about the cat picture but I was looking for a photo of a computer and I came accross this one and I couldn’t resist!

Photo by Sumocat on Flickr

Wikipedia defines SPAM for us:

“Spam is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages.”

Just like almost everyone else you talk to, I hate spam.  I hate it on all fronts.  I hate getting stupid sales calls.  I hate getting popups in my web browser.  I hate junk mail and junk faxes.  And I HATE SPAM EMAIL!

I get enough email already.  I like getting email.  I get email from friends and family keeping in touch with me.  I get email notifying me of all sorts of things from new comments on Facebook to appointments I would normally miss if I hadn’t put them into my google calendar.  And, occasionally I will get an email from myself rememnding me to do something or visit some website (corny, I know).  So, I DO NOT NEED SPAM on top of everything else!

In order to rid yourself of something unwanted in life, you must first identify it, then eraticate it.  As I see it, there are actually three types of email SPAM that bug me the most often:

1. Automated, unwanted spam with a known source, like advertisements from websites you’ve given your email to while signing up for various things, like newsletters or software registration.
2. Automated, unsolicited spam with an unknown source, like those Cialis ads that come out of nowhere or bank notifications from institutions you KNOW you’ve never done business with.
3. Email forwards, like those chain letters from your Uncle Marvin who sends along those emails warning him of some pitiful fate if he doesn’t.

Once you have identified the email as SPAM and have fit it into one of these categories, now you must irraticate it!  You don’t just want to delete it!  SPAM is like a weed which if you just cut off what is above the ground, it will spring back up again and again.  Don’t forget, SPAM is like a weed!

Each category of email SPAM needs a different method of irradication.  One method will not work properly with all of them and if implimented improperly, you may cause more problems!  Here are the methods separated by category:

1. Automated, unwanted spam with a known source: I think this one is the easiest one to deal with.  Most of these have a link somewhere in the email labeled “unsubscribe.”  Just click this link.  It may require you to enter your email somewhere.  Viola!  The emails SHOULD stop, meanwhile you can always create a separate email address for online sign-ups and registrations!  WARNING!  Before clicking any links, PLEASE make sure you know where the email is coming from!  If you don’t recognize where it came from, you’re dealing with the next category of email SPAM,
2. Automated, unsolicited spam with an unknown source: This type of SPAM, I believe, is the most difficult to deal with.  It may include misleading information, or worse, a virus or a link to one!  If you don’t recognize where an email has come from, PLEASE DO NOT EVEN OPEN IT!  If you DO find you’ve opened an email from an unknown source, PLEASE do not follow any links, even an “unsubscribe” link!  The results of such actions MAY be devastating.  Just play it safe and don’t open it.  All I would do when encountered would be to hit the “mark as SPAM” button in your email program or service and let it go.  Marking it as SPAM will at least help cut down on these.
3. Email forwards: These can be tricky to deal with because usually there is a real person behind them and it usually is someone close to you.  The question is how to deal with it without hurting feelings.  You CAN “reply to all” telling them to stop spamming you or they can forget getting anything from you for Christmas next year, but that can come across as harsh, mean, or down right draconian!  We want to find a more tender way of asking them to remove them from their chain mail list.  OR you can do what I do and attempt to filter emails with “fwd” or “fw” in the subject line and send them directly to the spam or junk folder.  I did a post a while back about email forwarding (check out the update, too!)  I particularly like this option because you can enjoy an ongoing relationship with your friend or loved-one AND free your inbox from those crazy forwards.  Plus, you can always keep an eye on your junk ro spam folder to see if you missed anything important.

There you have it!  While I’m sure nothing’s fool proof, your email inbox should be looking much less cluttered!  Don’t just sit around hating SPAM, do something about it!

It occured to me after writing my last post entitled: “My Email’s Being Filtered” that you may be using a different email service than Hotmail.  Here I will share some of the steps to set up filters in Yahoo Email and Gmail.  If you need help with a different email service, let me know, perhaps I can still help.

Meanwhile, lets begin with Yahoo:

1. Sign into your email account (seems like a good first step)
2. In the upper right hand corner there is a drop down menu called “options”, then choose “Mail Options”
3. Now you’ll find a menu down the left hand side and on that list you’ll find “Filters”
4. Click on “Create or edit filters”

Instead of using folders, Gmail uses what it calls “labels.”  They do about the same thing.  Here’s how to filter email in Gmail:

1. Sign into your Gmail account (getting sick of reading this step yet?)
2. At the top of the page beside the search buttons you’ll see a “create a filter” link
3. Fill in the criteria of the messages you want filtered and then click next (notice you can click “test search” to see which of your emails would have been tagged)
4. On the next step you choose what to do with the tagged emails.

So there you go!  Comments or questions are welcomed!

Just so you know, I have set up a specific filter in my hotmail box to automatically send any message containing “fwd” in the subject line straight to the junk folder.  Why’d I do that?  Because of the constant forwords I keep receiving.  I tell you this for three reasons:

1. I seldom read those emails anyhow and they are inundating my mailbox
2. If there really is something you really think I’d want to see, and you’re not just forwarding something to every living human you’ve ever known, you may want to make sure that “fwd” is not anywhere in the subject line!  Even though I will periodically glance through my junk, I’ll probably miss it if it’s sent there!
3. Perhaps other Hotmail users may want to set up filters to send specific email to specific folders and never knew they could.

For those who use Hotmail (or any other MSN email accounts – I think they are similiar or use the same system), let me walk you through the process:

1. Sign into your email account (duh!)
2. Create a folder and name it whatever you want (it should help to identify the type of email you will have sent there) – if you need help with this part, ask me and I’ll add it on here
3. In the upper right hand corner of the page is an “options” button, click it.
4. A list of options drops down (what a surprise, right?), go to the bottom of the list and click “more options”
5. Now a page containing categories of options should be up.  Find “Customize your Mail” and click on “Automatically sort emails into folders”
6. Click “New filter.”  Choose the filter options you want and then choose the folder you created for it.

Have fun and hopefully organize your mail box a bit better at the same time!