Death to email
An article today claims email is dying. And even though I use it daily, I say a hearty hooray.
One point I must argue against is the final question about whether millenials (yet another annoying generational term) will be forced to use email once they start working ... hell no. I see so many reasons we should move away from email in business, even as I use email to create this post.
IMs and SMSes are perfect for instant short info and I tend to use emails for cataloging longer pieces of information ... like organizing information so that I have access to it later from anywhere and my business partner receives a copy. But email is not ideal for that, I end up sending 5 emails on one topic with rewrites in later ones. My reliance stems from current lack of a better option.
So what is replacing email? That’s something that goes beyond IMs and text messages, beyond social networks like Twitter, MySpace, FaceBook, and SecondLife. (Beyond company names someday I hope, but that’s another post for another time.) And most likely the things that do replace email will interact with email. Tasks programs are still developing, they tend to be clunky and slow. But something like journal entry software would be ideal. Backpackit.com has a Mac widget that comes close, but it still only allows updating of existing pages rather than full feature control.
The point is, I don’t want to linger in email dependency. I don’t like spam, I don’t like getting sidetracked with listservs and personal notes when I have a mission to accomplish. I know there is another way. I also don’t want to open up a site and wait for all that loading, I’d rather just type directly into a program that syncs with a site. It needs to allow for full creation, editing, and notification controls. And yes, some of the notices may be through email—but take a note from Twitter here and let the receiver choose the medium.
So I may not be a “millenial,” or any of those other cutsie terms, but I’m all for living beyond email.