210 billion e-mails are sent every day around the globe. Research by Radicati Group estimate this figure. They also estimate that there are approximately 560 million business e-mail boxes in the world. We can't avoid e-mails anymore.

How many e-mails does a person send or receive daily?

In 2008, the average business user sends/receives 156 emails/day, according to e-mail research done by Radicati Group.

How many of these e-mail messages are actually read?

This is an impossible question to answer. Spam is a great nuisance. Everyone wants to get rid of spam as they waste so much time. Spam also spreads computer viruses. People use methods such as spam filters on their e-mail programmes to try to get rid of them. According to PR Newswire, 74% of all e-mails in USA get deleted because they are seen as spam. In India the figure is even higher, at 91%.

How readers decide which e-mail to read?

If the e-mail is not from a person they know, the typical reader will then look at the subject line or heading. S/he will open the e-mail only if it's interesting. Even in e-mails, communication is a relationship.

In the recent survey conducted by Opt-in News, 35% of respondents say that the subject line is the main factor in determining if they would open the email. Also, the subject line is often the only thing people see in their inbox beside the "from" line with the sender's name or e-mail address.

So you need to get the heading, or subject line correct.

What is a good heading in e-mail?

A good heading is

• Relevant - there is information that reveals immediately that the e-mail is relevant to the reader, and not machine generated. "Memo of 23.10.08 meeting at Barcelona" is better than "Meeting" or "Memo"
• Precise - rather than writing "sales meeting in London", write 'confirmation for XYZ Ltd. sales meeting in London on 20.11.08'
• Clear purpose - why you have written the e-mail. "Request for delivery confirmation of order No. 1234" is more precise than "Re:-order"
• Short - there isn't much space in the subject line. If you write "Customer Service", it can refer to anything, even the endless Viagra spam ads. Write rather specific details such as "AttachedPlan for In-house Customer Service Training."

A bad heading is

• Vague and irrelevant - "look through", "check this" or "satisfy her" are examples of bad headings, which get deleted
• "Spam words" - Avoid "spam" words - don't use words like "Viagra" or "penis" in your heading as many servers automatically classify them as spam and might delete them
• Spelt carelessly with mistakes. Use capitals for names and proper nouns. Using all capitals is shouting and rude, so avoid it.

Use Sub-headings

Now that you've got a precise heading, you have to make the reading easier for the reader. Most readers are busy, and some have nano attention spans. If you chunk your information by dividing it into sections with headings, it makes reading easier and faster.

If you have many topics in your e-mail,

• Use bullet points
• Use short headings

What you want the reader to do should be in the end.

'Would you kindly send me your yearly figures for the CRM' or "Please confirm that you will attend the meeting." should stand as a separate section. Otherwise, it may get lost and you don't get what you want.

On September 19, 1982, a computer scientist, Professor Scott E.Fahlman from the Carnegie Mellon University of the United States proposed to use the symbols in the university's electronic bulletin board. This was due to that at that time, the electronic bulletin board did not make much difference from its classification as it only had one theme, and thus leading to the topic's content could not be distinguished easily. Therefore, he had insisted the use of a symbol of [:-)] to represent a joke or a decent material while a symbol of [:- ( ] to express matter that needs to deal seriously and immediately. In this way, the internet users could avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding and the misuse of grammar while delivering his or her ideas. Since then this symbol which is called Emoticon has been used extensively in almost all of the unofficial sites. Thereafter, it has become another writing style favoring by the computer fans of the American university.

Emoticon in general means the emotional (EMOTION) and the small logo (ICON) that are used to merge together to form a new word. Initially, it was called EMOTICON SMILEY and it was started to use by the computer users on 19 September, 1982. Originally, Emoticon was a secondary culture of writing style via electronic network but it was not so common in the writing texts. Nevertheless, the massive access of an internet, ordinary letter, mobile phone text message or SMS, electronic messenger, electronic mail (e-mail), or chat room has created a wide coverage of using it to express ideas, thinking and feeling of the users. In short, Emoticon has eventually become a writing style that was widely accepted by the community across the globe. Not soon after this, the community in the blog, forum, and discussion board have been able to use more interesting and attractive Emoticon to express their feelings. Nowadays, this Emoticon has turned into a relatively complicated form than its initial simple form with the aims to express more appearances of the unperceivable facial changes. For example, [=l:)=] is a symbol that represents the previous American president, Abraham Lincoln.

