Put the Web to Work for You

The Web transforms virtually everything that it touches. And these days, it touches virtually everything -- from how companies think about strategy, to how they market products, to how they find customers. But the Web doesn't just change how companies operate. It also changes how the people inside those companies operate -- how they communicate, how they share ideas, even how they relax and recharge their batteries. In short, the Web can change how you work -- if you know how to work the Web.

For Carolyn Sechler-Callton and the 14 people who work with her, going to work means going to the Web. "We're totally virtual," says Sechler-Callton, 47, who owns a small tax-preparation and consulting firm. "We have no offices." She and her crew use the Web for everything from sending and receiving faxes, to ordering business cards, to meeting with clients, to doing their banking. "The Web is a lifestyle tool," she says. "It lets us have lives. We work during the hours when we're at our best, so our productivity is incredible. Because of the Web, I get to spend more time with my daughter, my husband, my dog, and my friends."

This edition of @work will help you put the Web to work for you. You'll find descriptions and evaluations of what we consider to be some of the most valuable work-oriented services on the Web. You'll also get tips on how to be smarter about email, an in-depth comparison of five popular small-business Web sites -- and etiquette lessons from a great-grandson of Emily Post. Here is Fast Company's guide to working the Web.

Email: Still the Killer App

The Internet just keeps getting smarter, faster, and slicker. But no matter how fancy the online world gets, old-fashioned email remains, for most people, the Net's most critical application. Yet there are a couple of nagging problems with email that the Web can solve -- from concerns about whether someone got an important message to hassles associated with accessing messages from the road.

Have you ever lost sleep wondering why an important client didn't respond to an email? Maybe it never got there! Maybe you sent it to the wrong person! Well, roll over and close your eyes. Thanks to a service from CertifiedMail (www.certifiedmail.com), you can sleep soundly with the knowledge that your email has arrived safely. "It gives you a higher level of confidence -- and a higher level of confidentiality," says Shirley Cook, 47, an it consultant in Philadelphia who uses CertifiedMail to send sensitive proposals. "It gives you peace of mind that you didn't take any chances."

Here's how the service works. You register at the site with a user ID and a password that's linked to your email address. Each message that you send is stored on the CertifiedMail server along with a unique tracking number. The service sends the recipient an email that includes a URL that links directly to the CertifiedMail Web site, where the recipient can open the message and read it. CertifiedMail will notify you via email once the message has been received and opened. The confidence and security that this service provides come at a price. A Certified Silver account will set you back $99 per year or $10 per month. A Certified Gold account, which includes lots of extra features, costs $249 per year or $25 per month.

A second big headache associated with conventional email involves getting access to it when you're on the road. Web-based email is a great tool for road warriors who need a fast and easy way to check email without having to tote a laptop. Until recently, though, the primary options were consumer-focused services like HotMail and Yahoo! Mail. Such services require you to give up most of the capabilities of a desktop email client, such as search functions, automated signatures, and powerful address books. They also impose limits on storage capacity and on the size of attachments.

Enter Net Exchange (www.netexchange.com), a sort of HotMail on steroids for businesspeople. Not only does it give you all the capabilities of a normal email client, but you also get twice as much storage as a consumer service provides. You can send attachments that are as large as six megabytes -- more than enough for most PowerPoint presentations. While the service isn't free, the extra functionality that it offers is well worth the cost. (Pricing details are available on the company's Web site.)