| Quick Tip Archive: Technology |
Equipment IDs (for many happy returns)
With camps, county fairs and other summertime outdoor activities fast approaching, it’s a time of year when computers, LCD projectors, digital cameras, tripods, oak frames and display boards suddenly sprout legs and disappear. Happily, in most cases, the items don’t go far and those who intercept them are usually more than happy to assist in their return—if they know the owner.
Take a lesson from 4-H’ers who go to great lengths to identify their prized animals. Put a name and a return address on your valuable equipment. A laminated business card or adhesive label will do. You can improvise your own, or you can contact Emily Osam at printing services on campus (elosam@iastate.edu, 515-294-0011) for something a little fancier. Some of you aggies might simply pop in an ear tag with all the pertinent information…
The main thing to remember is make your ID legible and fasten it securely. The laptop you save could be your own!
Focusing on digital photos
Digital photos are great—easy to take, easy to process, easy to edit and print. But, to get the most from them, you need a method for storage and retrieval that is convenient for you or anyone else who might want to use them. One idea is to create a photo folder with subfolders on your office shared (S) drive. Subfolders can be classified according to office staff, program area, or specific events. As photos are taken, store the original on the S drive in the appropriate folder. Then when they are needed everyone (including you) will know where to look. You can copy the original to your own hard drive for editing and use. Hopefully, by storing originals and edited photos separately, the original won’t be destroyed.
Just another tip from External Relations to help you stay in focus!
A reminder about e-mail messages
Do you still receive e-mail messages that call for quick action via phone, fax or USPS, then have to conduct a lengthy search to find the address or phone number you need? Including all of your professional contact information within a brief e-mail signature can be a much appreciated time-saver for your communication partners. Besides, it’s the standard now for all ISU Extension staff.
On your Outlook toolbar, go to “tools,” then “options,” then to the “mail format” tab and follow the prompting under signatures to create your own listing with the information below. And please remember to forego the personal tag lines or sayings. Not everyone may have the same sense of humor or outlook on life that you do. Beyond that, personal monikers detract from the professional image ISU Extension tries to project.
So, if you aren’t including a signature box with your e-mail messages yet, better “getter done.” It should make for many happy (and quicker) returns.
Name
Title
Address
City, State, Zip
Phone; FAX
Email and/or Website
Netiquette - STOP SHOUTING!
You probably won’t find “netiquette” listed in many computer manuals, or the dictionary for that matter. But, it has quickly become a vital part of computer communications. Netiquette (Internet etiquette) is the unofficial code of on-line conduct which keeps e-mail communication neat, concise and civil.
Some people like to type a message in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS for ADDED EMPHASIS. Others frequently underline for the same reason—or resort to excessive punctuation!!!
In any case it’s hard to read. Worse yet, readers may be offended by what they view as a print version of YOU YELLING IN THEIR FACE!!!
So, use capitalization and punctuation sparingly and only where appropriate. Compose your e-mail messages in the same written tone of voice you would normally use to a friend.
It’s just one more notable instance of where less is more.
Setting up an e-mail notification message
Staff members who will be out of the office for an extended period of time, either on business or vacation, may want to consider setting up a notification message that will automatically reply to any Extension staff member contacting your e-mail account.
A few details concerning the extent of your time out of the office, and the names of other staff members who might be contacted in your absence would be a nice professional courtesy. The set-up process is simple and should take only a couple of minutes. Then relax; your e-secretary will pass the word along for you.
Step-by-step:
- Open Microsoft Outlook
- Click on “Tools.”
- Click on “Out of office assistant.”
- Click the circle “I am currently out of the office.”
- In the text box, type in the message you want to appear in the notification.
- When finished, click “OK.”
The message will be sent automatically to anyone on the ISU Extension email system who contacts you. When you return, you can end the notification by switching the Out of Office Assistant setting back to “I am currently in the office.”
Personalize e-mail if you want a response
Sending a mass e-mail message (like this one) is a fast, efficient way to get information to many people at once. We don’t expect a response to this message-but if we did, mass email would probably not be the way to go.
According to Harvard Business School researchers Greg Barron and Eldad Yechiam, mass e-mails lead to a diffusion of responsibility—everybody thinks somebody else will reply. The more people queried, the lower the proportion of responses.
As you plan electronic messages which request information or demand a reply, it’s best to send those messages individually. This is true regardless of whether you communicate with staff, stakeholders, council members, volunteers or the general public.
Investing a little more effort initially to personalize the e-mail message should assure a better response rate and may save you time in the long run.
Putting a wrap on pix
Some staff have had trouble wrapping text around photos on impact sheets or various other MS Word documents. Here are some simple tips that should help. You may want to print them off and post in a handy location.
Type your message on a sheet and click somewhere within the middle of your text>click on insert>go to picture>select from file>find the location where your picture is stored and double click on the photo you wish to use>left click on the photo (it will probably be larger than you want)>advance cursor to the upper right hand corner until double arrows appear>push in or pull out with arrows to change the photo size while maintaining proportions>right click on the photo>select format picture>go to layout>click on tight>click ok.
You should now be able to place your photo anywhere on the page and wrap text around it. The process should work in any MS Word publication. Let your ER specialist know if you have problems.
Using a filescatter
If you have a very large electronic file to transmit to more than one person, e-mail may not be your best bet for doing the job. Folks on the receiving end of very large files may be less than thrilled if their e-mail is bogged down for an extended period waiting for a file to download.
A better idea might be to use a filescatter. Filescatters use the Internet to allow quick access to large files by multiple recipients. What’s especially nice is that those recipients, whom you notify, can access the material at their convenience and without tying up e-mail networks in the process.
Simply go to http://dbs.extension.iastate.edu/filescatter, and follow directions. Just remember to put in a complete email address. For example, you should send it to username@iastate.edu, not just the user name.
Filescatter is a superior tool for sharing brochures, photos, templates and PowerPoint presentations with multiple recipients. And so far, the postage is still the same!
Add benefits to your web calendar listings
Audience benefits are important to include in any promotional piece, whether it be news releases, brochures, newsletter articles—even items on the web calendar. As you add an event to the calendar, use the description box to highlight the benefits in a sentence or two. A couple of examples:
“Dining with Diabetes” - If you or a family member has diabetes, you face the challenge of preparing meals that are low in sugar, fat and sodium. This three-part series shows how to prepare tasty foods using artificial sweeteners, low-fat ingredients, herbs and spices.
“Beef Field Day” - A two-hour program full of money-saving ideas for cattle producers looking for grazing alternatives.
Best advice for listing benefits on the web calendar: Keep it short and stick to facts.
Who they gonna call?
Most people first look under “E” in the phone book to find Extension. If your number isn’t there, either in the business or community sections, you likely have a communications problem.
The Extension Field and County Operations Guide says that in phone directories, Extension offices should be listed in the following manner: Extension, ISU, (your) County, (your address), (your phone number).
To make a change, contact your telephone service provider (the name on your monthly bill) and tell them how you wish to be listed. They prepare and distribute a central listing annually and with one call you should be able to cover all the directories in your area.
While you’re at it, you might want to consider a listing under both the government and business/community sections. Some companies provide the additional government listing free of charge, others ask a small fee. Regardless, it’s a way to increase your reach and visibility for little extra expense.
For complete Extension telephone guidelines, go to http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ofcguide/Section3e.htm#3e4 and scroll down to “Listings in Telephone Directories.”