Death By Email Blog

Don't Believe Everything You Read

People are 50% more likely to lie in email than when using pen and paper, according to a new report just released entitled, “Being Honest Online: The Finer Points of Lying in Online Ultimatum Bargaining” by reported by Liubia Belkin (Lehigh), Terri Kurtzberg (Rutgers) and Charles Naquin (DePaul) at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management.

The study asked 48 full-time MBA students to divide $89 between themselves and another unknown party, who only knew that somewhere between $5 and $100 had been given to distribute.  It was an Ultimatum Game where the receiving party had to accept whatever amount to them.  The MBA students reported the amount that they were giving to the other person and ‘how much they had to distribute.’

Students reporting using email lied more than 92 percent of the time, while those using pen-and-paper lied slightly less than 64 percent.  Not only did pen and paper users distribute more to the other party, but they felt less justified in lying.  The authors surmised that people may lie more via email because they falsely perceive the written documents to be more ‘legal” and permanent.  In a follow-up study, they learned that this justification with lying by email was determined before they chose how much to share with the other person.  (Social Capital Blog)

"When people are typing, they seem to carry around different norms in their head," said researcher Professor Terri Kurtzberg.

"I think this means that businesses and schools cannot just assume email is the same as everything else. If we leave it as a free-for-all, it definitely brings out a more negative part of communication," Kurtzberg said today.  (Lehigh Valley Live)

"People seem to feel more justified in acting in self-serving ways when typing as opposed to writing," Kurtzberg told CNN.

The authors note that other recent studies have found email to be associated with lower interpersonal trust, more negative attitudes, and, a greater penchant for “flaming”—sending messages that are offensive, embarrassing, or rude.

How Crazy Are Red Sox Fans?

Just how crazy are Red Sox fans when we play against New York?

Well, here is proof that crazy underestimates our state of mind. I am sitting on top of the Green Monster wall in right field, in a driving rain storm, waiting for the start of a game that has been delayed twice so far. The players are warm and toasty in the dugout. We are watching the Tampa Bay Rays playing the Detroit Tigers play on the large screen TV in the remote hope that we can win the American League East title. (Sox must win all three against the Yanks and the Rays must lose all three.)

It is wet and getting wetter.  Yes, we are insane -- Go Sox!

(HERE IS AN UPDATE)  The game actually started at 8:35.  By then, two big names -- David "Big Papi" Ortiz and Dice-K Matsuzaka -- were pulled from the line up.  I figure that the Sox either no longer cared about getting into first place or figured that the rain would stop the game before it became official at the 6th inning.

The game went until the top of the 5th inning when the rain started again.  We all prayed for the game to be called because the Sox were losing by a lot AND the Rays lost.  We still had a chance.  But, after another 30 minute delay, the game went on.  It was a messy, horrible loss.  Hopefully Ortiz and Dice-K got enough productive rest that it will pay off during the playoffs.  But this game was just a cruel joke.

Would Email Turn Mad Men to Madder Men?

I am an avid watcher of the great AMC series Mad Men, which takes place at at the fictional Sterling Cooper  advertising agency on New York's Madison Avenue (hence Mad Men) in the early 1960s. 

Based on the lives of these Madison Avenue executives, spouses and others, there is a lot not to like about life in the 1960s.  But, I do notice that these high powered executives somehow manage without a BlackBerry, cell phone, and laptop.  They can actually go home and not read their email!  How did they survive?

Yesterday, the Pew Internet and American Life Project released its new 57-page report on Networked Workers.  The results show how far we have come (or regressed) since those days.  The report talks about "Wired and Ready Workers," the 96% of employed adults who are in some way making use of information and communications technology (ICT) — either by going online, using email or owning a cell phone.

On the upside, a large majority of Wired and Ready Workers note big improvements in their work lives due to the influence of technologies such as the Internet, email, cell phones and instant messaging.

• 80% say these technologies have improved their ability to do their job.
• 73% say these technologies have improved their ability to share ideas with coworkers.
• 58% say these tools have allowed them more flexibility in the hours they work.

At the same time, half of Wired and Ready Workers note various negative impacts of communications technology on their work life:

• 46% say ICTs increase demands that they work more hours.
• 49% say ICTs increase the level of stress in their job.
• 49% say ICTs make it harder for them to disconnect from their work when they are at home and on the weekends.

