• Intro
  
• Guest Article - How to build online surveys that get results by Michelle McCann, WebSurveyor Corporation
  
• The Office Corner
  
• Giveaway Stuff
  
• Grammar Question - Is it email or e-mail?
  
• Tech Tips by Terence Kierans - Two for the Price of One
  
• Tech Corner
  
• Writing Corner
  
• Trivia
  
• Word of the Month - Practicum
  
• OfficEtiquette - Ruthann Clemens - My two scents worth
  
• Judy's Corner
  

* For those of you who live in the U.S., I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday.

* Today we begin a new column, OfficEtiquette, which will be by Ruthann Clemens, a marketing specialist with The Rouse Company in Phoenix, Arizona. Feel free to send questions to Ruthann care of: mailto:judyvorfeld@ossweb.com?subject=OfficEtiquette_OSS

* Last month we featured a dandy article by subscriber (and a personal friend) Lorrie Morgan-Ferraro of Red-Hot-Copy.com. This month another talented subscriber--Michelle McCann--shares ideas on how to build online surveys that gets results.

* Congratulations to Sandra Rooke, of Ontario, Canada, whose name was chosen from the monthly book drawing! She picked a Merriam- Webster's dictionary. Want a chance to be the owner of a fr*e book? Go to http://www.ossweb.com/freebook.html

By Michelle McCann, WebSurveyor Corporation

How well do you know your customers? Would they buy from you again? Would they recommend your product or service to a colleague? Online surveys are essential to help you answer questions like these to better understand your customers and strengthen your customer relationships.

Although inexpensive and able to produce results quickly, online surveys still require proper project planning to maximize their effectiveness. I've outlined the six simple steps to conducting online surveys that get results, below:

1. Identify Your Objective
Clearly identify your research objective up front. The ideal objective has a narrow scope and can be clearly stated. To define your objective, ask yourself "what problem am I trying to solve?"

2. Decide What Information You Need
Identify the information you need to reach your objective. Be specific and avoid the temptation to gather additional, "nice to know" information that does not help to solve your problem.

3. Develop Your Questionnaire
The beginning of your survey should include an introduction that is enticing and clearly states the purpose of your research. Include instructions on how to complete the survey and an estimate of how much time it will take to complete.

After the introduction, it is time to ask questions. Like their traditional counterparts, web surveys allow you to use many different formats for asking questions. In addition, online surveys add new formats such as drop-down lists that enhance the look of questions with long lists of alternative answers, support for skip patterns, branching, and data validation.

As with any survey, the way you phrase questions will have a major influence on the answers you receive. Biased, unclear, or ambiguous questions will lead to misleading responses. To maximize results, questions should be asked with the following in mind:

• Use plain, easy to understand language.
• Organize questions in logical groups.
• Ask important questions first -- demographic questions last.

As a general rule, keep your survey short, simple, and to the point. Finish your survey by thanking participants for their assistance.

4. Conduct the Survey Once you have built your questionnaire, test it to determine that is clearly written and can be understood by your target audience. The two primary methods for distributing an online survey are from a web site or as a link in an email message. Make sure your message is clear and compelling. In addition:

• Address messages to a single person.
• Never list more than one address in the "TO" or "CC" fields since all recipients will see the entire list.
• Include a valid email address in the "FROM" field or recipients will consider your message "spam".
• Provide the URL that will take respondents directly to your survey.

Michelle McCann directs corporate identity marketing for WebSurveyor, a leading provider of do-it-yourself online survey solutions based in Herndon, Virginia. You can learn more about WebSurveyor by clicking here: http://www.websurveyor.com.

1. BOOKS, TYPOGRAPHY, AND MICROSOFT WORD: How to Get High-Quality Type for Desktop Publishing or Self-Publishing From Your Word Processing Instead of InDesign, Quark, PageMaker, FrameMaker, TeX, or Any Other Page Layout, Book Design, or Typesetting Program, by Aaron Shepard
http://aaronshep.com/publishing/

2. CALENDARS: Create free printable calendars that are formatted for Microsoft Word.
http://www.printablecalendar.ca/

GIVEAWAY BOOK! Subscribers are eligible to sign up to win a copy of "The Home Office and Small Business Answer Book: Solutions to the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Starting and Running Home Offices and Small Businesses" by Janet Attard, or a Merriam-Webster's Dictionary
Sign up once at http://www.ossweb.com/freebook.html

Q. I am a Web developer and have had many discussions about whether it's proper to use email or e-mail. I've always been told that both are correct, so within a site you have to choose one and stick with it. Just don't back and forth between the two.

A. One of my favorite style guides, The Web Content Style Guide (2002) by McGovern, Norton, and O'Dowd, notes that it's controversial, but advocates "email." I like email and I'm trying to switch over entirely to "email" on my websites It takes up one less space in a document (and one keystroke less) each time it's typed. It's not likely to be confused with any other word. But it's certainly not sacred.

You're right: consistency is the key. Here are some online sources that address the issue:

http://www.netlingo.com/inframes.cfm
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/e/e_mail.html
http://ezine-tips.com/articles/resources/19990818.shtml

CLIP ART
Take a look at Clip Gallery Live - http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx.

This Microsoft site offers more than 100,000 graphic images and sounds, including clip art, photographs, and Web animations. You can use these clips in your documents, but be sure to read, and adhere to, the licensing information regarding redistribution and usage.

EXCEL
To generate a visual reminder that a column and/or row is hidden: Select the column or row by clicking the header cell (the gray cell above or to the left of the column or row, respectively).

