Time Killers: Emails Without Purpose
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The biggest percentage of friendly spam comes from jokes, cute photos, parables, opinion articles and other unnecessary time killers. Most people already feel overwhelmed by the amount of email they receive. Combine this with the fact that spare time has become a thing of the past, and chances are that time killers will simply be deleted.
If you're the sender, don't add to your friends' stress levels. If your email doesn't serve a purpose, you probably shouldn't send it. That's not to say that an infrequent time killer can't be a good thing. Ask yourself these questions to help determine whether or not you should hit 'Forward', and ask your friends to do the same:
How many time killers have I sent my friend this week?
(One is usually enough.)
How many people have sent me this joke / article / photo?
(If you've gotten it more than once, your friend probably has, too.)
Does my friend subscribe to the same mailing lists that I do?
(If "yes", they've already gotten what you're planning to send.)
Has my friend complained about being particularly busy lately?
(While it's true that a good laugh can help relieve stress, a full inbox tends to have the opposite affect.)
By now you're something of an expert in the Five Forms of Friendly Spam. In fact, maybe you should send the webpage address of this tutorial to all your friends! ;) Just kidding, but in case you need it...
