What most of them don't know is that I can see them. Specifically, I can see their social-network profile pictures.

That's because I have the , a plug-in that displays, among other things, the sender's profile pic from Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, or Windows Live. (Xobni's accomplishes much the same thing in Gmail.)

And, wow, do some of these folks look unprofessional.

Think about your own profile photo. Are you wearing a ratty t-shirt, hair a total mess, sitting on the couch with a beer in your hand? (I'm not making that one up.) Is that how you want clients, co-workers, media types, and even prospective employers to perceive you?

You may think I'm exaggerating, but I get of email from business professionals with embarrassingly bad profile shots. Sometimes it's the kids or the dog; I've also seen a few that were overtly political.