Okay, so the WSJ has jumped the shark.
Reporter Jessica Vascellaro has declared that email is dying. This smacks of huge sensationalism. Who is Jessica? Well, if you start googling, you may end up oogling. She’s a reporter for te WSJ and knows the “google-set”
Frankly, this is a pretty damn bold statement. It’s like declaring mission accomplished, and we all know where that got us.
Her report on why its reign is over is more about why FaceBook and Twitter are better. I’m not saying she doesn’t have some valid points, But why not talk more about trends or the speed of communication? Okay, so maybe she did mention some of that stuff to a degree.
The truth is that she’s misread the trend. It’s true that the speed of communication is increasing and the time expectations are decreasing. It could also be argued, however, that Twitter, Facebook and google Wave are filling in the spaces where email has failed to tread.
Email told us we could get information communicated faster than we ever thought. So, as good Americans, we raised our expectations. Facebook is not a method of one-to-one communication- nor is Twitter. They both can be, but the most widely used version involved communicating one-to- many. Email can do that but it’s convenience lies in one-to one. It’s quick (depending on some variables) , and more importantly, private. Facebook and Twitter just don’t fit in that category.
Maybe the real question lies in deciding whether or not one-to-one communication is dying. If that’s the case, we’ve got some serious cultural issues happening.