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Feature Story:

You've Got Connections

  • Virtual Connectivity
  • Have Email, Will Travel

By Tara Wells
The author, a doctoral student in human resources at the University of Alabama, served as a summer intern in State's Family Liaison Office.

 
 

Virtual Connectivity:
The Internet as a Community

Despite all the talk of their being "global citizens," Foreign Service families are often geographically isolated from family and friends. In the not-so-distant past, incoming mail pouches were eagerly awaited for news from "home," and phone calls were a rare treat.

More frequent communication between post and "home" is now possible for many of these families, thanks to the spread of email and Internet pro-viders around the globe and the installation of computer kiosks in many embassies and consulates. The ability to share the passages of life as they happen with people important in our lives is something we might not have dared dream of just 10 years ago. Now, notes, announcements and--for those who are really into computer technology--pictures and graphics are sent via email, or even posted on a personal web site!

So, has the advent of the Internet and email made any noticeable impact in Foreign Service family life? As a graduate student at the University of Alabama, I conducted a recent pilot study on the Internet to see if Americans living overseas who have Internet access maintained better relationships with family and friends. Sixty-two Foreign Service families responded to the survey. Of that group, 44 said they use email as a primary source (more than phoning and regular mail) for maintaining family contact, 42 said they use email in their daily professional life and 40 said they use email as their primary source for maintaining contact with friends.

Although costly phone line charges in some developing countries make regular email communication prohibitively expensive, most respondents said they believe that Internet access has contributed to their feeling better connected to faraway relatives and friends. Recently relocated Foreign Service members also reported feeling less isolated in their new surroundings when they had Internet capabilities and could "write home" on a regular basis. All respondents in this study said they have access to the Internet on a regular basis and use their available Internet capabilities regularly throughout the week.

Intentional Communities

Intentional communities are community sites set up as a series of connected web pages filled with information about a particular topic. Several sites cater to Americans living abroad. Some are more interactive than others, offering chat rooms for special topics such as how to do your taxes correctly while living abroad, how to make informed educational decisions for children and how to get involved in cultural learning exchanges. Sites are also posted for children, adolescents and parents who are living abroad.

The Pluses and Minuses

Does this mean that Internet usage for Americans living overseas has a rosy future? Actually, a short word of caution applies for this group as well as every other group of Internet users--that the hours spent online may reduce their inclination to interact directly with members of their immediate community.

But overall, advances in communication technology appear to be positive for Foreign Service families. The ability to communicate regularly through email, to develop personal web sites and to participate in international communities creates new opportunities for social support.

Links

    Web addresses for Americans living overseas:
  • http://www.artintliving.com
    This site, designed for expatriates, includes an online newsletter and information on employment opportunities overseas and other aspects of living abroad.
  • http://www.escapeartist.com
    Jump off into the global village: travel, invest, find overseas resources, read international newspapers online. This site is conscious of international human and environmental concerns and works to promote global citizenship.
  • http://www.expatexchange.com
  • http://www.overseasdigest.com
    An online intentional community for expatriates around the world, this site delivers a wide range of in-depth coverage on life issues for Americans residing abroad. There are bulletin boards, chat groups, tax information, regional/cultural sections and sections devoted to moving children and the issues of repatriation.
  • http://www.iorworld.com
    IOR is a cross-cultural consulting group with relevant information online for making successful transitions abroad and repatriating back to the United States. The site is a bit cumbersome to navigate, but offers high-quality information.
  • http://www.lonelyplanet.com
    This site is full of useful travel information and trivia. A bit irreverent, it provides low-cost, interesting insights into locations around the globe.
  • http://www.outpostexpat.nl
    This site, sponsored by Shell International for its expatriate employees and families, offers detailed information about countries and cultural regions where Shell does business.
  • http://www.tckworld.com
    This site is dedicated to the support and understanding of Third Culture Kids: military "brats," missionary kids, Foreign Service and corporate kids, international exchange students and others who have lived as children in foreign cultures.


Have Email, Will Travel

By Bruce R. Matthews
The author teaches information systems security at the Diplomatic Security Training Center.

You're ready to make the exciting move to a new post and have a zillion things you have to think about. Among them: what's your new email address?

You don't want to miss important emails during this transition or lose track of friends. But how do you stay mobile and still retrieve your electronic messages? And how do you reduce or eliminate the annoying task of emailing everyone you know to tell them that you're terminating your current email address and will get in touch with them again as soon as you open a new one?

Here are some strategies that make moving fairly painless--at least with email. You're on your own with all the other transfer headaches.

Planning begins with selecting a new ISP, or Internet Service Provider, which you pay for Internet access. If you choose an international ISP with local dial-up service at your new post, your email address won't change, so the transition will be fairly transparent.

I also recommend that you contact your new post and ask which ISPs seem to be reliable, which modem speeds are supported and what costs average. A high-speed, high-cost connection may not be worth the money if you always get a busy signal when dialing in.

Your new ISP will give you an email address. But if you want one that is more permanent, two types of services come to the rescue: free-mail accounts and email forwarding. Hotmail, a popular free-mail service, stores your mail for access with a web browser instead of your normal email program. Services such as Diplomats.NET let you choose an "alias" email address, then forward your mail to you for a modest fee, usually about $15 to $30 a year.

With email forwarding, email received at your alias address is automatically redirected to your forwarding address. This can be your local dial-up account, a free-mail account, your office account or even a temporary account such as a friend's electronic mailbox.

The downside of free-mail ac-counts is having to use a web browser for access. This means reading each incoming message and composing outgoing messages while remaining connected to the Internet. In areas where telephone or hourly Internet connection fees are high, free-mail may not be quite so "free." Also, due to the large number of users, it's rare to get the email name you desire with a free-mail service. But free-mail accounts are an ideal place to temporarily store and access email until you're settled.

So here's strategy number one: About a month before your departure, sign up for a free-mail account. Then let everyone know your new address and ask them to send all future email to it. After you arrive at post and establish a local dial-up service, you can notify everyone of your new email address, and return to using your favorite email program for off-line reading and composing.

Strategy number two is to sign up with a forwarding service about a month before your departure. With a forwarding service, you provide everyone in your electronic directory with your alias address, then always have electronic mail forwarded to your desired address. Anytime you give out your email address, such as on your business card, you list only your alias.

After you choose an alias email address, set your forwarding address to your ISP email address and give everyone your new alias.

A week or two before you cancel your current ISP to move, sign up for a free-mail account. Next, send a single message to your forwarding service advising it to forward your mail to the free-mail account. You can also make the change at the web site.

After you arrive at your new post and establish a local dial-up service, change your forwarding address and return to using your favorite email program.

A third strategy is to register your own Internet domain name, but it's a bit more expensive and the available names are quickly disappearing. Thousands of sites are willing to register your name for you, generally charging $100 to $150 initially, and slightly less every year after that. Costs are considerably more for storing email and hosting a web site.

All of these strategies help you avoid losing emails. The first is less expensive, but the second gives you more choices and convenience. The third gives you the same benefits as the second option, but with an added expense for the domain name of your choice.

Whichever strategy you choose, happy moving and happy emailing!

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