TECHNOFILE
The end of email
as we know it
In the last decade email has revolutionised how PAs do their job – but for those in
the know email is no longer the best way to handle communication BY TIM STACKPOOL
Internet historians will tell you that the current form text message to any number of nominated recipients. By
of email is very archaic, bearing little change since Ray entering the text message on your Twitter home page, spe- “
On the horizon
is Google Wave,
Tomlinson sent the first email, as we would recognise it, cific followers can then read the message as a regular SMS
back in 1971 on a US defence computer system called on their mobile phone. This is another way of communi-
touted as the next
ARPANet, the precursor to the internet. Today, even with cating general messages with an entire team. It is also pos- generation of email.
the filtering power of email software such as the perenni- sible for individual members to broadcast a response back
Using a common
al MS Outlook or the ‘search, not sort’ philosophy of to their colleagues from their own mobile phone.
on-screen window,
Google’s Gmail, email still merely represents the electron- On the horizon is Google Wave, touted as the next
ic equivalent of typing a note and putting it in the post. generation of email. Using a common on-screen window,
you can chat live
But the introduction of social networks and the cur- you can chat live with the recipients, share documents, with the recipients,
rent public testing of Google Wave (their next big thing) scribble on a virtual whiteboard, share video clips and
share documents,
now places the future of traditional email in jeopardy. even converse in a different language which is immedi-
scribble on a virtual
Can the likes of Facebook and Twitter put an end to how ately translated into the recipient’s native tongue. This
we communicate ‘in writing’ in our corporate world? service is still being heavily tested and refined by a select
whiteboard, share
Some think it can, and much of the idea is centred on group of Google users worldwide. It will be some time video clips and
internet applications being available on a mobile device. before it is ready to be released to the general public as
even converse in
Pretty much all online communication services develop many more improvements are required.
different languages
a mobile app for use on smart mobile phones now. But even given this, it is not a big leap to see how
For example, when dealing with an on-the-road sales these services can be adapted as marketing tools for pro-
”
team, consider having them join a Facebook group that moting special deals or services with existing customers
gives updates to the entire team with news about their or contacts on your mailing list. Bear in mind however,
targets, results or a hot new prospect. Add to this the although using these online services can appear free,
opportunity for each member of the team to contribute costs may be incurred from charges imposed by tele-
to the online discussion, and you immediately have a phone carriers or internet providers carrying the data.
daily, or even more constant method of keeping the team It’s also worth considering the longevity of such popu-
focused and motivated, perhaps more so than the lar services. Ahead of Facebook, My Space and Second
monthly sales meeting. Such communication can easily Life found enormous popularity as online social mediums,
be managed via any smartphone or at worst on a laptop. both of which have now transformed themselves in an
If you are considering using this method then it would be attempt to remain relevant. If you do consider using such
wise to make the Facebook group private. That way, no services as a primary method of communication, be agile
one can see or join the group unless invited. enough to move across to another service if the current
Something a little simpler, but perhaps just as power- one falls victim to a change in direction, or an alternative
ful, is using the Twitter SMS service to broadcast a single arises that better meets your communication needs.
E
www.executivepa.com » Feb/Mar 2010 » 15
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