14.2: Part II- Email and Calendaring Apps

Previous modules introduced you to when, why, and what to use email for. This section will talk about email programs and how to use them.

Student email. Most colleges provide students with a college email address and a service for using it to communicate with instructors, administrators, and other students. School email accounts offer the advantage of being free to students, readily available, and easy to use. Sometimes, school email services have higher risk of being targeted by spammers or hackers, but most schools’ technology departments have multiple protections installed to prevent any serious damage.

Other free email services. Schools are not the only source of free email. Commonly, businesses and organizations provide email addresses and services to their employees free of charge. We’ll discuss these below.

Free email services like Gmail and Yahoo offer a convenient way to stay connected, but they come with both advantages and disadvantages. In addition to being free, these services are accessible from any device with internet access. Many provide ample storage for messages and their attachments, and some can be integrated with other services, such as Google Calendar. Built-in spam filters help protect message content and contact information.

Disadvantages include the possibility that free services may collect and use your data for targeted advertising. Also, customer support may be very limited or nonexistent, and occasional downtime can interrupt your access.

Choosing the right free email service depends on your priorities. If convenience and basic features are your main concern, Gmail or Yahoo might suffice. However, if you prioritize privacy or require advanced features, these might not be sufficient.

Work and Personal Email

Organizational email. With organizational email, the company owns the email address and provides the service to its employees or members. Messages sent and received are viewable through the organization’s security devices, and users should not believe their messages are private or confidential. Since the email accounts belong to the organization, once individuals leave the organization, they no longer have access to the account. If, for example, a real estate agent is using an email account provided by her broker, once she leaves that real estate firm, she will be unable to retrieve email sent there.

Personal email. Personal emails are maintained by the individual owner. An example might be [e-mail] in which a real estate agent named Mary Kim pays for her own domain name, MaryKim.com. Individual email account owners always have access to their accounts, regardless of their company affiliation. In the AgentKim example, Mary Kim will have access to her email regardless of which real estate brokerage firm she works with. This aspect is called portability. One distinct advantage to setting up a personal email address and account is branding, which helps create a professional image and builds awareness. And, owners of personal email accounts have much more control over their accounts, settings, and features than those using organizational email.

One downside of maintaining personal email is that the user must pay fees for the address and for the service. The user is also responsible for security of the account, and for backing up the data and recovering the account in case of technical issues.

The following types of email addresses are shown with their appropriate properties.

Organizational Email Address All email messages are filtered through the organization. The user loses access to that email account and all messages if he separates from the organization. Example: college or real estate company email address. Personal Email Address email messages are not filtered through the organization. the user will always be able to access that email account and its messages, regardless of her status with the organization. Example: your own email address through your own domain name.

Free Email Services Email service does not cost money. Generally not as secure (higher risk of hacking). Examples: Gmail, Yahoo Mail Paid Email Services An organization is paying for the service. Generally more secure (lower risk of hacking). Example: Microsoft® Outlook®

Calendaring

As a student, you will need to schedule your classes and study periods on your online calendar. That is perfect practice for your new real estate career, where every appointment must be scheduled in advance. Learn how to use your monthly WEEKLY? DAILY? WHY MONTHLY? online calendar app today.

Practice Zone

Using the calendar on your mobile phone, create an appointment for the date of this class’s final test. Also, add an alert or reminder set for about one hour prior. ________________ Learn to manage daily schedules and planning for weekly events. For appointments that are vital, set up an alert or reminder on your mobile phone. To set up an alert or reminder for appointments, events, work, or study times, (or even your son’s baseball game) one of these methods may be helpful: Phone “clock” or “alarm” app that buzzes and/or makes noise. Google calendar app; sync with your phone or watch. Microsoft Outlook calendar app; add pop-up reminders. By setting both one-time and regularly recurring event reminders, users ensure they are on time for appointments, classes, meetings, or other events.

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