Cameron Conaway has a familiar-sounding piece on Work Email is Dying. What's Next?. He opens with the familiar / fun story of the creation of email in 1971 - in the early days of the ARPANET. Yes, 1971. Over 40 years ago. [Hat tip to Luis Suarez of Living in a World Without Email for the link.]
And there it is. Good ol’ 1971. The year email began its journey to becoming the world’s premier workplace communication tool.
As it still is. Even as it approaches its 44th birthday this October.
And even as new tools have risen up and made many parts of it obsolete.
Conaway's article has a fun way about it. I love the quotes from various business leaders on what they are doing / trying to get work done.
Sadly, though, the essence is very familiar: We spend too much time in email, and it isn't a terribly effective means of collaboration. And yet, for many people and organizations, it doesn't seem there is any impetus to operate differently.
The recommendation? Give it a whirl - try something more focused on the task at hand. And if it doesn't work, email will always be there, like an old habit that you can't break.