At this time of year I am always reminded of
the usefulness of having a sensible email address that will hold up
over the long haul, especially Yahoo or Hotmail addresses which one
might conceivably keep for a lifetime.
I remember a couple of cases of students who had chosen email addresses
that sounded good at the moment, but became problematic later. Remember
that a Yahoo or Hotmail address may be useful to you for a whole
lifetime. Or one might have a .mail address across many many years.
One young woman wrote to ask me to contact her father, a man who had an
email address. I emailed back questioning why she didn't simply write
to him directly. She noted that her email address,
serepeinwild4u@lovemail.com was not something she wanted her father to
see, and I concurred.
Other addresses sound good, but age poorly, ones like johnsmith2003@oldyear.com
Remember that an address is likely to be used when applying to colleges
and for jobs. An easy, logical, memorable address related to your name
is probably an optimal choice for the long haul. If your name is
"Googleable" then you may be able to get your name as your address,
such danaleeling@yahoo.com
Trying your full name including your middle name works well if they are
unique, and creates an easily remembered and logical email address.
One option that I noted a student employing was to sign up with
yahoo.co.uk - which is Yahoo's address in Britain. So if your name is
taken in the United States, try another country like Britain or
Australia!
One thing to definitely avoid, do not combine your name with your
birthyear, such as kenyewashington1984@yahoo.com, as it provides too
much information to spammers who may get a hold of your address.
Some of you are debating whether to use your new @comfsm.fm address or
to use your Yahoo or Hotmail account. One student thought the
@comfsm.fm address is somehow safer. Actually there is no difference at
this time in safety and security - use whichever you prefer. @comfsm.fm
will be faster and more efficient, but then Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail
accounts last a lifetime and allow you to build up an address book over
the course of your life. Address books are important for staying in
touch with family and friends. You choose, I will get the mail either
way.
One final note - please, if you would, do not enter my email into
social networking sites such as MySpace,
Bebo, hi5, zebo, tickle,
ringo, zorpia, namesdatabase,
WebMate, Unyk,
MyGreenGroup, bingbox, getitfree, followme, honeybunchesoflove,
letsgetmarriedandhavetwelvekids, or...
These sites are designed to sell
advertising to those who visit the
sites, and to collect email addresses to which to send out spam or
variants thereof. The only one in the group that is legit
is MySpace, the rest are simply malware in disguise.
Instead of typing my email address into all the various web sites you join in the coming years, send me an email telling me how you are and what you are doing. I prefer to social network via email!
For more information about the true nature of these sites check out:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-23-2005/0004113994&EDATE=
They are interested only in selling advertising, and you are the
eyeballs that they brag they own.
The names are chosen to attract you like a fly to a spider's web:
http://www.igorinternational.com/process/social-networks-name-taxonomy.php
Many sites are actually the same company underneath with multiple names
on top - like a set of fish hooks along a long line. Unyk, WebMate, and
MyGreenGroup appear to all be the same underlying company. Each name is
crafted to attract a different type of person. Unyk may be a play on "Eunuch" and thus may be an allusion to those who have undergone a gender change from male to female. That nice young woman you meet may have once been a nice young man.