Blind CC (Bcc): Master Its Use When E-Mailing

If you use Microsoft Outlook (or similar applications) for e-mailing, then you are familiar with the fields at the top of a new mail message, right? Of course, in the "To..." field, you enter the name of one or more persons you intend to receive your message. Use the field labeled "Cc..." (for Carbon Copy - remember how they did it back in 1978 BC, "before computers"?) for anyone who needs to view your e-mail but is not the addressee.

But there's an additional field that you should know about, labeled "Bcc...," which stands for "Blind carbon copy," or the updated version, "Blind courtesy copy." This field is for the names of anyone that needs a copy of your e-mail without the other people (in the "To..." and "Cc..." fields) knowing about it. That's why it's called "Blind."

"But wait a minute," you might be saying. "I don't have a "Bcc" field just after the "Cc" field in my version of Outlook." When you launch a new mail message, you might have "To...," "Cc...," and "Subject..."--nothing more. That's because "Bcc" is on a toggle; you can turn it on and off from your "View" menu. If your "Bcc..." is not showing, you can turn it on when you are in a mail message by going to the "View Menu" and selecting "Bcc Field." A checkmark will appear and the field will become visible at the top of your mail message, just above "Subject...". (Similar applications should also give you the option to turn "Bcc" on if it is not continuously visible.)

You should know about and carefully use "Bcc" for a number of reasons. I'm going to cover some of the most important.

Use Bcc to protect privacy ? When an e-mail is sent to a whole group of people with all of their names in the "To..." or "CC..." fields, each one of them has access to the e-mail address of all the others. Normally this would not be a problem internally, but if you are sending an e-mail to employees as well as some outside of your company, use the Bcc field to hide all of those internal addresses. You will be preventing your company's people from getting spam and other unwanted e-mails.

Use Bcc to keep upper management informed ? Sometimes you are sending an e-mail message at a manager's request, and you want to let the manager know that you complied. It may not be helpful, however, to make the manager's name visible in "Cc," because this may add stress or cause unnecessary concern for the addressee. If you consider that to be the circumstances, use Bcc for the manager's copy. But this is always a judgment call, because sometimes it is important for addressees to know the manager is looking over their shoulder, especially if you have a tight deadline.

Use Bcc to make your message more personal ? Do you feel differently about a message addressed solely to you versus one sent to all of your company's employees? The same principle works in the opposite direction, as well. If you place everyone's name in the Bcc field, then each will have the impression that you wrote your e-mail just for them. Be careful in your wording, however, because this tactic will backfire if your letter contains second-person plurals, such as "All of you may be wondering...".

Use Bcc to keep an archive of your correspondence ? This nifty trick depends of having or obtaining a separate e-mail address from your conventional business address. Place that address in the Bcc field, e.g., "yourname@freemail.com," and Outlook will send a copy of your e-mail to that address. This can be helpful if you are wanting a quick way to keep track of all of the e-mail you send out regarding a particular project or issue.

Caution: When Bcc can backfire ? There are times, however, when you should think twice before entering a person's name in Bcc. If your addressee hits "Reply to all," the reply will not go back to the BCC addressee(s). But still, that reply might not be worded as carefully as it would be if the sender knew everyone listed in Bcc. To put it bluntly, this is how people get insulted and feelings get hurt. If you are dealing with an issue that is the least bit touchy or even volatile, you would do well to steer clear of Bcc.

* * *

Copyright ©2005 Steve Singleton, All rights reserved.

Steve Singleton has written and edited several books and numerous articles on subjects of interest to Bible students. He has been a book editor, newspaper reporter, news editor, and public relations consultant. He has taught Greek, Bible, and religious studies courses Bible college, university, and adult education programs. He has taught seminars and workshops in 11 states and the Caribbean.

Go to his DeeperStudy.org for Bible study resources, no matter what your level of expertise. Explore "The Shallows," plumb "The Depths," or use the well-organized "Study Links" for original sources in English translation. Sign up for Steve's free "DeeperStudy Newsletter."

---

Do You Know These Facts About Spyware ?

Imagine something that follows you home and sets itself up... Read More

Performance Tuning of a Daffodil DB / One$DB -JDBC Application

This article illustrates the best practices to improve the performance... Read More

SpyBot - Search and Destroy versus Microsoft AntiSpyware (Beta).... My personal experiences...

Ok... Where to start?Well, I guess I will start at... Read More

CRM and Customer Life Cycle

Customer Relationship Management or CRM is a combination of enterprise... Read More

Backing Up And Restoring Your MySQL Database

If you've been using MySQL database to store your important... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Implementation: Collection Management ? Overview For Consultant

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is very good fit for... Read More

Microsoft CRM Lotus Notes Domino Connector FAQ

Microsoft Business Solutions CRM and IBM Lotus Notes Domino, being... Read More

XML Parser and Their Types

XML parser is a software module to read documents and... Read More

Why Stick With Email Clients Like Outlook?

Trying to figure out a stream in banning one email... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains version 8.5: Upgrade, Customization, VBA, Crystal Reports - Highlights

Microsoft Great Plains is one of the Microsoft Business Solutions... Read More

Hubris - Definition: Microsofts Passport

Before September of 1995, Microsoft ignored the Internet because their... Read More

Bridging the Gap between Paper and Data

The cornerstone of successful automated office systems is the ability... Read More

SQL: Querying Microsoft Great Plains ? Overview for Database Administrator/Developer

Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more... Read More

Spyware Protection: A Must for Any Home Computer

Now that spyware is the single most dangerous threat to... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Reporting ? Overview for Developer

Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more... Read More

Brand Your Websites URL With a Favicon

Have you ever noticed that when you look at your... Read More

These Items Are A Must Before Making The Decision To Purchase Any Off-The-Shelf Software

1. What determines the software price? Is it Per Seat... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Customization Recovery & Upgrade for Large Corporation

At the end of XX century, in the late 1990th... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Integration Manager ? Working With Text File

Microsoft Business Solutions main middle market ERP application - Microsoft... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Axapta ? Selection Considerations

During the years of our consulting practice, which comes back... Read More

Destination: Desktop for Google

First we had the original Google search that evolved into... Read More

MultiNational Corporation ERP Implementation ? Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains

If you look back to the history, you will see... Read More

ERP for Large Corporation ? New Selling Strategy

Our opinion is based on our Microsoft Business Solutions Great... Read More

7 Things to Consider Before Buying Small Business Accounting Software

The world of small business accounting software can be a... Read More

ERP Consulting: Microsoft Great Plains Partner Future Directions

In the Clinton era the status quo was simple: you... Read More

Call Alert Notifications - Free Answering Machine Software for PCs

If you're online using a dialup Internet connection, you'll probably... Read More

Corel WordPerfect 7 Macro Programming Example

Case study: A secretary using Corel WordPerfect 7 is often... Read More

Editing Your Photos Using Microsoft Picture It Publishing Platinum 2002 - A Great Dinosaur

I started using PIP (Picture It Publishing) Platinum 2002 right... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Offshore Customization & Development ? Overview for Consultant

When you visit department stores and see that majority of... Read More

Examining the Substance of Studio MX

To all web designers out there, this article is for... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: carpet, textile, fabric, felt distributor ? implementation overview

In this small article we will show you the possible... Read More

Internet Security Threats: Who Can Read Your Email?

Before being able to choose a secure Internet communication system,... Read More

Anti-Spyware Protection ? Holes in the Shining Armor

Looking at all the ads which promise to get rid... Read More