Lost in Cyberspace: A Safety Plan for Emailing Photos
When you're emailing photos, how can you make sure they get where they belong?
I love emailing photos. Webshots, cameraphone pics, digital documentation of my latest vacation -- you name it, I've probably sent it to someone. And most of the time, emailing photos is a fun, easy, and effective way to share your memories...except when it isn't.
You know what I'm talking about. That one time you spent hours editing your photos, making sure they were perfect before you sent them to all of your friends. Two days later, wondering why you haven't had a response, you ask someone what they thought of them -- only to learn they never arrived. Where are they? Where?
Lost in Cyberspace
Cyberspace is a word that doesn't mean anything. When we talk about emailing photos and we say they're "lost in cyberspace," it means we don't know what the heck happened to them!
When you think of it that way, it actually makes a lot more sense. We've all "lost the signal" on cell phones, televisions, etc. When you're emailing photos and they disappear, the signal vanished before it could reach its destination -- it's like that phone call that got cut off before the other person could answer.
The problem with this is that it doesn't happen very often. What's that, you say? How is that a problem? Well, it is, because it means you didn't expect it. You send an email and, hopefully, it gets to where it's going, just like a letter. But like letters, every now and then emails don't make it through.
Help! How Can I Save Them?
Don't worry: there are ways to protect your beloved photos. When you're emailing photos (or emailing anything important, for that matter), just follow these easy tips:
-- never, ever, ever, ever, EVER delete the originals from your computer
-- if you expect a response and don't get one in a reasonable amount of time, it's perfectly acceptable to send a quick follow-up asking if your email made it through. Blame yourself if you don't want to make the person feel bad for not responding (say something like, "I've been having trouble with my email, and I just wanted to check that my message went through.").
-- use a reliable server. Free accounts like hotmail are great and work well most of the time, but if you're serious about emailing photos, they're more likely to lose your message than a personalized account.
Let's face it: every now and then, emails get lost. Letters get lost. Packages get lost. Car keys get... um, that's something else. The point is... it's nothing to panic about. Keep on emailing photos, and back them up to stay safe!
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