The advent of the internet as well as the emergence of the global culture undoubtedly has turned the daily oral language into a symbolic expression in the writing form. Now, this Emoticon is no longer regarded as a ridiculous writing style, but it has become an important way for people to communicate with each other with ease which help avoid the linguistic or grammatical errors which might sometimes create misunderstandings, uncertainties and doubts among the people.

In Japanese, this Emoticon is called kaomoji, animae emoticon or verticon (Both “kao” and “moji” mean “face” and “word” respectively in Japanese). In the writing form, the asterisks (*) represents the eye, the underscore ( _ ) represents the mouth, while the parentheses (or brackets) represents the outline of the face. Besides that, Emoticon is also used to indicate animals, things and many other things surround us. Here are some examples I found:

Facial Expressions

• (*_*) a normal facial expression
• (<_>) sad
• (@_@) confusing
• (`_^) winking
• (;_;) crying
• (^o^) singing or laughing
• (╥_─) annoyed and frustrated
• `(•.°)~ crazy
• 〈（＿　＿）〉 apologize with a bow
• （￣口￣） helpless
  （＃－.－） embarrassing
  （─.─||） helpless
• ┐（─__─）┌ embarrassing
  ≡￣﹏￣≡ embarrassing and helpless
  Animals
• (‧‧nnn caterpillar
• (0^◇^0)/ sparrow
• (=^ ^=) cat
• /(*w*) rabbit
• ≡[。。]≡ crab
• ( ¯(∞)¯ ) pig
• (:≡ jellyfish
• <□:≡ squid
• <｀▽′> tiger
• "@ or @/" snail
• (:◎)≡ octopus
• ((( ●<　 cockroach
• (。。)～ or (: )～ tadpole
• ∑^)/ crow
• (=^ω^=) fox
• =' т "= Lion or cat
• (OvO) Owl

Others

• ♀（￣▽￣）／ Good girl
• ♂（￣▽￣）／　　 Good boy
• ( $ _ $ ) money minded
• <(￣ c￣)y_ξ smoking
• （～￣∆￣～） be a fool
• ■D" a cup of coffee
• ε==3 bone
• <*)>> >=< fish bone
• (●-●) sunglasses
• ――<-<-<@ rose flower
• 8＜ a pair of scissors

In the age of the internet, network based Emoticon is no longer a trademark of computer experts, any internet users may create his or her own Emoticons as long as these symbols are lively, creative and widely used. For example, there is a more complicated symbol called ORZ which often appears in the writing form as follow:

• Orz　 big head
• orz　 small head
• ○|￣|_ magnifying version
• ORZ two hands are supporting by the floor
• XXXXX Or2 rising up
• 囧 have a facial expression
• OTL change the shape
• STO change the side

Horizontal style Emoticon is the earliest mode of expression in the writing form. It is western style in its nature as it is more often used by the westerners as compared to other nations. Here are some symbolic representations found in writing form.

Common expressions

• :- ) smiling
• :- P holding out the tongue
• :- / doubt
• :- ( unhappy
• :- D happy
• :- C unhappy
• 8- ) A smiling from a person who is wearing a pair of spectacles
• xc== vomiting
• (p_-) searching

Not only have the westerners used Emoticon for their writing purpose, Asian people also have made used of the so-called vertical style Emoticon in all sorts of applications particularly in the mobile phone which is said to be far more popular than Europe. This Emoticon is different from the conventional Emoticon as they are mostly viewed vertically. This was mainly originated from the Japanese animation (or manga in Japanese). The facial expression is easier to understand and you need no necessary to have to turn your head 90 degree to understand its meaning. Here are some examples:

• (๑￫ܫ￩)
• (｡・`ω´･)
• (・(ｪ)・)
• (σ｀・д･)σ
• (oﾟωﾟo)
• < (o_o<)
• (>o_o)>
• ^(o_o^)
• (^o_o)^
• (^o_o)>
• <(o_o^)
• (>^_^
• (>O_o)>

The Japanese Emoticon is enriched with the anime drawing style with many expressions shown using the eyes, and it is always shortened by taking out its parentheses. Thus, (^_^) will become ^_^, but sometimes it is abbreviated as ^^. Very often, the use of the longer underscore which represents mouth will carry the stronger emoticon's feeling and meaning. Here are some symbolic representations found in writing form.