How much work and stress does it add?  Half of those asked confessed they check their work email on weekends, with 22 per cent going so far as to say they did it 'often' on a Saturday and a Sunday. 25 per cent sheepishly say they even do it when they're on vacation.

What would the Mad Men think in 2008?

Joe Soto, who works for an ad agency, told City News in Toronto that he accidentally dropped his BlackBerry overboard during a cruise. He was out of touch for two days and admits he started feeling anxious about it.

"The scariest thing was when I was on vacation a couple of years ago, and my BlackBerry rang. I was in the middle of the Sahara Desert!" he recalls.

Will we ever be able to go without constant communications?  Soto says that there are times when he wouldn't mind seeing all the cell phones and BlackBerrys at the bottom of the lake.  But, he claims the do-everything technology lets him stay ahead of his competitors.  "If everybody also threw their BlackBerrys away, I would too," he acknowledges. "The only problem is, in my industry, it makes me more competitive."

Anyone who works in the email and electronics communications industry should download a copy of the entire PEW report. 

Windows 7 To Remove Built-in Email

Wireless devices may include an email client, but soon your desktop will not.  Microsoft confirmed yesterday that the next version of Windows will not include a built-in email client.  Windows Vista, Microsoft's currently shipping operating system, includes Windows Mail.

Speaking to CNET, Microsoft's Brian Hall confirmed that Windows 7 would instead offer users the option of downloading its Windows Live suite.  By unbundling the software from the operating system, Microsoft may be able to avoid anti-trust issues when it comes to email software.

Microsoft has said it will have Windows 7 on the market by January 2010.

Google Phone Data Plan Not Free

Despite the rumors, the T-Mobile data plan for the G-1 Google phone will not be free.  At today's press conference, T-Mobile stated that there would be a $25 unlimited web with limited messaging plan and a $35 totally unlimited use plan.

An actual photo of the device is attached. 

$150 Per Text Message

How much should you be paid to receive an unsolicited message on your cell phone?  It would appear that the answer is $150.

Timberland, the well-known manufacturer of rugged clothing and footwear, and its e-commerce provider, GSI, settled a class action lawsuit over alleged transmission of text message spam ads to the cell phones of consumers nationwide for $7-million in cash.  From this pool, $150 will be sent to each person who received a spam message from their phone, reports Mass High Tech and IDG.

According to the law firms appointed by the court for the class action suit, the agreement is the first major nationwide settlement of its kind under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act for the receipt of unauthorized text messages.

Norton Internet Security 2009

I have been trying the new Norton Internet Security 2009 beta from Symantec and I am impressed.  I was a devoted Norton user from the early days when Peter Norton's products, especially the Norton Utilities, made early PC operating systems usable.  My favorite utility was UNERASE for MS-DOS.  It saved me countless times.  But, lately, the Norton software turned into bloatware that slowed my system to a crawl.

Over the past year or two, I tried several products which had as a main benefit that it was faster than Norton. 

• Zone Alarm Pro from Zone Labs (now CheckPoint Software) was my favorite because it was comprehensive and customizable.  I was delighted that it used the highly regarded Kaspersky Labs anti-virus engine, Yet, the longer I used Zone Alarm, the slower my system became. 
• Windows Live One Care became the default for InBoxer because it was easy to use, although its default decisions made me wonder.  The other products that I tried were even worse as they caused system freezes and peculiar behavior.  My younger daughter became so frustrated with One Care that she uninstalled it and ran without anti-virus for weeks!  (Do not ever do that!)

This leaves the door open for new vendors.  Well, the new Norton impresses me -- so far.  The company claims that it is a complete re-write.  I have no reason to suspect them.  The new Norton is light and fast.  My PC boots in about half the time as it did under ZoneAlarm or One Care.  It is less intrusive with fewer pop-ups asking me questions about thing that should be obvious.  (ZoneAlarm has this habit of asking me to approve connections by networks and applications that I have approved many times before.)  And, it seems to be catching what needs to be caught.  (Of course, do I really know?)

