Some people love to hate email. Others hate that they love email. Either way, there’s some degree of hate involved. Despite its prevalence as the de-facto means of communicating – or because of it – email is quickly approaching a critical tipping point, in my humble opinion.
Full disclosure. I work in the email security business, so I probably have a warped perspective on email in general. Still, I don’t believe that we are reaching a tipping point with email simply because of the rising levels of spam and viruses. Today’s security solutions do a pretty darn good job filtering email.
Instead, I think the tipping point is driven largely because existing email technology doesn’t map to normal human behavior. That fact, combined with the volume growth of email has caused email to become a productivity inhibitor versus a productivity enabler.
Wait! Before you chalk me up as another dooms-day nobody (I am a nobody for sure), ask yourself the following questions:
1. Have you ever worked a full day, thought back and wondered, “I know I was at work at my desk all day reading and typing, but I can’t tell you one thing I actually did today.”
2. Have you ever spent two or three times longer looking for something in email than actually using it (e.g., a phone number, a document you needed to read, etc.)?
3. When you absolutely, positively need to communicate with someone, does a tiny voice in your head say, “You better call them just in case they don’t read or miss your email.”
If you answered yes or maybe to some or all of those, then you understand what I’m getting at. There must be a better way.
This blog will explore email productivity, whether it’s getting better or worse, and most importantly, what is anyone doing about it.
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