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#1
08-16-2007, 07:58 PM
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Will IM ever replace e-mail?
Some articles (such as this one) suggest that many users are using Facebook/myspace type communities instead of email. I know that is true of my son, (sophmore in college), who doesn't even bother giving out his email address or respond to emails--he communicates to his friends via Myspace/facebook.
The original thought was that, as those high schoolers and college students graduate and enter the "adult" world, they'll stop using "adolescent" communications mediums (IM, facebook) and start using the accepted standard of e-mail. But this article and others I've read recently suggest that email is due to be replaced as a communications medium, even in the business environment. Maybe I'm just in the wrong industry, but I certainly don't see it happening now. I don't know of a single co-worker in any of my last 3 jobs who used IM for business purposes. They all use e-mail. (In fact, none of my friends use IM for social purposes, either. Yet everyone I know has an email address.) The Tom's Hardware article suggests that some questions don't warrant the tediousness of writing an e-mail. I have no idea what the author means. To compose an e-mail, I open Outlook (which is always opened, but sometimes minimized) and click on the New button. To compose an IM, I open my IM client, click New and begin writing. What is the difference? What are the advantages of IM over email? And will those advantages be enough to supplant the ubiquitousness of e-mail? 
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#2
08-16-2007, 08:17 PM
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Re: Will IM ever replace e-mail?
I'm not a kid anymore, but I don't have a facebook or myspace and am not curious about anyone else's. I don't think that will change anytime soon for people out of their mid-20's or childhood, because IM via facebook or myspace offers zero advantages that we're interested. Seeing someone's visual scrapbook, or hanging around on a site full of them, does nothing for me.
E-mail does what I need, and I'm pretty sure most people I know have more than one e-mail address. One for work, and at least one for social stuff.
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#3
08-16-2007, 08:44 PM
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Re: Will IM ever replace e-mail?
No. They serve two very different purposes. At work we use both IM and email. IM is good for quick questions and coordination issues. Email lets you go into more detail, and lets you reach a lot of people quickly. It also a lot easier to refer back to emails over IMs.
There is no way a significant number of businesses will allow myspace/facebook communication. Its not secure, it has a ton of distractions, and they can't trace it.
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#4
08-17-2007, 01:41 PM
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Re: Will IM ever replace e-mail?
[ QUOTE ]
Seeing someone's visual scrapbook, or hanging around on a site full of them, does nothing for me. [/ QUOTE ] Yeah I'm with you Blarg. Visual scrapbook is a good description. It does nothing for me either. The whole thing seems silly. I might click on someone's myspace page out of sheer curiosity, like Ohhh...so THAT's what Censored looks like. But other than that I can't get into the idea of a public scrapbook. We can use IM at my work but almost no one chooses to. Most of the people here prefer to use email or just shout over the cubicles [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]. Sometimes I like talking to people in real time but usually it's very shallow stuff like "what's for lunch?"...or..."HEY!! I'm going crazy."...or..."You around? I have an excel question." Other than that, and sitting around gossiping, I don't see the advantage. I used messaging a little bit when I first became a mod in the lounge. For some reason I felt this urgency to talk to people like RIGHT NOW. Thank god that urgency passed huh Wookie? (I think he thought I was nuts.) One thing about IM, you do sort of get a different impression of your coworkers.
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#5
08-17-2007, 02:14 PM
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Re: Will IM ever replace e-mail?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Seeing someone's visual scrapbook, or hanging around on a site full of them, does nothing for me. [/ QUOTE ] Yeah I'm with you Blarg. Visual scrapbook is a good description. It does nothing for me either. The whole thing seems silly. I might click on someone's myspace page out of sheer curiosity, like Ohhh...so THAT's what Censored looks like. But other than that I can't get into the idea of a public scrapbook. [/ QUOTE ] I don't get Myspace either. But apparently, they have an email/messaging system. So when I say that teenagers/college students use myspace instead of email, they use the messaging features.
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#6
08-17-2007, 02:58 PM
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Re: Will IM ever replace e-mail?
Myspace/Facebook type deals are very dangerous professionally too. I wouldn't be caught dead being anything remotely like myself on them, because employers look this kind of stuff up all the time these days.
I don't see any value in having a "clean enough to run for Pope or President" version up.
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#7
08-19-2007, 01:48 PM
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Re: Will IM ever replace e-mail?
[ QUOTE ]
Myspace/Facebook type deals are very dangerous professionally too. I wouldn't be caught dead being anything remotely like myself on them, because employers look this kind of stuff up all the time these days. I don't see any value in having a "clean enough to run for Pope or President" version up. [/ QUOTE ] myspace is pretty essential for someone like me who needs it for networking purposes
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#8
08-17-2007, 07:38 PM
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Re: Will IM ever replace e-mail?
[ QUOTE ]
We can use IM at my work but almost no one chooses to. Most of the people here prefer to use email or just shout over the cubicles [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]. [/ QUOTE ] We're spread over two floors, which is also a common use of IM. "You there?" can save you a wasted 5 minutes.
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#9
08-18-2007, 05:29 AM
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Re: Will IM ever replace e-mail?
texting is good in bars when you cant hear someone on the other line. If you lose your friends etc.
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#10
08-19-2007, 01:03 PM
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Re: Will IM ever replace e-mail?
the answer is no, IM will never replace e-mails.
it's quite possible that IM/Facebook/MSN will become more popular than e-mails but e-mails will always play an important role in communication. i'm just transitioning from a Helpdesk role to a Quality Control role, but when I was on Helpdesk we combined e-mails and IMs. E-mails were great for storing troubleshooting steps as found in email. IMs were great for quick communication, "Hey man, I have so and so on the phone, can you take the call?" P.S. Texting is great, I hate talking on the phone. Here's a typical texting convo for me. Buddy: what's up man? doin anything today? Me: playin wii, you down? Buddy: yeah what time? Me: anytime, it's my day off today. buddy: coo, be there in an hour And that's that. It takes a couple of minutes max and sometimes it saves me money, I don't have to talk on the phone during my anytime minutes.
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Hybrid Mode
