Email Is Not Dead Yet (Nor Any Time Soon)
from the in-case-you-were-wondering dept
zanek writes "Every time a technology gets "hot," magazines start pumping out articles declaring some previous technology "dead." Today, BusinessWeek opines that "E-Mail Is So Five Minutes Ago" because, apparently, they just learned the term "wiki." Email Battles points out the silliness of assuming that a new technology makes all older tech obsolete. " This is all too common. The press loves to talk up how one technology will kill another, often without any basis in fact. In the past, we've seen stories saying that the web, blogs, RSS and instant messaging will all kill email -- and yet, email keeps going strong. The chart at Email Battles does a nice job making the point quite simple: these applications have different purposes. One won't "kill" the other. In fact, as we've seen with stories about new technology "killing" paper, sometimes it seems the reverse happens. Wikis are great for collaboration (we use them all the time here), but sometimes they actually lead to more emails.
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.... by Emo on Nov 21st, 2005 @ 11:39pm
When a new technology gets it's own symbol on ALL keyboards in the world ever made ( the @ ) then it'll be safe to assume it's big and strong.. Until then, E-mail is still one of the most used ways to communicate...
-Emo
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Re: .... by Hedwig on Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 1:29am
Yeah... right. Except that the keyboards all had this @ symbol long before email started using it.
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Not dead...just wounded by Colm O'Connor on Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 2:10am
I think the press are exaggerating, but they're not completely wrong. Email is often used for purposes for which it isn't really suited (e.g. emailing back and forth different versions of the same document). A wiki can cut down the volume of email you need to send *drastically* in such situations.
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HaloKiller by Jared Anderson on Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 4:27am
Its kinda like when people say "hay this new game is gonna be the Halo killer" but they have no facts to support it.
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Re: HaloKiller by Ryan on Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 4:56am
Isnt saying that any tech will kill email the same as saying email will kill regular mail? I dont see any of the local post offices suffering.
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Snailmail by Howard on Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 5:44am
First class letter volume is down significantly, and the postal service credits the large volume drop to the use of email. That probably doesn't hurt the postal service much though, since junk mail subsidizes first class anyway. However, postal rates are still going up (and the postal service is already dragging its feet like they always do for a few months before a postage increase).
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Are any of the "killed" technologies actually dead by Diogenes on Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 6:04am
Yesterday I wasted 2 hours trying to fax, FAX! a document necessary to get my small business a check from a major corporation.
I haven't had a long distance account on any land-line for 3 years now. Online communication is practically free, and the pre-paid phone cards you can get form Sam's or Costco are rechargable and drastically cheaper, not to mention that I'm on my mobile phone 99% of the time anyway - what long distance?
I don't have a modem in my computer, which is over 2 years old, because I've been on DSL for at least that long.
I have an e-fax account, but just the free version because for some reason it seems that about once every 9 or 10 months someone wants to fax me something. I never, NEVER have the need or desire to actually send enough faxes to justify the $12/month fee for that part of the E-Fax service.
Yet here it is, 2005, and a major corporation's accounts payable department told me that they couldn't accept a scanned and e-mailed version of a signed document, it had to be faxed. (Or delivered, but who wants to wait when you want paid before the holidays.)
So I've gotta take with a HUGE grain of salt anyone telling me that anything is going to kill a particular technology. Only time will do that.
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Re: Are any of the by John on Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 6:25am
Why not just go to a local kinko's or stationary store and just use their fax machine?
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not the same usage by sub ubi on Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 6:51am
email: "Here's what I'm saying, check it out soon."
rss: "Here's what I'm saying, check it out whenever."
blog: "Here's what I'm saying, check me out."
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Video killed the radiostar? by MadJo on Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 7:55am
Let's all sing :)
Weblogs killed the email-star
RSS killed the email-star
Wiki killed the email-star
But email came and is still here
Oh-a-a-a-oh
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One simple test... by Haggie on Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 11:49am
I have one simple test of any new or emerging technology: Do my parents use it?
They send me email and will occasionally IM with me (but it freaks them out, my mother, "I'll just call you, this is strange.") and I really doubt they will ever do much more than that in their lifetimes.
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No Subject Given by Adam W on Nov 24th, 2005 @ 11:56pm
Email hasn't killed FTP but it sure did it some greivous bodily harm
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