Small eyes

• (　・ˍ・)　(・ˍ・*)　（p・_q）　(〃・ｏ・〃)　(*^・_・) 　(。・ˍ・。) 　(*・０・)　(・ε・●)
• (｡･ω･)　(。・д・。)　(・∀・)　（／ˍ・、）　(・□・、*)　(・－・。)　(・▽・。)　(・_・。)
  
• (・O・。)　(ノ△・。)　(＠・ˍ・)　(*・・*)　人(・ε・；) 　(・ o ・)　(・ェ・o)　(′・∀・『)

When something or someone gets into one's eyes

• (* ￣ー￣)　(￣ー￣〃)　(＠￣ー￣＠)　(* ￣︿￣)　(*￣∇￣*)　<(ˍ ˍ*)> (￣(●●)￣)
• (￣・・￣)　(ー∀ー)　(￣ｏ￣)　(￣、￣)　(*￣△￣*)　(￣へ￣)　(￣□￣)　(￣～￣；)
• (。-ˍ-。 )　(￣ε￣；)　(￣┬￣；)　(￣∀￣)　(ノへ￣、)　(*￣ro￣) (ー人ー)　(*￣ｍ￣)

Japanese style small eyes

• (′▽`〃)　(　′ｏ`)　(′ェ`)　(′ε` )　(=′ー`) 　( ′θ`)　(′○` )　( ′－`)　(′∀`=)
  
• (*′▽`)　(*′ノ0`)　( ′ロ` )　(′～`；）　(′　︿　`)　(*′∇`*) 　(′ｍ`）　(′0ノ`*)
  
• (＠。ε。＠) 　(=′∇`=） 　(●′ω`●) 　(′～`●)　(′へ`、 )　(〃′o`)　(　；′⌒`)

Japanese style big eyes

• (ΘΘ)　(Θ～Θ〃)　(ΘｏΘ)　(ΘェΘ)　(Θ∀Θ＃)　(ΘдΘ；)　(Θ皿Θメ)　(ΘーΘ*) (Θ０Θ●)
• (Θ▽Θ)　(ΘεΘ◎)　(Θ◇Θ。)　(ΘへΘ)　(ΘˍΘ＝)　(Θ、Θ)　(Θ△Θ＠) (Θ３Θ)

Japanese style rounded eyes

• (°ー°〃)　(＃°Д°) 　(。□。) 　(*。∀。) 　(*。∇^*)　(* ^ー。) (＠。ー。　＠)　(。∇^☆)
• (ｏ。◇。) 　(　。 ▽ 。) 　(＃。ε。＃) 　(。∇^d)　(。・。；)　(。皿。メ)　(* 。 ３ ^)
• (〃。 ｏ 。〃) 　( °◇ °)　(　。⊿。) 　(°□°；)　(　ロ)。　。　(。Д。 ；)　(*。ノO。)
• (；　。。)
  

A puppy's mouth

• (-ω- )　(+ω+)　(*ω* )　( ^ω^)　(;ω;)　(。ω。)　(『ω′)　(・ω・=)　(￣ω￣) (〃ω〃)
• (≧ω≦)　(。・ω・)　(=・ω・=)　( ＞ω＜)　(′・ω・`)　(/ω＼)　(/ω・＼) (/・ω・＼)
• (ΘωΘ)　(ΦωΦ)
  

A pair of sadden eyes

• (ＵＵ＊)　(ｕｕ〃)　(ｕｏｕ〃)　(Ｕ３Ｕ*)　(●Ｕ_Ｕ●)　(ｕ～ｕ=) (＠Ｕ▽Ｕ＠)　(ＵAＵ＊)
• (Ｕ△Ｕ●)　(ｕДｕ〃)　(Ｕ◇Ｕ◎)　(○ｕAｕ○) (ｕ▽ｕ＃)　(＠Ｕ～Ｕ＠)　(ｕ△ｕ＊)
• (ｕ◇ｕ〃)　(ＵДＵ◎)　(＝ｕ３ｕ＝) (ｕ_ｕ＃)　(ＵｏＵ＊)

