VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — You can call Danny Rubin an email writing expert.
He’s spent the last decade teaching the importance of proper email etiquette. He’s even published books on the subject.
“It has to have a tone that’s confident and friendly,” said Rubin.
Rubin said it’s a skill that is lacking, from early education to the business world.
“There’s a tendency to write emails like you’re sending a text,” said Rubin.
That’s why the online curriculum developer has spent the last three years drumming up an idea to change the status quo.
You’ve used spell check before, and there are plenty of resources that can fix grammar on the spot too, but Rubin’s Virginia Beach-based company "Rubin" has created a first-of-its-kind natural language tool called Propel.
Think of it as an email etiquette app that works automatically within your Gmail and Outlook accounts.
It can fix things we may not even know we’re doing wrong, like detecting if the tone of an email is too casual.
Propel even flags something many people struggle with…too many exclamations.
“We believe more than two can make the person come off as too excited,” said Rubin.
These types of mistakes can be difference-makers when it comes to getting a job, getting into a school, or maintaining a good reputation.
“It’s not doing the work for you; we’re trying to teach you as well as help you simultaneously,” said Rubin.
The company’s plan is to roll out the Propel extension to school systems this fall while continuing to refine the tool for broader use in the future.