Emails and online back up storage alternatives, are a daily important feature for millions of internet users to keep in contact with family and friends, receive the latest articles from subscriptions sites, signing up for online services, notifications for online auctions, and many other web based functions. However if your email software suddenly becomes unusable or problematic, then often anxiety, inconvenience, and even out right panic can set in (as I discovered when bidding live online). Therefore it is important to have a remote back up solution or back up email program or alternative strategy at hand to easily implement to keep information a current two way street online.


Email Not Working - Check Account and ISP Provider

If you suspect your email program is non functional, then perhaps check the account settings (e.g. under tools - options), or contact your ISP (i.e. telephone call) or visit online for the help and/or email set up procedures. If there is a known issue, and if immediate online email contact, is important then immediately set up another (or more) email account. This can be easily done with GMail or the temporary 10 minute mail, (for signing up with online forms) to create other email back up accounts. Hence you can at least remain in email contact, whilst your (primary and disabled) email account is being attended to. Image of an Email by hoefi at SXC.


GMail - Avenue to many Applications

In fact I ended up using my secondary GMail account, as the primary account , as I found it more reliable in most instances, with easy to use features (labels, filters, alerts, and labs). Also it can be used for storage, due to it's generous size for storing emails. Perhaps a downside, is that you need to inform many others of your new email address, but another upside, is it opens avenues to the vast empire of Google. That is, you can sign in with your Gmail user name to Google accounts and use their many web applications, such as Google Docs, Sites, Blogger, Web Master Tools, Codes, Apps, Adsense, iGoogle, and much more.


Online Storage for Backing Up and Sharing

Sometimes legitimate emails may get redirected into spam folders, or on the server, or just vanish. Hence when conversing with your ISP, explain specifics, and they may be able to readily fix it, with testing, unless if it's a larger or complicated issue. Hence the more reason for signing up with a back up email program. Perhaps consider a free, secure host site, e.g. Microsoft SkyDrive, or Mozy Online Backup: 2GB Free. Automatic. Secure.- to store documents, images, music, etc, for security. Online storage can be useful for large file size documents, or numerous images (e.g. Flickr); Perhaps your own server (or your ISP), can be used for sharing your larger files. There are also the social sites (Twitter, Facebook) to connect with family and friends, and with suitable plug ins/add on tools to help streamline communication.


Plan Current Online Communication - Not only Email

Hence if email is an important and daily medium for you, then setting up a another web based email, signing up with free host sites, online social connection, instant messaging, ISP server, Skype, etc, would be helpful to not only yourself but others (friends, family, and services) to keep in current contact with. Thus as we should back up our hard drive's important files, software, audio, videos, etc, then adopting a back up communication strategy will help ease the two way flow of relatively instant online communication. Image of www email by jayofboy at SXC.

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