Closing eyes

• (><)　(;><)　(>_<)　(>.<)　(>o<)　（＞▽＜）　(＞Ｏ＜)　(o>▽<)　(>◇< ) 　(>▽<)
• (;>△<) ( >з<)　(o>ェ<)　(＞д＜)　(>皿<)　(>_<、)　(/_＜。)　(>。；)　(>。ヘ)
• (ノ_<)　(＞。☆)　(>y<;)
  

The combination of Japanese's Emoticon or kaomoji (face and word) can be created from the basic form of ˙﹏˙ to a form of (˙﹏˙）which is more human in nature. Here are some of the basic forms of kaomoji.

Small eyes

• ˙ˍ˙　˙０˙　˙︿˙　˙ε ˙　˙ 3˙　˙ω˙　˙﹏˙　˙∆˙

Big eyes

• ⊙ˍ⊙　⊙０⊙　⊙︿⊙　￣ε ￣　￣ 3￣　⊙ω⊙　⊙﹏⊙　⊙∆⊙

Smiling eyes

• ∩ˍ∩　∩０∩　∩︿∩　∩ε ∩　∩ 3∩　∩ω∩　∩﹏∩　∩∆∩

Sadden eyes

• ∪ˍ∪　∪０∪　∪︿∪　∪ε ∪　∪ 3∪　∪ω∪　∪﹏∪　∪∆∪

Angry eyes

• ˋˍˊ　ˋ０ˊ　ˋ︿ˊ　ˋε ˊ　ˋ 3ˊ　ˋωˊ　ˋ﹏ˊ　ˋ∆ˊ

Unhappy eyes

• ˇˍˇ　ˇ０ˇ　ˇ︿ˇ　ˇε ˇ　ˇ 3ˇ　ˇωˇ　ˇ﹏ˇ　ˇ∆ˇ

Closing eyes

• ＞ˍ＜　＞０＜　＞︿＜　＞ε ＜　＞ 3＜　＞ω＜　＞﹏＜　＞∆＜

Alien's eyes

• ●ˍ●　●０●　●︿●　●ε ●　● 3●　●ω●　●﹏●　●∆●

Clown's eyes

• ＋ˍ＋　＋０＋　＋︿＋　＋ε ＋　＋ 3＋　＋ω＋　＋﹏＋　＋∆＋

In view of its importance in the writing form particularly in online-chat, ordinary letter, e-mail and text message, the mobile phone companies have included their products with a number of commonly used Emoticons to facilitate the use of typing text messages. Even Google Talk allows the messenger users to use Emoticons to express their feelings while chatting so that the communication becomes more lively and interesting. The notable feature of Google Talk is that the typing of horizontal style Emoticon can be inverted gradually 90 degree to turn into a vertical style Emoticon making the conversation more enjoyable and fun. Here are some common uses of Emoticons:

• :-?? I don't know.
• %-( I'm not listening.
• %%- Good luck!
• **== flag
• (~~) pumpkin
• ~O) coffee
• =:) bug
• *-:) idea
• 8-X skull
• >-) alien
• :-L frustrated
• [-O< I'm praying.
• :-" I'm whistling.
• :)>- a sign of peace
• [-X I feel ashamed on you.
• :D/ I'm dancing.
• >:/ I'll bring it forward.
• ;)) hee, hee
• ^:)^ It's not worth.
• :-j Oh, please go on.
• (*) star
• (%) yin yang
• $-) money's eyes

In view of the nations, racial and cultural background differences, the use of various symbols in the writing form represent different meanings. While doing researches on this topic, I came to realize that the kaomoji of Japan and other Asian countries have an extremely richer expression and vocabulary than any western countries that I have encountered so far. Its creativity and range of the facial expressions that appear in the writing form is extremely wonderful. Here are some examples:

