As we grapple here at MGGS with the fact that eMail is already becoming obsolete with our students as they move to VOIP and live chat options I came across this article from The Age:
July 11, 2011 - 10:58AM Is email going the way of the handwritten letter?
I’ve always dismissed talk of email’s demise as the foolish chatter of digital hipsters who are quick to declare anything dead as soon as they discover a more fashionable alternative.
But last week’s Australian internet usage report contained a very interesting paragraph that seemed to go overlooked in the media coverage;
“During December 2010, 2.3 million Australians aged 14 years and over went online to make a VoIP call via their computer, 2.3 million used instant messaging and 5.4 million undertook activities relating to blogging and online communities. The number of persons who used such media as a substitute to traditional email usage almost doubled in the twelve months to December 2010 (1.4 million persons, compared to 736,000 persons during December 2009).”
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/computers/blogs/gadgets-on-the-go/is-email-dying-20110711-1h9n3.html#ixzz1Rl8HDifS
But last week’s Australian internet usage report contained a very interesting paragraph that seemed to go overlooked in the media coverage;
“During December 2010, 2.3 million Australians aged 14 years and over went online to make a VoIP call via their computer, 2.3 million used instant messaging and 5.4 million undertook activities relating to blogging and online communities. The number of persons who used such media as a substitute to traditional email usage almost doubled in the twelve months to December 2010 (1.4 million persons, compared to 736,000 persons during December 2009).”
This tells us millions of Australians are using VoIP and instant messaging, which doesn’t come as a surprise. But it also tells us that the number of people using them as a substitute for “traditional email” doubled last year, which is certainly something to think about. The phrase “traditional email” in itself might be disturbing for those of us who aren’t Digital Natives. I’m a thirty-something knowledge worker who grew up without the internet and email, but I try to keep up with technological trends and I think I’d be classed as an Eager Adopter.
As someone who works from home, email is my primary form of communication with the outside world for work and play - and that’s the way I like it. It’s fast, asynchronous, open, private, mobile, searchable and archiveable - letting me deal with the world on my terms and strike some form of work/life balance. So you could say email is my “traditional” form of communication, but that’s probably not the case for many people my age or older.Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/computers/blogs/gadgets-on-the-go/is-email-dying-20110711-1h9n3.html#ixzz1Rl8HDifS