The big failure in Norton is the anti-spam feature.  I think that Symantec knows this because it is the one feature that is turned off by default.  Of course, since my company makes the InBoxer Anti-Spam Filter, I may just know more about how an anti-spam product ought to work.

After a few weeks of testing, I have decided to keep Norton -- even tough my ZoneAlarm Pro is paid through 2010.

Free Wireless Email on New Google Phone

How much are you paying for wireless email?  Or, perhaps you are not reading email on your phone due to cost.  Well, Google and T-Mobile may be doing for wireless what Gmail did for email -- make it free, easy to use, and widely available. 

Rumors abound that T-Mobile will offer a free data plan on the ultra-fast 3G network to allow users of the new Google phone to access Google email for free.  This could be a major "game changer" in the wireless world and could significantly expand the use of wireless email.

The new Google phone, which will run the Android operating system by Google, is scheduled to be launched tomorrow at T-Mobile stores nationwide.  The phone will reportedly become available for $199 with a two year commitment.  There is no word on what type of voice plan will be required.

The move seems to be a bold attempt to both expand the market for wireless email and to take a swipe at both the BlackBerry and the iPhone.  A BlackBerry plan at T-Mobile with email costs $15-$20 per month.  So, the savings with a data-plan free phone for email would be significant.  The iPhone from AT&T requires a much more expensive data plan.

Many photos and stories about the new phone have appeared in the past few days.  The photos above are from CNET.  A revealing video, reportedly taken at a T-Mobile briefing in the U.K., shows an Apple iPhone like interface with a real keyboard.  Here is the video:

The Times of London provides some of the details on the phone itself:

Google, notoriously secretive about any of its new technology, is refusing to comment on the phone before its launch. But leaked photos and videos of the expected device, along with screenshots released by the search giant, show that the device is likely to have a touchscreen like the iPhone but also a slide-out Qwerty keyboard.

The phone is expected to have as built-in GPS (global positioning system), a tilt sensor for gaming, and a camera. It is thought it will be able to run Google's range of web applications, including Gmail, Google Docs and Google Maps, and will likely also feature Google's new web browser, Chrome.

FBI Raids Palin Hacker: College Student's Room

A witness told WBIR-TV (Knoxville, Tennessee) that FBI agents served the warrant at the college residence of David Kernell, a student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Kernell is the son of Mike Kernell, a Democratic state representative from Memphis.  The witness told the station that several agents arrived at Kernell’s apartment complex early Sunday morning, took photos inside Kernell’s apartment and that his three roommates were subpoenaed to testify this week in Chattanooga.

The station reported moments ago:

The hacker who compromised Palin’s account used Ctunnel.com, an Internet proxy site, which renders Web users anonymous, to get into Palin’s email. The site is run by Gabriel Ramuglia, 25, a Web developer from Athens, Ga., who said the hacker left behind revealing clues after posting screen grabs of Palin’s inbox.

Ramuglia said he saw the screenshots and recognized his site. He is now working with the FBI to provide agents with his business logs to help identify the criminal.

“I should be able to find out who is involved by going through my logs,” he said. “The FBI called me last night and they wanted to know that the logs weren’t deleted — as long as they weren’t deleted — and they asked me to help, so I’m downloading them.”

Ramuglia said the FBI told him they also reached out to Yahoo! to ask for help. The hope is that information from Yahoo! can be matched with something in the proxy site’s logs, identifying the hacker. The logs from both Ctunnel.com and Yahoo! were to be delivered to the FBI last week, Ramuglia said.

How Easily Can Your Employees Get Around Your Email Rules

I agree with Andrew Conry-Murray's recent InformationWeek blog posting:

Sarah Palin's Yahoo account is a stark reminder of how easy it is for employees to get around corporate compliance policies.

The news that one of Sarah Palin's Yahoo accounts was hacked didn't distress me as much as the fact she was using personal accounts for government business.

I know that the press loves stories about the dangers of the Internet and email.  And, I suspect that we will have lots of video images on tonight's news of the University of Tennessee student that allegedly pulled off the hack.  It is visual and exciting.

But where are the open government advocates?  Where are the Freedom of Information Act supporter?  Why are we not hearing about a deliberate effort to bypass the public's right to know by using personal accounts to bypass the law?