#202 - PS...

Adding Enviro Post Scripts to My Emails

So, a couple of weeks ago, I get an email from my friend Jennifer* and at the bottom, right under her signature line, it says "Each day you wake up is always a good day! :-)". I read it, it makes me smile, and then I totally rag on her about it. Because that's the kind of friend I am (I know, you are SHOCKED that I'm not more popular, aren't you?!).

Anyhow, she goes on to inform me that it's something her Karate instructor tells them, that every day is a fresh chance to start anew with a positive attitude. Very zen stuff. Highly motivational. And much better than what I thought it implied which was: "That day that you don't wake up?... well that day's not gonna be so good". Anyhow, by adding this message as a post script to her email signature, she's able to share this cheery thought with others every time she sends out an email.

And you know what? It works. Because every time I see it, I still smile. And that improves my attitude, if even just for a moment.

So I decided, hey, if it works for happy, motivational thoughts, then why not use it for scary-ass, end-of-the-world, peak-oil, dying-polar-bear messages? Then I re-thought that thought (are you still with me?) and decided that maybe there's some middle ground between zen messages and a panic messages. And that middle ground is: eco-tip messages.

And so I've added an "Erin's Green Tip o' The Month" message to my signature line. I'll update it each month with a new helpful tip that will hopefully inspire others to take steps toward a greener future. If nothing else, it will definitely let anyone I email know that I'm a true-blue greenie. April's tip is:

Did you know you can change your energy supplier to a clean source such as wind, solar or biomass? The cost to you is only a penny or two per kWh, but the gain to the environment is huge! Check out the Green Power Network's page at http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/buying/buying_power.shtml to see if green power is available at your home!

Ok, it's a little wordy, I admit, but hopefully it will be read by at least a couple of individuals who go "huh? Really? OMG, I MUST CHECK THIS OUT NOW!!!". Or maybe they'll just say "Ohhhhhhh, I get it. She's an ECO-FREAK. Well, that explains a lot."

Anywhich, adding a signature line is super simple. At least in Outlook and Outlook Express. If you want to add eco-messages to all your outgoing emails, without having to type them in every time, you send an email, just follow this simple 42-step process:

In Outlook, Click on Tools... then select Options. Click on the Mail Format Tab and at the bottom you'll see an area labeled Signature. Click on Signatures to create a signature. In this new dialogue box, click on New... then give your signature a name. In the Preview box below, type in whatever you want your signature to be. (I have my Name, my blog link, my VMS link and under that is my eco-tip). Once you've got your signature set up the way you want it, click OK. Now you should still be on the Mail Format tab of the Options box. Go ahead and select your new signature from the drop down boxes in the Signature area. You can choose to put it only on new messages, or just replies/forwards, or for both. I put it on everything. When you're all set, click OK on the Options box and you're done! Easy peasy.

So what do you think? Is this about the easiest way to spread the word or what? It's definitely a lot cheaper than that ad I was going to take out in Times Square.

*Jennifer is her actual name, I was too lazy to come up with a fake name to protect her identity. And yet, I just took the time to type out this elaborate footnote. Go figure.