Press Shift-Alt-Right Arrow. An additional heading column/row will be generated with a minus sign above the column or to the left of the row.

To hide the column or row, click on the minus sign above or to the left of the column or row, respectively. A plus sign will be displayed above or to the left of the hidden column or row, respectively.

To unhide the column or row, click on the plus sign.

This works for multiple selections too.

Terence Kierans
Cyberspace Virtual Services
tkierans@virtualservices.com.au
http://www.virtualservices.com.au/
We keep your project on the boil, while you sleep

1. COLORBLIND WEB PAGE FILTER: From Wickline.org. View a Web page through the eyes of the colorblind.
http://colorfilter.wickline.org/

2. SHOOT THE MESSENGER: In addition to being a security risk, Windows' "Messenger Service" is being used to "Spam" Windows users across the Internet. This 22 kbyte utility gives users immediate control over the Windows Messenger service. By Steve Gibson, Gibson Research Center
http://grc.com/stm/shootthemessenger.htm

3. RGB-MIXER: When working on website design or other graphic projects, a tool like this comes in handy. Mix any desired color with the three sliders. Press ENTER or click button to put color string into the clipboard. You can make the program window stay "always on top" by clicking the pin button in the upper left hand corner. No cost.
http://www.programming.de/

1. BOOKS, TYPOGRAPHY, AND MICROSOFT WORD: How to Get High-Quality Type for Desktop Book Publishing or Self-Publishing From Your Word Processor Instead of InDesign, Quark, PageMaker, FrameMaker, TeX, or Any Other Page Layout or Typesetting Program...by Aaron Shepard
http://www.aaronshep.com/publishing/

2. 10 MISTAKES WRITERS DON'T SEE (BUT CAN EASILY FIX WHEN THEY DO): Holt Uncensored is a weekly email column and website about books and the book industry written by Pat Holt, former Book Review Editor and Critic for The San Francisco Chronicle.
http://holtuncensored.com/members/index.html

3. THE IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT PUNCTUATION: This is fun, funny, and a delightful example of why good punctuation works.
http://www.sonic.net/~ideas/evr/play.html

1. KIDS HUB: A free online interactive learning center for elementary school students. It features fun educational games, puzzles, and quizzes.
http://www.kidshub.org/kids/kids.cfm

2. DEAD OR ALIVE: Ever wanted to know if a famous person was dead or alive? This website will help you find out.
http://www.deadoraliveinfo.com/dead.nsf

3: AUSTRALIAN CANNED FOOD: Everything you ever wanted to know about canned food: history, recipes, nutrition, food sensitivity guides, how cans are made, food safety, and even a comic. Thanks to Blue Web'n.
http://www.cannedfood.org/

Main Entry: prac·ti·cum*
Pronunciation: 'prak-ti-k&m
Function: noun
Etymology: German Praktikum, from Late Latin practicum, neuter of practicus practical
Date: circa 1909
: a course of study designed especially for the preparation of teachers and clinicians that involves the supervised practical application of previously studied theory

*By permission. From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary at www.m-w.com by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

Did you know that many people are allergic to perfume and other similar scents? I am one of many who's experienced an allergy attack requiring a visit to a doctor. The fragrance at any perfume counter is subtle. Just enough to draw you closer to the scent but not enough to drive you away. But people using scents need to use restraint.

Warmth can affect the volume of the fragrance. As a room becomes crowded and the temperature rises, yours maybe the only fragrance that anyone can smell in the room. When in doubt, ask a co-worker if you have on too much scent. Leave the extra spritz for an evening out with that special person.

Women: put a small dot of perfume behind your ear or on your wrist for best results. Use caution with spray bottles: the scent of many perfumes can continue to build up and become overpowering to the people around you.

A word to the wise: when interviewing for a position, leave the scent at home. Because you'll be nervous, your body temperature will increase and the power of the perfume will be enhanced.

This advice is not just for women. Men need to be careful. After shave lotion or cologne can also cause discomfort, even ill effects if used to excess. Who would ever have thought that scents for men and women could be environmentally dangerous? Do you have any experiences you'd like to share with other readers? mailto:judyvorfeld@ossweb.com?subject=OfficEtiquette_OSS

Ruthann Clemens
Marketing Coordinator
Rouse Arizona Center, Phoenix, Arizona

What a delight to wish all of you the happiest of holidays and best wishes for 2004.

How many changes we've seen in the Internet in the past eight years. I'd love to hear from those of you who had opinions and ideas about what could happen with new technology. Did you really think you could have an online business that brought in a decent income?

Did you realize how much information you'd have at your fingertips? Did you have a clue as to how the Internet would increasingly support medicine, education, transportation, travel, and the military?

Send me your thoughts. I'd like to publish them in our next issue. What works that you though would not? What doesn't that you thought would work? mailto:judyvorfeld@ossweb.com?subject=comments_on_Internet.

Thanksgiving in the U.S. is over, and I'd like to say I'm thankful for loyal, helpful, talented subscribers like you. Thanks to all of you who contribute by writing articles or being interviewed. And for all of you who appreciate this ezine and take precious time to say so. YOU are what make this ezine work!

ARCHIVES FOR ALL COMMUNICATION EXPRESSWAY ISSUES
http://www.ossweb.com/ezine-archive-index.html

Questions, comments, recommendations?
Contact Judy Vorfeld at www.ossweb.com.contact.html

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go to http://www.ossweb.com/ezine.html