Category Archives: Email

The Power of BCC : Why You Should Start Using It

I hate spam. Actually, I don’t know anyone who enjoys receiving spam. And I know a couple of people who actually fell for those spam messages, thinking they came from someone legit. Or maybe because they were sent through an email address they’re familiar with. Probably because the owner of that email address didn’t know about the power of BCC or someone in their network was guilty.

BCC stands for Blind Carbon Copy. If you’re using email to communicate with anyone, may it be at work or leisure, you must have seen this already. But, I know there are still a lot of people who have no idea what it’s for.

First, an introduction:

To, CC and BCC

When sending emails to people, you are given these 3 fields: To, CC and BCC. Here’s a brief explanation of what each does:

  • “To:” field:  This is where you put in the email of the person you’re directly addressing. Usually, this field is meant for one person only.
  • “CC:” field: This is mostly used at work when you need to “copy” your boss or someone from your team when you send an email. Just like what the abbreviation means, it’s like giving them a carbon copy of a letter you’re addressing to someone else.
  • “BCC:” field: This should be used when sending mass emails to multiple people. It’s called “blind carbon copy” because everyone else won’t see anyone else’s email addresses that were included or entered in the BCC field. You can actually enter all email addresses here and nothing on CC and To fields. Your email will still go through.

For web-based email users, the BCC field is not readily available. You have to click on a link first to reveal the BCC field. Here are examples with screenshots from Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail:

BCC on Yahoo Mail

BCC on Gmail

BCC on Hotmail

 

When and Why Should You Use BCC?

In case you still don’t know when and why you should use BCC when sending emails, here are a few things you should note:

  • To prevent the spread of any email-related viruses, use BCC. You’re not only saving yourself from those annoying viruses, but it also shows you care about those who you’re emailing.
  • When you use BCC, you’re also protecting all your contacts’ privacy. I know a lot of people who don’t want their email addresses given out without their permission, especially when it’s their personal email address. This is another way to prevent spam from spreading. And I didn’t mean spam sent by bots, but those that were sent by human beings that were paid to spam people.
  • Not everyone appreciates it when someone replies to all, especially when it’s not necessary.
  • If you’re sending an email to multiple email addresses, more often than not, you should put their email addresses in the BCC field. Keep that in mind next time you’re sending an email.

I use BCC whenever I send invites to fellow bloggers for an event I’m handling or when a PR asks for help. So, everything I’ve written here about the power of BCC is based on my experience. I do hope more people start using this, especially those who know my email addresses. I’ve been getting a ton of spam lately because of unwelcomed / unwanted mass emails where the sender didn’t bother using BCC. It’s now on a daily basis that I get emails about winning the lottery or raffle, verification of accounts from fake domains, etc.

Oh, one last thing: you can also use BCC when you want to show someone that you sent an email to a certain person without the recipient’s knowledge. I know you can think of a situation or two where this will be most helpful. 😉

Google Labs : For Better Gmail Experience

Though I’ve been a Yahoo! and Hotmail user for years, I have decided to switch to Google Mail years ago because of features it provides me that I can’t enjoy with the other two email providers. I know a lot of you would agree with me on this. But, did you know that there are “hidden” features on Gmail that should make your life easier? I’m talking about Google Labs.

Google Labs features for Gmail

What is Google Labs? Google describes it as the playground of their developers, programmers, and creatives where they get to test new features or their craziest ideas. When I discovered this last year and asked around, it seems not everyone knows about it and the various options you can enable for you to get the most out of Gmail.

 

Where to Find Google Labs

If you’re not familiar with it yet or you don’t know where to go, Google Labs can actually be found as a tab on Gmail settings (between Web Clips and Inbox).

If you’re using the new Gmail, you need to follow these instructions ’cause getting there is a li’l tricky:

1. Click on your Google profile box on the top right corner of the Gmail page. Then, click on Account.

Google Labs step 1

2. You’ll then be directed to your Account Settings page. Click on Products on the left side.

3. Click on Gmail, and it’ll then give you a small popup. Just click on Settings.

Google Labs step 2

OR, you can simply click the link below: 😉

Google Labs on Gmail

 

 

Recommended Google Labs Features for Gmail

These are the ones I use and they have made me more efficient in handling my emails.

  • Inserting Images – There are times I wanted to insert an image into my email to further illustrate what I wanted to say without having to attach a document or to point them to an attachment. This option makes it easier for me. When you enable this, there’ll be an extra button on the Compose window that’ll let you insert images from your computer or the web.
  • Mark as Read – This makes marking emails as read easier – with one click! You might think this is ridiculous, but it’s one of my can’t-live-without Google Labs features.

Google Labs features 1

  • Signature Tweaks – By default, your signature will appear at the bottom of your email even when you’re responding to an email. I prefer that my signature appears on top of the email I’m responding to. No need to move it every time.

Google Labs features 2

  • Default Text Styling – Tired of the regular Arial font? WIth this enabled, you can set your default text styling to any of the other available fonts. You can even change their colors!

Google Labs features - Default Text Styling

  • Undo Send – This doesn’t really undo your email once it’s sent. What this does is it delays sending your email for a few seconds so you have an option to click on Undo on top. So, if in case you remembered instantly that you forgot to say something, you can still un-send it and edit the email again. BUT, when the time allowance is up, it’ll send the email and there’s no way you can undo that. 😉

Google Labs features - Undo Send

There are other features you can find in Google Labs including Background Send, Custom keyboard shortcuts, Flickr previews in mail, Message Sneak Peek, and more. Just go check and see what features suits your needs.

 

 

How to Reset or Remove Google Labs Changes on Gmail

If in case you have an issue after enabling any of the Google Labs features, simply go the following link to reset everything:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?labs=0

 

What Google Labs features on Gmail have you been using? Share! 🙂