Getting To Know Email

Introduction to email
Do you ever feel like the only person who doesn't use email? You don't have to feel
left out. If you're just getting started, you'll see that with a little bit of practice, email
is easy to understand and use.
In this lesson, you will learn what email is, how it compares
to traditional mail, and how email addresses are written.
We'll also discuss various types of email providers and
the features and tools they include with an email account.
Getting to know email

Email (electronic mail) is a way to send and receive messages across the Internet. It's
similar to traditional mail, but it also has some key differences. To get a better idea of
what email is all about, take a look at the infographic below and consider how you
might benefit from its use.
Email advantages
 Productivity tools: Email is usually
packaged with a calendar, address
book, instant messaging, and more for
convenience and productivity.
 Access to web services: If you want
to sign up for an account like Facebook
or order products from services like
Amazon, you will need an email address
so you can be safely identified and
contacted.
 Easy mail management: Email
service providers have tools that allow
you to file, label, prioritize, find, group,
and filter your emails for easy
management. You can even easily
control spam, or junk email.
 Privacy: Your email is delivered to your
own personal and private account with a
password required to access and view
emails.
 Communication with multiple
people: You can send an email to
multiple people at once, giving you the
option to include as few as or as many
people as you want in a conversation.
 Accessible anywhere at any
time: You don’t have to be at home to
get your mail. You can access it from
any computer or mobile device that has
an Internet connection.
Understanding email addresses

To receive emails, you will need an email account and an email
address. Also, if you want to send emails to other people, you will
need to obtain their email addresses. It's important to learn how
to write email addresses correctly because if you do not enter
them exactly right, your emails will not be delivered or might be
delivered to the wrong person.
Email addresses are always written in a standard format that

includes a username, the @ (at) symbol, and the email
provider's domain.
The username is the name you choose to identify yourself.

The email provider is the website that hosts your email account.
Some businesses and organizations use email addresses with their

own website domain.
About email providers

In the past, people usually received an email account from the
same companies that provided their Internet access. For example,
if AOL provided your Internet connection, you'd have an AOL email
address. While this is still true for some people, today it's
increasingly common to use a free web-based email service,
also known as webmail. Anyone can use these services, no
matter who provides their Internet access.
Webmail providers
Popular webmail providers are Yahoo!,
Microsoft's Outlook.com (previously Hotmail), and
Google's Gmail. These providers are popular because they allow
you to access your email account from anywhere with an Internet
connection. You can also access webmail on your mobile device.
Visit the links below to compare the features of the three top
webmail providers:
 Yahoo! Features
 Outlook.com Features
 Gmail Features
Other email providers and applications

Many people also have an email address hosted by their
company, school, or organization. These email addresses are
usually for professional purposes. For example, the people who
work for this website have email addresses that end
with @gcflearnfree.org. If you are part of an organization that
hosts your email, they'll show you how to access it.
Many hosted web domains end with a suffix other than .com.
Depending on the organization, your provider's domain might end
with a suffix like .gov (for government websites), .edu (for
schools), .mil (for military branches), or .org (for nonprofit
organizations).
Many companies and organizations use an email application,
like Microsoft Outlook, for communicating and managing their
email. This software can be used with any email provider but is
most commonly used by organizations that host their own email.
Email productivity features

In addition to email access, webmail providers offer various tools
and features. These features are part of a productivity suite—
a set of applications that help you work, communicate, and stay
organized. The tools offered will vary by provider, but all major
webmail services offer the following features:
 Instant messaging, or chat, which

lets you have text-based
conversations with other users...
 An online address book, where you

can store contact information for the
people you contact frequently...
 An online calendar to help organize
your schedule and share it with
others...
 A public profile that you can use for

basic social networking purposes, like
sharing photos, previous work or school
history, and status updates, among
other things...
In addition, each provider offers some unique features. For
instance, when you sign up for Gmail you gain access to a full
range of Google services, including Google Drive, Google Docs,
and more. You can visit our tutorials on Google
Drive and Google Docs to learn more.
Getting started with email

You should now have a good understanding of what email is all
about. Over the next few lessons, we will continue to cover
essential email basics, etiquette, and safety tips.
Setting up your own email account

If you want to sign up for your own email account, we suggest
choosing from one of the three major webmail providers:
 Yahoo! Mail: Click Create Account

 Outlook.com: Click Sign up
 Gmail: Click Create an account
Practice using an email program

Keep in mind that this tutorial will not show you how to use a
specific email account. For that, you will need to visit
our Gmail tutorial. It's a useful course for learning the basics,
even if you ultimately end up choosing an email provider other
than Gmail, such as Yahoo! or Outlook.com. There, you will learn
how to:
 Sign up for an email account
 Navigate and get to know the email
interface
 Compose, manage, and respond to
email
 Set up email on a mobile device
Beyond email: More ways to talk online

Once you've completed the lessons in this topic, you may want to
explore other popular ways of communicating and sharing online.
Check out our Beyond Email tutorial to learn more about online
chat, text messaging, VIDEO chat, social networking, and
more.

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Introduction to email

Getting to know email

Understanding email addresses

Email addresses are always written in a standard format that

The username is the name you choose to identify yourself.

Some businesses and organizations use email addresses with their

About email providers

Other email providers and applications

Email productivity features

 Instant messaging, or chat, which

 An online address book, where you

 A public profile that you can use for

Getting started with email

Setting up your own email account

 Yahoo! Mail: Click Create Account

Practice using an email program

Beyond email: More ways to talk online

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