Email: The 8 Track of the Digital Age?

So, lately the hot topic is WEB 2.0. Or WEB 2.0 apps. WEB 2.0 promotes creativity in application design, better communication for users, and enhanced collaboration.

It could also be the death knell of EMAIL.

Email still serves us well....but dang if it isn't getting harder to deal with. Younger users find email antiquated, like the way I see fax machines and rotary phones. There are much more efficient and "hipper" ways to communicate these days. Email is clunky.

With social networking sites(myspace, facebook, linkedin, etc) cropping up everywhere....and tools like Twitter, email just seems to be loosing its way.

Email faces an uphill challenge nowadays. Spam filters have rendered its reliability null, as has anti virus software. More and more ISPs are imposing file attachment restrictions. Its just getting harder to use.

That isn't to say email is going to go away. In fact, as a person to person tool, email is great. But the problem is that with email, only those two people see it. Collaboration with the group is limited. Open discussion is limited. Instread of getting the information from the group, which in most cases is where the best information is, we are limiting our selves to one on one conversation.

And, again I come back to Spam. Spammers are more responsible for the dying popularity of email than anyone. Whereas in the "good old days" you could send an email and have no question of it arriving at its intended destination, now you must call to verify that your message made it past the spam filter.

Enter Web 2.0 with its fancy collaboration tools and web interface. Imagine sending a message to a network of friends, with limited input on your part. No more having to sift thru your inbox...trying to glean meaningful information from a myriad of junk. No more trying to figure out who needs to know what and if at all. The information is there for all to see.

I really dont see email going away anytime soon, but it will certainly take a back seat to these more efficient forms of communication. Eventually, however, it will be replaced by something.

And then the spammers will screw that all up too.