Email 101 Introduction to Email
Author: mety Labels:: Email 101 Introduction to Email
Email 101
Introduction to Email
Introduction
Do you ever feel like the only person who doesn't use email? You don't have to feel left out. More than ever, email is easy to understand and use.
In this lesson, you will learn what email is, how it compares to traditional mailand what advantages it offers. You will also see how email addresses are written. Then you will get to know the various types of email providers and what kinds of features and tools they provide with an email account.
Getting to Know Email
You may know that email (electronic mail) is a way to send and receive messages across the internet, but do you know how individual emails are sent or what are the costs for email or how email compares to traditional "snail" mail? To get a better idea of what email is all about, review the infographic below and consider how you might benefit from its use.
About Email Addresses
To receive emails, you will need an email account and an email address. Also, if you want to send emails to other people, you will need to obtain their email addresses. It's important to learn how to write email addresses correctly, because if you do not enter them exactly right, your emails will not be delivered or they might be delivered to the wrong person.
Email addresses are always written in a standard format that includes a username, the @ (at) symbol and theemail provider's domain. The username is the name you choose to identify yourself and the email provider is the website that hosts your email account.
Review the graphic for examples of how email addresses are written.
Sample Email Addresses
About Email Providers
In the past, people often got their email from the same companies they purchased internet access from. For instance, if AOL provided your internet connection, you'd have an AOL email address. While this is still true for some people, today it's increasingly common to use a free web-based email, or webmail, service. Anyone can use these services, no matter who they get their internet access from.
Webmail Providers
Top Email Providers
Today, the top three webmail providers are Yahoo, Microsoft'sHotmail, and Google's Gmail. These providers are popular because they allow you to access your email account at anytime through their website at yahoo.com, hotmail.com or gmail.com.
Visit the below links to compare the features of the three top webmail providers:
You can also set up and access your email account with these providers through the user-friendly email apps on your mobile devices.
Other Email Providers
Many people also get an email address that is hosted by their company, school, or organization. These email addresses are usually used for professional purposes. For example, the people who work for this website all have email addresses that end with @gcflearnfree.org. If you are a part of an organization that provides it's own email addresses, they will likely show you how to access it.
Many hosted web domains end with a suffix other than .com. Depending on the organization, your provider's domain might end with a suffix like .gov (for government websites), .edu (for schools), .mil (for military) or .org(for non-profit organizations).
Information Management Software
Many companies and organizations use information management software, like Microsoft Outlook, for communicating and managing their email. This software can be used with any email provider, but is usually used with an organization that is hosting their own email.
Email Productivity Features
In addition to email access, email providers also provide other tools and features. These features are part of aproductivity suite, which is what we call a set of applications and tools that help you work, communicate, and keep organized. The contents of the providers' productivity suites vary, but the major three providers all offer the following features:
- Instant messaging, or chat, which lets you have informal text-based conversations with other users. You'll learn more about instant messaging in Lesson 2.
Gmail's instant messaging system, Gchat
- An online address book, to store contact information for the people you email frequently.
Gmail's My Contacts address book
- An online calendar to help you keep track of your tasks and schedule, and share that schedule with others.
Google Calendar
- A public profile, if desired, that contains your name and basic contact information. Think of this as an online version of a business card or directory listing.
Sample Google Profile
In addition, each provider offers some unique features. For instance, when you sign up for Gmail, you get access to a full range of Google services, including Google Docs, Google Reader, Picasa Web Albums and more. Hotmail, on the other hand, offers connectivity with Windows Live and Microsoft Office Web Apps for Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
0
comments |
Getting to Know Email
You may know that email (electronic mail) is a way to send and receive messages across the internet, but do you know how individual emails are sent or what are the costs for email or how email compares to traditional "snail" mail? To get a better idea of what email is all about, review the infographic below and consider how you might benefit from its use.
About Email Addresses
To receive emails, you will need an email account and an email address. Also, if you want to send emails to other people, you will need to obtain their email addresses. It's important to learn how to write email addresses correctly, because if you do not enter them exactly right, your emails will not be delivered or they might be delivered to the wrong person.
Email addresses are always written in a standard format that includes a username, the @ (at) symbol and theemail provider's domain. The username is the name you choose to identify yourself and the email provider is the website that hosts your email account.
Review the graphic for examples of how email addresses are written.
Sample Email AddressesAbout Email Providers
In the past, people often got their email from the same companies they purchased internet access from. For instance, if AOL provided your internet connection, you'd have an AOL email address. While this is still true for some people, today it's increasingly common to use a free web-based email, or webmail, service. Anyone can use these services, no matter who they get their internet access from.
Webmail Providers
Top Email Providers
Today, the top three webmail providers are Yahoo, Microsoft'sHotmail, and Google's Gmail. These providers are popular because they allow you to access your email account at anytime through their website at yahoo.com, hotmail.com or gmail.com.
Visit the below links to compare the features of the three top webmail providers:
You can also set up and access your email account with these providers through the user-friendly email apps on your mobile devices.
Other Email Providers
Many people also get an email address that is hosted by their company, school, or organization. These email addresses are usually used for professional purposes. For example, the people who work for this website all have email addresses that end with @gcflearnfree.org. If you are a part of an organization that provides it's own email addresses, they will likely show you how to access it.
Many hosted web domains end with a suffix other than .com. Depending on the organization, your provider's domain might end with a suffix like .gov (for government websites), .edu (for schools), .mil (for military) or .org(for non-profit organizations).
Information Management Software
Many companies and organizations use information management software, like Microsoft Outlook, for communicating and managing their email. This software can be used with any email provider, but is usually used with an organization that is hosting their own email.
Email Productivity Features
In addition to email access, email providers also provide other tools and features. These features are part of aproductivity suite, which is what we call a set of applications and tools that help you work, communicate, and keep organized. The contents of the providers' productivity suites vary, but the major three providers all offer the following features:
- Instant messaging, or chat, which lets you have informal text-based conversations with other users. You'll learn more about instant messaging in Lesson 2.
- An online address book, to store contact information for the people you email frequently.
- An online calendar to help you keep track of your tasks and schedule, and share that schedule with others.
- A public profile, if desired, that contains your name and basic contact information. Think of this as an online version of a business card or directory listing.
In addition, each provider offers some unique features. For instance, when you sign up for Gmail, you get access to a full range of Google services, including Google Docs, Google Reader, Picasa Web Albums and more. Hotmail, on the other hand, offers connectivity with Windows Live and Microsoft Office Web Apps for Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
