Aren’t We All Communicating With Email?

Perhaps not.

I was chatting with my 16-year old son the other day, noticing that he was no longer using his email address to communicate with his friends and us, his parents. I asked him why, and here are his answers:

1. Email is too slow to get a response to, often contains Spam and viruses and at times it is lost in cyberspace.
2. Since most carry cell phones and use instant messaging, he is usually able to instantaneously get a hold of everyone he needs to while being able to conduct a meaningful “digital” conversation.
3. With services such as FaceBook and MySpace, he can quickly and easily communicate with his friends without getting spammed.

I can definitely recognize the benefits of such technology and its access for the younger generation and even us, the so-called more mature generation. Won’t it be great to send a how-to question to your business partner or software company and get an immediate answer to your question? How about an innovative idea sent to your team and an immediate conversation that starts virtually? The possibilities are amazing. Yet, what about the many “interruptions” one may receive?

It’s amazing how often times we are able to learn various pragmatic ideas from the younger generation. But until we enable all our clients to text message us their question, leave a comment and let me know what you think.