One thing to keep in mind is that many manufacturers are making devices that are, at the very least, water resistant. These devices are given an International Protection (IP) score, which is based on the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). This rating is given to any consumer device, and it designates how much protection a consumer can expect from it. For example, a device classified as IP67 is resistant to dust and can be submerged in water no more than one meter deep for up to half an hour. The only difference between this and an IP68 device is that the IP68 guarantees protection in 1.5 meters of water for up to half an hour. Of course, you didn’t come here to learn about the semantics related to device protection classification–you want to know what to do if your device falls in water. Here are some decent catch-all steps you can take to potentially save your device. Turn Off Your Device: Be sure to turn off your device as soon as possible. Don’t try to plug it in or shake it. Don’t blow in it or use a blow dryer to try to save it. Just follow the steps below and don’t stray from them. Remove your SIM card and any other expandable storage. Remove the battery if possible: Some phones don’t have the removable battery, so if it doesn’t, don’t just pry it open. Have a professional do it for you. You can always check out YouTube for tutorials as well. Use an absorbent rag to dab your phone dry: Try not to wipe it around, as this could spread the liquid too much. Place the phone in a plastic bag filled with uncooked rice: The rice will absorb the liquid. Let your phone dry for a day or two before trying to turn it on. Turn it on: If this doesn’t work, try charging it. If the device doesn’t charge, the battery could be damaged. You will want to work with a professional to do this, if you haven’t already done so. If it seems to work right, make sure everything does: Make sure you test the screen for responsiveness, as well as the speakers and microphone. By following these eight steps, you’ll maximize your chances of getting away from a phone-meets-liquid incident unscathed. If you found this blog helpful, be sure to share it with anyone else who might benefit from it.
Email Subjects Benefit the Reader A key aspect of the fine art of email subjects is that it is there to help the reader determine how valuable the message is. This helps them determine whether it’s worth investing time in. While it might seem easy to see a generic subject line and avoid it, it’s even more tempting to bypass one with no subject at all. This is extremely important for messages that go out to a lot of people. Subject Lines Shouldn’t Be the Entire Message While the subject line is important, it shouldn’t be the entire message. The subject line is only meant to be a glimpse of what the message is about. Save the entirety of the message for the actual message subject body. If the message is complicated enough that you need to explain it so thoroughly in the subject line, then perhaps it’s best to have the conversation in person. The best subjects are short enough to be consumed while providing an adequate summary of what the message is about, keeping the majority of the details for the message itself. Make Sure You Use a Subject If someone doesn’t include a subject on their message, you can assume one thing: the sender doesn’t find it important enough to assign a subject. This basically means that anyone who has a considerable amount of responsibility might never get around to reading emails without a subject, or at best be pushed to the side rather than thrown to the top of a priority list. Did you find this tip helpful? Sound off in the comments below for other topics you might want us to include in future tip of the week blogs.