• d^_^b I'm listening to music.
• (？o？) Oh?
• ( *>.<* ) ~@ It's sour…..!
• (-_-) zZZZ/ (z_z) I'm asleep.
• (°_°) I'm concerned/ I'm nervous/ I'm shocked.
• |-| I'm bored.
• (^.^) / (*_*) I'm amazed.
• (^L^) / (^(^) I'm happy.
• W(`0`)W I'm roaring in anger.
• (>_<) / (>_>) / (<_<) / (c_c) I feel pain/ I'm facing a failure.
• (^_-)db(-_^) I promise.
• T_T My tears are falling down continuously from my eyes. (It symbolizes sadness.)
• (^o^)/ Wow, I'm happy! (It symbolizes happiness.)
• *(^o^)/* I'm a cheerful leader.
• (._.) I'm depressed and down.
• (e_e) I'm rolling my eyes.
• ; eg. (^_^;) I'm embarrassed. (with a condition of sweating)
• o(^_-)O I feel encouraging.
• (@_@) I'm feeling dizzy. (Some nations note this symbol as “I'm confusing.” )
• (p_-) I'm digging for the truth/ I'm searching. (It symbolizes someone is looking through a magnifying glass.)
• (=^.^=) In a Japanese society, it is a question of “Am I cute?” (It signifies a cat or “nekko” in Japanese.)
• (-.-)y- I'm considering for a cigarette break.
• (^_^)a I'm scratching my head.
• (^o) (/o^)/ I'm dancing with a joy.
• ＜（￣︶￣）＞ I'm satisfied and contented!
• ＜（￣︶￣）／ I'm satisfied and agree with you. (It signifies that I'm holding out my hand to show an agreement)
• ＜（＠￣︶￣＠）＞ I'm satisfied but feeling a bit shame.
• (＞﹏＜) I don't want, please! (Sometimes it means “I'm in pain”)
• （＃￣▽￣＃） I'm ashamed.
• （︶︿︶） I'm unhappy!
• //_o I've a hair brushed over one eye.
• m(_ _)m Please forgive me! (Sometimes it may signify “I'm apologized to you with a bow.)
• (‧_‧？) What's the matter?
• ( T___T ) Why like this?
• (≥◊≤) I'm touching.
• {(-_-)} I've headphones put on.
• …… ( > < ) / Wow, it's emerging!
• (＞﹏＜) No!
  ( © o © ) I'm shocked and panicked!
• ( ¯ □ ¯ ) My brain is blank.
• ( 3__3 ) I've just awoken!
• (￣∆￣)" I feel cold.
• ＼（￣︶￣）／ Hug me, please!
• ｂ（￣▽￣）ｄ Marvelous!
• (→_→) I doubt.
• Σ( ° ∆ °|||)︴　 I'm panicked.
• (￣.￣) I've nothing to say.
• ⊂( ﾟ ヮﾟ)⊃ Hug me, please!
• （￣︶￣）↑　　 Let's depart now!
• （￣∆￣）～■□～（￣∆￣）　 Cheers!
• []~(￣∆￣)~* Cheers!
• (ｂ_ｄ) I'm wearing a pair of spectacles.
• ( ＠^^＠) 　 Don't you feel ashamed?
• ~(￣∆￣)~(￣∆￣)~ I'm extremely excited!
• ~（￣∆￣）~ I'm in a happy mood.
• ○（＊￣︶￣＊）○ I'm full and sleep well.
• (○.○).•◦˙°˚ I'm thinking of you.
• (￣o￣) . z Z　 I'm sleepy.
• 〒∆〒　　　　 My luck is bad!
• <(￣ ﹌ ￣)@m It's just because of you.
• (￣ε(#￣) I was slapped.
• (￣.￣)+ I've discovered something.
• <(￣︶￣)> []~(￣∆￣)~* (￣﹏￣) (￣ˇ￣) I'm satisfied and excited.
• ――――――(˙<>˙)/―――――― Let's fly away!
• (@[]@!!) ㄟ(>∆<)ㄏ(￣ε(#￣) Σ( ° ∆ °|||)︴ I'm shocking!
• (/"≡ _ ≡)/~┴┴ （#－.－） (╬￣皿￣)凸 I'm unhappy and angry.
• (￣.￣) (￣< ￣)> (～o￣∆￣)～o ~。。。(~￣∆￣)~[] I'm ridiculous and helpless.
• ＜（￣︶￣）＞＜（￣︶￣）＞＜（￣︶￣）＞ When we're together!

