Remember how I wrote all that stuff about email being the next big thing? Remember all that stuff about the hidden social network within email? Hah! Those were good times.
Sad to say it, but I think I was wrong. Taking a look at my inbox these days - my personal inbox - I find that it doesn’t really reflect my true social network at all. What it reflects these days are email notifications from my bank or Paypal, newsletters I can’t seem to unsubscribe from, email verifications for all the products I keep registering for, and some random forwards from my Dad or old friends who I hardly ever talk to.
So what’s the deal? Well, I think email is going the way of the voicemail. They’re pretty similar actually. Do you ever leave voicemails for your real friends? No. Because they can see that you tried to call and they probably know what you want and they know to call you back. Many people even actually hate getting voicemails and discourage callers from leaving them in their greetings. I feel the same way. Listening to them is usually a pain. My closest friends…ok my one friend and I…usually either instant message, or text message or…talk face to face. She still has to keep asking me what my email address is, because she hardly ever sends me anything. And that’s my best friend!
Email is completely non-intrusive. So I don’t find it surprising that it’s been taken over by businesses trying to keep in touch with their customers. And really, this works great - much better than them trying to call me.
So, what does this mean for finding the hidden social network in email? Probably dead. What’s next? Finding the hidden social network on your phone! Companies like Skydeck will be able to identify who truly is important to you based on number of calls and location. I still think that the points I wrote about in See You on Email are relevant in the context of voicemail and just as important as they were way back when I first wrote about them, including facilitating pair communication, the creation of ad hoc groups (which should be even easier with the location-aware phone), and being able to view and interact with your network privately. Yes, meeting new people around you will be fun, too, but that’s mostly for us single folks. The most valuable usage will come from identifying and facilitating communication with people who are already important to you.
So is email in danger? No. It’s still great for business. It’s just not that great for BFFs. But don’t quote me on that.
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