My Virtual Post Office (Email for beginners)

My virtual post office is found in a virtual world known as cyberspace. Cyberspace is anything associated with the Internet, virtual reality and the potential of digital information for creating a new world. The genesis of cyberspace is a 1984 work by science fiction author William Gibson who described it more like a parallel universe and a realm of pure information.

Synonymous to my virtual post office is electronic mail popularly called email. This is one of the most often used protocols available to netizens (Internet users). A protocol is the accepted rules by which a system will be set up to communicate data and exchange information. Email typically utilises the least bandwidth and the most minimal resources of all Internet services.

The origin of the Internet can be traced back to the United States Department of Defence during the Cold War. The Department was conducting experiments aimed at creating a maximum security network for researchers from many different fields to allow them share information. As part of the experiment, networks were created in many different parts of the country and linked together to act as a coordinated whole, thus Internet (Inter-network).

To gain access to my virtual post office (on yahoo mail for example) I need to have a personal email address, access to a personal computer and an Internet connection. I can either get a home connection or I go to an Internet café (also known as cyber café). Navigation on the World Wide Web can be described as surfing, browsing or cruising. I type the web address of the site where my virtual post office is lodged to check my mail (www.mail.yahoo.com). A web page comes up asking me to insert my email address. I then type my password and click on the sign in button. A message welcomes me into my virtual post office “Welcome Patience!”. My inbox contains read and unread messages. I click on the ‘check mail’ or ‘inbox’ icon and the next page that comes up with three columns each indicating the name of the sender, the subject of the message and the size of the message (measured in kilobytes). A byte is eight bits of information and the amount of data it takes to define one alphanumeric character. When I click on the subject, a page comes up with the unread mail. Its format is thus:

From: Dan Moranji
To: stanceys@hotmail.com
Subject: greetings from Yaoundé
Date: Fri, 26 July 2008 08:14:11-0800 (PST)

In my virtual post office, I can send messages, documents and pictures to anyone anywhere in the world who has access to the Internet. I can also send documents in electronic format as long as I attach them to the outgoing mail.

The virtual post office may sound like magic to those hearing about it for the first time. It is one of the latest (though not absolutely new) means of asynchronous communication. To have access to my virtual post office at home, I need to have the following items: a computer unit (laptop, palmtop or desktop), an efficient telephone line, and a modem (short for modulator-demodulator). Modern computers come with in-built modems. A modem is a device that enables the transmission of digital signals over analogue telephone lines. A modem is necessary for most people to gain access to the Internet. With these requirements in tact, I subscribe for a connection with an Internet Service Provider (ISP), which is a company that sells access to the Internet. It may be expensive getting access to the virtual post office but once you get accustomed to it, it is hard to go for days without using it. In Yaoundé currently, connection fees in Internet cafés range from 150 FRS CFA an hour to 300 FRS CFA.

Benefits of using the virtual post office abound. The virtual post office has brought about the death of time in message transmission. It is cheaper and more reliable to send an email especially if your correspondent also has one. However one cannot say for sure that the virtual post office will eventually replace the conventional post office. It only supplements the services of the conventional post office. This is due to the fact that original and certified documents will still be needed for verification in case you gain admission into an institution after submitting electronic copies. Besides physical documents and packages cannot be sent electronically. And that is what differentiates my virtual post office from the conventional one:

Conventional Post Office--------Virtual Post Office

Physical location-----------------Virtual location
Workers in active service--------No workers
Post boxes and mail bags--------Virtual storage
Opening and closing hours-------Round the clock availability
Tangible letters and documents---Electronic letters and documents
Asynchronous communication-----Synchronous communication


Not everything is rosy about the virtual post office. Sometimes you receive unsolicited messages in your inbox, knows as spam. These are considered as junk mail. There exist methods of redirecting these unsolicited mails to a bulk mail folder, however there is a catch! Important mails sometimes find their way into this folder so vigilance is still required. Friends have told me how they learnt to always check their bulk mail folder due to some missed opportunities.

Contrary to what some people may think that the virtual post office has come to replace the conventional post office, I think that one complements the other rather than replaces it. The two will continue to co-exist and given the importance of time (it is never enough), those with access to the Internet with continue to communicate by email while the conventional post office will complement such communication. Those without access will continue to rely exclusively on the traditional means of communication.