Emoticon is a clever way of the users to express their feelings and emotions. If the user types “I'm feeling happy,” it could not 100% catch the reader's attention to figure out his or her feeling, but by adding the Emoticon at the end of the sentence, the sentence will look more attractive, lively and eye-catching. Here are some examples of the sentences.

• I'm feeling happy :)
• I'm feeling sad :(
• I'm laughing :-D
• I'm laugh' so hard that I don't notice that a 5-legged spider is hanging from my lip :-D*
• I'm not sure which long-distance company to choose :-|
• I'm winking ;-)
• I can still smile though I've lost one eyeball .-)
• I couldn't understand why nobody wants to talk to me :V:-|
• I'm smiling :- )
• I doubt :- /
• I'm unhappy :- C
• I'm vomiting xc==
• I'm searching (p_-)
• Don't buy this ^:)^

Is the hero responsible of for his crimes or he is he a victim of fate? Was Macbeth to blame for his ambition and lust, or was he manipulated by supernatural forces? Today I will show you how ambition, supernatural forces and fate in Macbeth convey a message that for every action there will be consequences.

Macbeth is the story of Macbeth and his Lady's attempt to attain the throne of Scotland. Macbeth is a gifted leader and a fierce warrior, but he wants to be king, even if it requires doing something drastic. His wife, Lady Macbeth, has an even stronger lust for power that pushes her relentlessly toward both glory and tragedy.

Macbeth's murder of Duncan in Act II represents the point of no return, after which Macbeth feels he is forced to continue murdering his subjects to avoid the consequences of his crime. Our attention is held by Macbeth's anguish and wickedness, until his wife commits suicide, and he transcends into the dramatic, brutal tyranny which gets him murdered.

Shakespeare concludes his tragedy on a hopeful note, for as corruptive as the evil is in Macbeth, it is only temporary; order is restored through time.

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble! Supernatural forces are present throughout the entirety of the play. The supernatural element is used to highlight dramatic, emotional and poetic concerns in the play Macbeth.

The dark sense that comes with enchantments, potions, apparitions and ghosts intensify the audience's experience, and also increases pressure on Macbeth. The three witches are evil characters, whose main objective is to wreak havoc.

Macbeth's first experience with the witches is when he's coming home from the battle, as the hero. The witches stop him and predict that he is going to become Thane of Cawdor, even though the old Thane still held his position. The witches also predict that Macbeth will become king.

Macbeth is an easily manipulated character, and is excited at the witches' predictions. He is not sure wether to believe them or not, until the Thane of Cawdor is put to death and Macbeth is crowned the Thane. Being crowned Thane, Macbeth thinks about the other predictions that the witches had made, and realised that he could become King.

Throughout the course of the play, many elements of the supernatural other than the witches are presented, such as apparitions and ghosts, which all play a part to make the play seem scarier.

Macbeth begins as a courageous Scottish general who does not want to commit evil deeds, though he deeply desires power and this ambition causes a transformation for the worse. He kills his King, Duncan, against his better judgment and afterwards is guilty and paranoid. This progresses toward the end of the play as he descends into a frantic, boastful madness.

Lady Macbeth is quite different to Macbeth in this respect. She pursues her goals with a larger determination, but she is less capable of surviving the consequences of her acts. As the strongest female character in Macbeth, she encourages her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong afterwards. She eventually breaks under the pressure when Macbeth kills more and more people. In each case, ambition is what drives them to more terrible killing.

Was Macbeth at blame for his murder? How much control did Macbeth have over his own actions? You could say that he wouldn't have killed the king if the witches hadn't put the thought into his head. You could also say that Macbeth wouldn't have had the courage to kill the king if it wasn't for his wife pushing him.

Macbeth is seen as a "free agent", a man who uses his ability to choose and therefore suffers the consequences of that choice. He is his own destruction: the terror of the tragedy is in his decision to perform his crime even though he is knows its implications.

I think that Shakespeare was trying to convey a message though his play. Macbeth was bombarded with pressure from supernatural forces, from his wife, and even is own ambition. He takes advantage of free will by using it for the worst. Macbeth followed selfish ambitions, and killed many people. He became so arrogant and egotistical, that he thought he was immortal, but died because of his actions.

I think that Shakespeare is trying to convey the message that you should make your choices rationally and carefully because for every action there will be consequences.

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