Topic: Email Is Not Dead

Despite the introduction of newer communication technologies, email remains the most efficient and professional way of communicating technologically today. The rapid increase of new communication technologies, such as online social networks and instant messaging, may have threatened the survival of email; however email still has advantages over newer communication technologies. “Analysts predict e-mail accounts will continue to grow even as instant messaging, texting, and social networking sites gain in popularity” (Hamblen, M., 2007).

New communication technologies have provided us with many uses which have been proven productive in social contexts. Instant messaging and text messaging have increased the convenience of social interaction, whereas social networking sites have allowed for effective long-distance communication. The positive aspects of new communication technologies is evident, however it could be proposed that the familiar and known tend to disappear into the new products and systems of technology. Thus, it can be said that each communication technology that is created must be introduced to the public, which they must then learn and master before it is of any use to them. Email avoids such difficulties as it is an older form of communication which has immense prevalence, having familiar properties to the majority, and consisting of features and aspects which are still useful. All communication technologies have their pros and cons, and email will remain to assimilate with this criteria. It is a form of online communication technology that has uses and features which are uniquely suited to certain situations, and cannot be destroyed by newer forms of communication technology.

The uniqueness of email includes its ability to be shared and used among a vast amount of people; Hotmail alone has 280 million users. It can therefore be said that it truly is the only universal form of online communication, proving its efficiency for both social and professional uses. College and University students can benefit from email, as it provides an easy submission method for work and assessment, and a convenient form of communication between lecturers, tutors and other students. Relatives or friends who live interstate or overseas can easily be contacted via the use of email, and no fees or charges apply. Communication via mobile phone almost always incorporates costs, regardless of the distance between the sender and the receiver. Email has become a free alternative to long-distance phone calls, allowing users to communicate effectively in a variety of ways, such as writing letters, sending photos, and sending information to many different email accounts simultaneously. It has also been shown in research studies that email communication shows linguistics that sets it apart from written and spoken communication, allowing users to communicate with increased effectiveness and conciseness.


The effectiveness of socially communicating online via email has been challenged by social networking sites, but email is yet to be on the verge of death. Online social networks such as Facebook and MySpace have their advantages; however they are not as user-friendly as email, as not everybody can use these applications. Email is a world-wide form of online communication with other 1.2 billion users worldwide in 2007, opposing the 60 million and 110 million users on Facebook and MySpace respectively. The increasing rate of users on social networking sites can not be denied, but email still has features which social network sites fail to incorporate, such as professionalism, a high-level of familiarity amongst users, efficiency in distributing information to more than one person, and being the most largely used online application world-wide. Threats of social networking sites taking over email are ignorable, as in order to join such a network, you must have an email address. Also, social networking sites require both the sender and the recipient to be on the same social network; email is universal.

Thus, in conclusion, it is evident that despite the arrival of new communication technologies, email remains the most competent form of technological communication today, and is continuing to grow despite the advances and introduction of other forms of communication. Although online social networks, instant messaging and other new communication technologies have had dramatic growth rates since their establishment, they lack the familiarity and simplicity that email possesses, and the professionalism that it incorporates. Newer communication technologies will continue to grow, but that does not mean that email will eventually die. Email is a world-wide phenomenon that will continue to advance technologically and be used as one of the main forms of technological communication until an application is created that will incorporate the simplicity and universality that is endowed with email.


References

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