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Silly Home Office Emails Beg My Response - and Thwart My Productivity…
By Jeff Zbar | September 24, 2008
I’m sitting in my home office, trying to get some work done, when this email comes across. I should be organizing my office, looking for ways to increase my productivity or boost efficiency.
Instead, I’m reading emails — and getting rather frustrated with my Fellow Americans. One email in particular offers a “solution” to our current economic crisis: Take the $85 billion that’s being steered to insurance giant AIG, divide it among 200 American adults, and that’ll be $425,000 each to spend as they wish and re-invigorate the economy.
Uh, one problem: That works out to a flat $425. No extra zeros.
Yet, as I scrolled through the email’s history of forwards, no one mentioned the obvious error. So I set off on a rant. I posted a tweet to my Twitter page: Got a forward to solve our woes: ‘Give 200m US adults AIG’s $85m. $425k each will save our economy’ Um, that’s $425. Remedial math anyone?”
I sent an email to the person who forwarded it my way pointing out the error. And I’m ranting here.
Sure, I’m voluntarily thwarting my own productivity. But I get frustrated with people who forward Love Letters, pictures of puppies, or superstition-based threads that promise unmentionable horror if you don’t forward the message. And don’t get me started on the Nigerian Oil Ministers who promise US85.000.000 millions if you provide them a US bank account.
People, don’t forward. Better yet, stymie. Set up spam filters for “Nigerian” or “Viagra” or other common terms used in these emails. Then, if the message was from someone you know (as opposed to a bona fide spammer) reply with a rant of your own highlighting the error and the silliness of your fellow Netizens who participate in such nonsense.
As for me, I’m headed back to work. That’s one more hour of my day that I don’t have to fill with actual work — at least until the next inane email comes in. Shouldn’t be long now…
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