When email became the preferred method of communication, the US Postal Service cringed and the term ’snail mail’ was born.  Now, with social media quickly becoming the preferred method of communication, will the use of email eventually decrease?

Many may disagree, but social media increases the use of email.

Think about the contests on Twitter, Facebook and blogs.  Most of them require either an email address or want you to send them an email with a certain subject to register. Twitter allows you to send direct messages but they have the same 140 character limit as a regular tweet. Facebook direct messages allow unlimited typing, but who wants to login their Facebook account every time to read a long message?

Having the ability to receive email in the palm of your hand is why smartphones like the iPod, BlackBerry, and Android exist. Sure people love the apps, but the instant communication is what people really want.

Email is viewed as a formal way of communicating. Although your company has a Twitter account, the chance that you are going to send a proposal to a major corporation in 50 direct messages is slim.

Social media is similar to “water cooler” conversation.  The short, instant messages on social media are short, and have the potential to be “overheard” by someone else. and if anything needs to be discussed later email addresses will be exchanged.

Twitter may send 50 million tweets a day, but how many outgoing emails does Google, Yahoo or MSN process on a daily basis?

Social media is great for instant two-way communication, and sites like Twitter allows you to reach out and follow whoever you want.  Email is great for personal two-way communication and the only people able to contact you are those who you have shared your email address with.

Will social overpower email?  My sources say no, but social media will definitely reshape the way email is used.

If you use Google Analytics to monitor your blog traffic, you have probably noticed traffic from iPhone, BlackBerry and Android phones are now recorded.  Google Analytics even records which cellular provider the visitor uses.

Not technical savvy, or paying a developer to build an iPhone app is not in your budget? Well, a simple Wordpress plugin will help you get your blog mobile ready.

Installing the WPTouch plugin turns your blog into a smartphone ready site.  iPhone users will be able to view the titles of your posts and select which ones they want to read.  Adding a “tweet this”, or a social bookmarking button, increases the chance of the link being shared by your visitors on their preferred social networks, which will draw even more traffic to your site.

Social media is changing the the way information is shared.  Ensuring your blog is smartphone ready keeps you in line with the changes.