The Death of Email
If you know anyone under, say, 30, you know that email is less popular than texting.
Marketers have noticed. Mobile advertising is getting huge. From TechCentral:
...mobile device users are addicted to their devices. Nokia reported at MindTrek 2010 that the average person looks at their phone 150 times a day, or once every six-and-a-half minutes of every waking hour.
“Coca-Cola’s global strategy is 70:20:10. Seventy percent of its digital spend goes to mobile messaging — MMS and SMS — 20% to mobile Web and only 10% to apps,” says [journalist Tomi] Ahonen.
For some reason, a text has more impact than an email:
A study conducted in New Zealand found that the average e-mail is read 48 hours after it is sent, while the average SMS is read in four minutes. “SMS is literally 720 times faster than e-mail in message-opening throughput.”
Maybe that's just New Zealand. (They're weird down there.) But I don't think so. I know that I tend to jump when a text comes through, while I let my inbox fill up for hours and hours.
So email -- which not too long ago represented the fastest, most efficient way to communicate -- now lags in effectiveness to texting.
What happens when texting starts to seem too slow?
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Comments:
Mar '11
Re: The Death of Email
Heads Up Texting (HUT). The message will just be scrolled as it is received across the surface of the special goggles you will have to wear.
Hopefully, we will have all the bugs in the Robocars tracked down by then. Otherwise, the 101 on a Friday afternoon is gonna get messy...
Jul '10
Re: The Death of Email
Rob Long:
For some reason, a text has more impact than an email:
Maybe that's just New Zealand. (They're weird down there.) But I don't think so. I know that I tend to jump when a text comes through, while I let my inbox fill up for hours and hours.
Isn't that likely to change as texts? textings? are more widely utilized by advertisers? Seems to me, the higher the proportion of ads, the less we'll care.
Jun '10
Re: The Death of Email
In most cases, I don't want to know what other people are doing. I don't care. Send me an email, and I'll read it when I get bored with other things.
May '11
Re: The Death of Email
When I grow up and become both wise and clever, I am going to change my name to Etoiledusud.
Dec '10
Re: The Death of Email
Remotely operated shock collars.
Jun '10
Re: The Death of Email
I still use a flip phone. The dumbest thing I see in everyday life is a mature adult looking at their smart phone every 10 seconds like a teenage girl. If its an emergency, give me a call. If I don't answer, leave me a message (voice) and I will get it and return it. Thank you very much. I am absolutely as connected as I need to be right now.
May '10
Re: The Death of Email
Nothing is more effective than a Rob Long text...
Sep '10
Re: The Death of Email
What happens when texting starts to seem too slow?
Gunfire: when it absolutely, positively has to get there.
Mar '11
Re: The Death of Email
Telekinesis: The Future!
Oct '10
Re: The Death of Email
Ho-hum. Can't be bothered with the newest gimmick. Mail was once good enough until the feral gubmint lost control of it's bowels.
Email is good enough, texting is simply a bother. Got my ole cellular telephone. good enough. Like the fact that emails can be saved. I have ten year old business emails, filed in the correct folders, just in case I have a legal requirement.
What does texting give you? A kiddie conversation between otherwise grown up adults.
Aug '10
Re: The Death of Email
Neural idiocy.Boogers en masse. Thinkin' it's funny , but it's---- whoa ! cl sqrl
May '10
Re: The Death of Email
We use email at work and not text to any degree.
I really think there is a difference between personal and work, and these studies seem to ignore the use of email in work. .
Nov '10
Re: The Death of Email
I was at a wedding back in 2006 in Lake Tahoe and the uncle of the groom was a Yahoo exec in their development department. His job was basically to live in the future. Way back then he expressed the same thing.
I don't think email will be a thing of the past anytime soon, I just think its purpose and use will be further differentiated.
When I check my Blackberry, I review my texts before I check my email.
Do you want to know what texting IS replacing? Phone calls. Especially to family members on the weekend. So much can be accomplished with a quick "Hey! Hope All is Well!"
Mar '11
Re: The Death of Email
Lance: I was at a wedding back in 2006 in Lake Tahoe and the uncle of the groom was a Yahoo exec in their development department. His job was basically to live in the future. Way back then he expressed the same thing.
I don't think email will be a thing of the past anytime soon, I just think its purpose and use will be further differentiated.
When I check my Blackberry, I review my texts before I check my email.
Do you want to know what texting IS replacing? Phone calls. Especially to family members on the weekend. So much can be accomplished with a quick "Hey! Hope All is Well!" · 3 minutes ago
But they text each other back and forth, Lance. Two minutes of conversation is being replaced by a half hour of thumb typing.
Jan '11
Re: The Death of Email
As the age threshold of cell device ownership lowers, the amount of text traffic increases. The data needs to try and be normalized. The kids increase text volume and spam increase average inbox wait time.
Mar '11
Re: The Death of Email
I got my first spam text several days ago. I immediately called Verizon and blocked texting on my account and got a $.20 credit for the cost of that incoming text message. It felt good.
May '11
Re: The Death of Email
Well, it never occured to me that texting could substitute for talking to close family members. Maybe there is some good in the technology.
May '11
Re: The Death of Email
Actually, I do do text my sons. I resend the same message. Call me.
May '10
Re: The Death of Email
Vulcan Mind Melds.
Until then, I use the phone for detailed messages that require interaction, I use text for quick notes where I don't need/want to talk, I use email for thoughtful, careful writing....primarily just because I have big hands and the computer keyboard is easieer than my iPhone or my iPad.
Edited on March 8, 2012 at 2:29amMar '11
Re: The Death of Email
twitter
With the added benefit of a maximum 140 characters in a message it becomes the perfect medium for the attention span of the modern on the go citizenry.