After coming back to the office after a lunch meeting, a tweet mentioning @SmileyHanchulak stated how the meeting went. Not only did I see that, but the 600+ followers the company has saw it too. Even though business cards were exchanged, social media was the medium used to display their satisfaction and gratitude.
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.
In 1875, when Alexander Graham Bell introduced the telephone, people probably weren’t convinced that this new invention would even work. Now, telephones may have evolved into pocket-size devices that do more things than Inspector Gadget could shake his hat at, but the initial concept is the same, two-way communication.
Most people fill their tweets with links and their whereabouts throughout the day for tweeple across the world to see. Some tweets go unnoticed while others have headlines interesting enough to click the link that follows. There is one type of tweet that seems to always gets attention. No matter how long ago the tweet was sent and regardless if there is a message that follows, tweets containing a photo are irresistible.
In 1990, if you told CompuServe executives their 600 thousand subscribers would amount to less than 2% of daily messages sent on a social media network, they would have laughed in your face. CompuServe dominated online service in the 1980’s and continued to be a major player in the 1990’s. As technology continued to improve and companies merged and subsequently closed, CompuServe’s popularity eventually faded away.
