Let manners rule e-communication: treat e-mails, text messages as formal communication.

• Author: Sergeant, Deborah Jeanne

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Along with almost everything else, the Internet has changed correspondence. The more e-mail and instant messaging are used in the business world, the harder it can be to know and follow the changing etiquette of the evolving technology.

"E-mail and the Internet are like every other great invention," said Mark Hopkin, president of Porcaro Advertising in Anchorage. "It has tremendous potential for good, but most people abuse it to the point that you wonder if it's worth it ... with great power comes great responsibility. Unfortunately, many people aren't up to the challenge."

Striking a balance between an off-handed attitude that's too breezy and one that's stuffy and stilted should be the goal for everyone who uses electronic communication for business.

Because e-mail and instant messages (IMs) are written communication, despite their lack of a physical presence, it is important that you retain some propriety. Just as you would not begin most business calls with slang or chattiness, e-communication should follow suit.

"When in doubt, err on the side of formality," Hopkin said. "If you have a comfortable, long-term relationship with a business associate, and a history of informal e-mails, then you can let history be your guide."

Steve Gonzalez, owner of Steve Gonzalez Marketing in Anchorage, agrees.

"How formal it is depends on how well you know the reader," he said, "with less formality required to those you know well."

CHATTY OR FORMAL

Your recipient's status can also influence how chatty or formal you should be. Sounding too casual with a superior can come off as assuming equality or unfounded familiarity.

Overall, e-mails should resemble written letters or phone calls when you write to people you do not know well. Keeping that in mind, some commonly used e-mail and IM devices should only be reserved for personal communication.

Be very careful about using emoticons, the symbols used to represent facial expressions or emotions (the ubiquitous :- for instance), slang abbreviations (such as "ttyl" instead of "talk to you later"), strange fonts, virtual stationery, background colors or animation. Unless you know the recipient very well (and receive messages from him that are similar), these can detract from your professionalism and can make electronic communication harder to read.

"Don't include cutesy stuff," Gonzalez said.

Standard fonts include Arial, Courier and Times New Roman. Avoid italicizing or underlining too...