Sigh. Once in a while I will come across an email or a website, that is supposed to be for a business (e.g. to promote the business or ask advice), and it is so poorly constructed, that I wonder how long the business will last, and what state it is in right now.

One of my email groups received the following mail, which was sent in reply to a conversation on felting.

“Hi,

I was wondering if you can help me .. I started a business in west lothian
Scotland , which is ethnic crafts, we do bring all types of silk products
from India Like silk yarn, silk fibre, silk fabric etc… I usually sell them
to other shops . I would like to get some contacts in Ireland may be some cool
shops or group of people who really love these products ….

I hope you don’t mind me asking .

best regard’s”

So let’s see.

• There’s poor spelling, punctuation and capitalization. I’m ignoring the multiple full stops here, because I use them myself sometimes when so inclined!
• Someone who has not grasped the concept of email structure. Admittedly, on the group, there is a mixture of casual and more professional emails, but when attempting to gain business contacts, surely you would aim for the more professional looking mail, yes? When trying to explain email structure to someone once, I said “you have to write them the same way as you would write a proper letter on a piece of paper”. They replied “but that’s how I write a proper letter too!”. Again with the sigh.
• Someone who has not grasped the concept of threads. I know they can be confusing. I know it can be tough if you’re a new member and you’re still not sure what the email address is. But to piggy back on a completely separate thread and then not modify for your own purpose, starting with changing the subject heading, and ditching the old message.
• Inappropriate language. “maybe some cool shops”. What are you, like, 12?
• They do not mention the name of the business, or if they do, there is nothing to say that’s the name. No promotion whatsoever! How are we to find the company and establish decent contacts? (And I think I’ve just found their website. As a long time Internet user, with a background in IT, this website is screaming at me to be overhauled. The content is not much better than the email above. Even one of the external links I’ve clicked on – whilst not perfect – is already in a different class).

There’s a new initiative for women going on right now over at BlogHer called BlogHers Act.

BlogHers Act will take on two things –

1. Making a difference on a single global cause

2. Identifying the top four issues that women online want the U.S. Presidential candidates to address in order to win our votes in the ‘08 Election.

Imagine the opportunity that’s in all of our hands right now.

All of us know the positive, productive, monumental ACTION of bloggers, especially women bloggers, when rallying around a problem, an issue or an event. Since we started blogging a few years back, we’ve witnessed – and been so lucky to be a part of – countless moments, big and small, when bloggers worked together to make a difference.

There’s more details if you follow the link above. Basically, you blog your opinions, tag with “BlogHers Act,” and leave the link to your post as a comment to the post linked above. Or, if you’re not a blogger, you can simply comment your opinion on that post. Here’s a week one round-up. And the deadline’s this Friday, June 15th.

So if you want to participate, sit down right now and blog it, or add your comment today!

OK, as some one from outside the US, my ability to influence the first bit is small. However, the global issue for me is something easier. For me, one of the most important global issues is literacy. It has been shown that where women in particular can read and write, then infant/child mortality rates reduce, education levels rise, and the earning power of people increases.

I also heard a saddening statistic a few years ago, which I hope isn’t true. Only 2% of Americans read 5 or more books *a year*.

Can we not promote reading within our own communities, and also arrange for reading and literacy to be promoted in communities less well off than our own?