Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2009 > March > 17 > Entry
Core Conversation: Too Much Text: When I Was Your Age, We Sent Email
Date/Time: 3:30 Tuesday
Panelist: Jay Cuthrell (qthrul, Fudge.org)
The gist: Is e-mail dead? Is social software taking over? Not exactly. E-mail is still the most popular method of communicating, according to Cuthrell. But will it last? According to Cutherall, a majority of people over 24 tend to think e-mail will be obsolete in five to 10 years. People under 24, however, think e-mail will last, even though social sites (like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter) are more popular in that demographic. For them, e-mail is usually reserved for Web registrations and getting a syllabus. MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and text messaging are for the day-to-day.
Still, e-mail can be frustrating. More and more people (and companies) are dropping it altogether, sick of an overstuffed inbox full of bulk messages and spam. But it’s still the most reliable means of connecting electronicall. And besides, you can’t register for social sites without an e-mail address.
Quotes: “Social networking is just another piece of the pie”—Schmulen. “I’m not saying email is going to die, I’m just saying we can do much better”—Cuthrell.
Takeaways: The question isn’t “will Facebook and MySpace replace e-mail?” because each has its own special purpose. The better question is: “What’s the next step?” Best-case scenario is that social software and e-mail combine seamlessly into one.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: SXSW 2009
Comments
Click here to report comment abuse.