Perhaps it's an example of "making news".
The
first report on PPMT was apparently in an Email
Masterclass which was part of the British version of Yahoo. All those
that followed seem to quote this report. Apparently Yahoo and I have different
conceptions of just what a "masterclass" around e-mail should entail.
Having taught e-mail basics for a number of years, I've also flirted with the
idea of an intensive course in the use of more advanced capabilities of the tool.
Sadly, "more advanced" for most people means learning to build folders
and use an address book. Most people have an extremely limited conception of what
it's possible to do with e-mail. Filtering, which in today's world of constant
spam is a very necessary skill that definitely should be acquired, would be taught
only toward the end of the course, simply because there are so many more basic
skills that have to be taught. However when Yahoo thinks about an e-mail masterclass,
it seems that they're concerned with something a bit different. From the site:
This site will allow you to make the most of email
in your daily life from avoiding embarrassing email faux-pas in the office to
top tips on the refined art of email flirting.
And it seems
that it's within that framework that the survey that discovered PPMT was
conducted. A quick glance at the address of the server on which the "masterclass"
is being conducted pretty much gives away it's intentions: uk.promotions.yahoo.com/mail.
I have no intention of questioning the credentials of Helen Petrie, the person
credited with identifying this new danger. Though I know very little about her,
I have no reason not to think that she's an established researcher who knows her
work. On the other hand, from the information I've been able to garner around
the announcment of the PPMT issue, academic research just might not be
the high priority in the publication of this issue.
I haven't found a
great deal of references to Professor Petrie on the web, though of course I'll
be among the first to admit that that means very little (though perhaps a bit
more if your field of expertise is, in this case, human/computer interaction).
On the other hand, what I have found isn't particularly awe-inspiring. I've learned,
for instance, that in 2002 she
presented a short talk on New Devices and the Web at a conference of
internet librarians. Her talk focused "on the usability and accessibility
aspects of mobile devices", and I admit that it's unclear to me why a professor
is needed for a short talk on that subject.
She apparently also focuses
on names and naming, which I admit can be a fascinating subject, but I know nothing
about her specific research other than a quote from
her in a popular article.
Go to: Down and Out from E-mail.