Electronic Communication

Method	Main Use	Pros	Cons	Common	Affordable	Able to reach most consumers with this method?
Mailed Letters	- school uses mailed letter to give information out about the school.	-garenteed to get there. -personal	-slow -could get lost in the mail.	Yes / No	Yes / No	All aMost aSomeaFew aNone
Email	-transfer information	-communication back and forth -fast and easy	-don't know if it gets there -could sent viruses -don't know if it gets there -could be blocked -need internet	Yes / No	Yes / No	All aMost aSomeaFew aNone
Faxes	-sending documents	-fast -reciever gets a hard copy -can send a large amount of documents at one time -can schedule times to send out faxes at cheaper times (evenings and weekends)	-run out of toner -make sure there is paper -not everybody owns a fax machine -long distance fairs	Yes / No	Yes / No	All aMost aSomeaFew aNone
Web Pages	-advertise -contacts/info -prices -buy and sell things online	- easy access -available 24/7 -lots of info -anything you want up on the web	-crash -not personally -hackers -not everybody has internet access -speed	Yes / No	Yes / No	All aMost aSomeaFew aNone
Telephones	-to communicate to others from where ever to where ever.	-easy way to communicate to each other -affordable -everyone has one	-call waiting -telemarketers -costs money	Yes / No	Yes / No	All aMost aSomeaFew aNone
Intranet	-tranfer info throughout a small community -for a designated group -most likely need a user name and password to get on	-gives lots of inforamtion -pass info quickly	-not really common -could crash	Yes / No	Yes / No	All aMost aSomeaFew aNone
Pagers	-inform someone -get a hold of someone -emergency situations	-easy for people to contact	-not many have it -have to be charged -can loose it -if you don't have it on -get paged you need to find a phone to call that person back	Yes / No	Yes / No	All aMost aSomeaFew aNone
Flyers	-gets the word out -find them on poles, windshields, etc.	-stick in your mind -has to have somthing catchy	-people throw them out -littre the streets	Yes / No	Yes / No	All aMost aSomeaFew aNone
Slide show	-presenting information	-multi-media		Yes / No	Yes / No	All aMost aSomeaFew aNone

5. What are some negative things that can occur when communicating things electronically? Think of your customers and suppliers. There can be a virus attached to the e-mails and you can have call waiting on phone calls. Not everyone has a fax, etc.

6. Give an example of when you would want to use "traditional" communication and when you would want to use electronic methods in your small business and state why. Provide a small paragraph for each.

7. With the popularity of email it is quickly becoming the preferred method of business communication. Think of 4-5 advantages to using email instead of a traditional communication method.

7b. There are some concerns about the use of email and some potential abuses associated with it. Think of 5-6 concerns that you may have or that a business may have with using email for communication.

8. Using Google find a good definition for Netiquette. List some key points that you would pass on to someone for appropriate email use.

- adhere to the same standards of behaviour online that you follow in real life

9b. Spam has become a hot topic in the last couple of years. Read the article "Do you want Spam with that" and answer the questions that are part of the article.