Email Turns Thirty

milquetoast writes: "The NYTimes has an article on e-mail's 30th birthday. where would we be without it?" Wearing out a lot fewer delete keys, that's where. The NYT also has an interview with Tomlinson, and a speculative article suggesting email will kill the fax machine (not any time soon). Tomlinson may think he gets a lot of email, but he doesn't.

Comments

E-mail will not kill the fax machine

[Jucius Maximus]

So many employers will accept resume/coverletter packages by fax but not by e-mail. With fax, you get an instant hard copy (because it comes out on paper, unless you're using a software fax prog) and it's much easier to look at the whole package. The employer will often put all the pages in a row on their desk/table/etc and look at them simultaneously. Similarly, unless you print them all out, it's harder to take the PDF to a HR meeting and show it to everyone so they can have a look at the applicant's material. Unless you have a 49" monitor or something, you can't do these things with a PDF file.

Furthermore, sorting applicants can be simpler because you don't have to worry about setting up some sort of filename scheme and then make a whole directory structure for the prospects, rejecects, etc.

I wish

[zephc]

Fax machines are weak, decrepit devices that email should have abolished years ago, but, because of managerial dim-wittedness and fear of change, they are sure to be around for years.

also, Michael, you seem really bitter these days... whats up with that?

EZPass & Email :: The Connection

[ellem]

A few years back EZPass was introduced to NY. It took a while to catch on but now it is everywhere you can even get McDonald's with the damn thing. Two or three years ago someone figured out that a car on a toll road like a thruway could be tracked. Further they figured out, through the tracking, that cars weren't doing the speed limit and began issuing tickets based on time from point A to point B. The thought process being if you got there in this amount of time you averaged 85 MPH and if that was your average you were definitely going faster than that factoring accelerating and decelerating at the tolls so here's a ticket for 85 MPH; consider yourself lucky b/c we KNOW you were going faster than that.

The creator of EZPass complained loudly that this was not what he invented EZPass for, "I wanted to make people's drives easier! This is a gross misuse of the EZPass system."

NY State told him to shut up and poked him with a sharpened spork or something.

anylou...

I wonder if Tomlinson feels the same every time he gets spammed from www.asiananaldogrape.com or a script kiddie sends out some Outlook virus?

Re:EZPass & Email :: The Connection

[dillon_rinker]

The point of speeding on the freeway is that you can drive real fast, pull over at a rest stop, take a leak, stretch out, maybe nap for a few, and arrive at your location refreshed.

Re:Call for Automated Email Filters

[mgkimsal2]

Procmail is a filter BEFORE email hits your inbox. What you'd want is an actual email client that would 'learn' from what you're doing, not an external 'filter' program. Neat idea, but not the same as another procmail-type filter system.

...and becoming problematic to handle.

[mwillems]

It seems to me (CTO of a small multinational company) that we are approaching an email watershed. Let me rehash what may be the obvious, to see if anyone has any ideas.

Up to now it was a matter of getting MORE communicative - "more email is more good". Email started as a mail replacement, but became a telephone replacement. We are now surpised (even annoyed) if an email does not elicit a response in 5 minutes.

I see two reasons why this is changing.

One is a relatively small challence, but annoying nonetheless: SPAM. I get 100 a day now - it is becoming a real challenge to handle. I and will have to change email addresses soon - but with hundreds of real people having my address, this is not easy. We need to see this as a real problem for the first time - tools (filters, "organise" etc) are no longer sufficient.

The second problem is more fundamental still. I get 100 "real" emails a day too - but this drives me towards a purely reactive work model. I have too little time for writing back to them all - let alone for the strategising I am being paid for. I need to do LESS communicating - and with me, many of my colleagues.

I am looking forward to seeing what ideas we come up with to take this to the next level. I know it's not XP and Outlook 2003!

Mike