When email first entered corporations as a communication tool many people couldn't wait for the ding and the words "you've got mail."  There was even a movie of the same name starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks which was also a hit. 

Today we are so innundated with emails that there are software programs available to filter out those we do not want.

At first few people had an email address, soon the whole world was blanketed with so much spam that hosting services provide a spam filter to route them to the junk email folder.  I for one am grateful as I receive thousands of email a day.  Every store, prodcuct, supplier and vendor requests you email address these days and often in order to obtain the product you must provide them with your email. 

Recently I had to chuckle when a new grocery store opened in my neighborhood and required I give them an email address just to acitvate my store card. 

This has made me create a junk email address just for this purpose.  I never look at them I simply delete everything. 

Pick up a product in the store and you will find a website and email address on it.  Email is part of how we communicate today.

NO EMAIL FRIDAY
A few years ago a British company instituted "no email Fridays."  It seemed to be a radical step at the time and received a lot of push back.  The company owner said "people need to walk over and talk to others in the company."  This was as the height of the instant message craze and he complained that people would message or email someone in the next cubicle rather than walking over and speaking face to face.

I liked the idea and applauded his objective.

Fast forward to December 18th of this year and another company has instituted a ban on email.   Chief Executive Thierry Breton of Atos, a French technology firm with 74,000 employees in 42 countries has his doubts about its effectiveness.  He announced in November that he will "phase out Athos' use of internal email during the next 18 months because the volume is 'unsustainable' and only 10% of his employees' 200 daily emails are pertinent."  Breton wants employees to communicate via instant messaging, Wiki like documents, texting or face-to-face communication. 

The article titled "Email ban sending a message? Effectiveness of the common communication tool debated" in the business section of the Chicago Tribune instantly got my attention.

According to the article, Robert Half Technology's survey in August found that "54% of CIOs in the US firms with at least 100 employees believe real-time communication tools will surpass email in popularity within the next five years." 

Also cited:
95% of Americans  age 18 - 24 send / receive an average of 109.5 texts PER DAY - double that of 25 - 34 year olds, and 23 times more than for those age 65 or older.

I know from personal experience with thousands of attendees that texting is overtaking email as the preferred communiation tool of those 18 - 24.  They are in my class and during discussion I have learned that many grandparents are taking up texting.  Turns out this is the only way they can reach their grandchildren.  They are the ones teaching grandparents how to text them. 

 GREAT!  Now everyone can spell poorly.

But back to the email issue.  It has become overwhelming. 

Let's consider for a moment all the ways we currently commmunicate.

1.  Facebook has messages from all your friends.  Often this is only way I communicate with my Facebook friends. 

2.  LinkedIn has groups and allows you to join up to 50.  Each one sends out daily, weekly, or monthly updates.  I recently received one with 95 people's comments.  I deleted it.  Time management precluded me from looking at them all.

3.  YouTube allows subscriptions and when people subscribe or comment, YouTube send you an email notification.  You also will be emailed when that person posts a new video.  Granted these emails are less (for me anyway) than the two previous examples.

4.  Twitter also sends and email whenever someone follows or direct messages you.

5.  If you use Goolge alerts they send you emails too.

6.  Regular email from business associates, associations, companies, alumni associations, family and friends gets added to the mix and the whole thing becomes almost unmanageable.

With emails coming at us from so many different directions, it is no wonder that many of us are overwhelmed, stressed and buried. 

So I commend Thierry Breton for taking matters into his own hands with his employees.  I just wish he were asking for more face to face communication.  That folks is a dying skill.  Many texters and instant messengers are such poor communicators face to face that I wonder if we are not losing ground as humans while gaining ground with technology.

Your comments are always welcome.

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