Email own goal causes embarrassment

The fact that there is no such thing as a private email was highlighted once again in the press recently.

Richard Scudamore, CEO of the Football Premier League, believed that as the email he sent regarding the role of women in sport came from his private email account it was going to be seen only by the recipients he chose.

In fact the opposite was true and his derogatory views about women in sport attracted a much bigger “crowd” than the one he had intended.

This high profile case of “private” emails getting into the public domain underlined that emails are cannot be relied on as private. In fact they should be seen as public. Don’t put anything in an email that you would not be prepared to stand by anytime in the future.

Emails exist on servers and networks for weeks, month or even years after they have left the sender’s Outbox – even if the sender deletes them.

If  he attended an Emailogic course Mr Scudamore would in just 90 minutes (the same time it takes for him to watch a match!) learn all about the hazards and legalities of emails.

Perhaps everyone with a so-called “private” email address which they access at work would do well to attend – to avoid an embarrassing “own goal”.