No I do not think so.

I do not think we need to provide any explanation why e-mail is not dead!

Ashish Ghoda
http://www.technologyopinion.com

I've seen this comment periodically (even by some CIOs I know) and the belief that email is going to somehow die, or fall out of favor, continues to amaze me.

Perhaps I’ve got tunnel-vision here as my first exposure to email was around 1990 (anyone remember NUpop?) and the way it has transformed society since I used that DOS-based mail reader is almost unimaginable. I just don’t see a cessation of email being a critical business application anytime soon.

How email is used will change however and I’m already seeing evidence of that. Unified Messaging will become the norm over the next 5 years, with email becoming part of a more holistic environment consisting of Voice/Email/IM/Text/Video and being used as more of single system that can be executed from whatever access point the business chooses to make available to their staff (i.e. Desktop, Laptop, Mobile Device or remote/Web). What method of communication is chosen by the parties involved will depend on factors such as speed/timing, formality, and what level of interaction is needed.

Email will likely evolve a bit into a somewhat higher level of formality and become more “task” driven, with users choosing that method when a more careful level of thought, consideration, and a thread of discussion carries a greater weight. It will also be the method of choice where highly rapid response-times are not necessary and will still be a major communication tool in follow-the-sun operations.

IM/Text will become (and has already become for many) the method of communication between people that already know each other well (interpreting emotional state or personality quirks via IM/Text with someone you don’t really know is difficult at best and could be disastrous at worst) and will be the choice of rapid communication and decision making scenarios where that familiarity exists.

Voice/Video will continue to be the highest level of communication short of direct face-to-face contact. With an estimated 7000+ possible facial expressions (which may or may not mean the same thing depending on culture and background) and at least as many differences in verbal tone and inflection, there will always be a need for an interaction level where those nuances can be recognized.

Sociologically, it will be difficult to change these aspects of communication unless there is a game-changing breakthrough (telepathy? Messaging implants?). The changes will be in the interface as everyone drives to reduce the number of interfaces they need to use to communicate. This is why you will see more push in the workplace to a Unified Messaging environment.

But the likelihood of email becoming this century’s snail-mail is highly unlikely.

Hi Everyone,

Email is certainly not dead and I don't see that happening any time soon either. It's like saying 'Google' is shutting down it's doors and going out of business. If the Internet was a body, email would be the heart or at least some other important organ that the body simply can't function without.

Email was the first real 'social' tool, however, email technology hasn't changed much since it's creation some twenty-odd years ago. Fortunately for all of us, email has been experiencing a subtle evolution over the past few years, almost as if it has been positioning itself, quietly, on the social graph.

Take for example, applications such as ours (Grouptivity DOT com). Grouptivity is a social email app developed for both publishers and end users. There are dozens of social email applications popping up all over the internet. It only seems natural for us to develop new inbox management methods because we all want to curb SPAM, share content and discuss thoughts, ideas, etc, with our very closest friends (such as those in our Address books).

No, E-mail is NOT dead. Long live the In-Box!

Social Groupie

Email is definitely not dead! Being a Director at a Fitness Center in New Zealand, we have found the public feels less intimidated making an email enquiry about facilities, prices etc, than those made by telephone or in person.

I believe with spam and other email 'washer-type' programmes increasing and becoming more effective, inter-business emails will increase. Email response may not have the immediacy of telephone, but then you don't have to deal with phone-tag annoyances either.