Email is Dead

Our teenagers are digital natives. They can't imagine a world without the Internet. And perhaps more than any other thing or group, teenagers are the driving force behind Web 2.0 technology.

At the recent Mashup 2007 conference, a panel of teenage entrepreneurs spoke with industry (including Microsoft) professionals. I wish I could have been there to see everyone's reactions. These kids are, after all, the wave of a not-so-distant future.

What did the kids say? Email is dead. It's hanging on as a mode of communication for adults (that's us) and within businesses. Kids will even use it to communicate with adults. But for the majority of kids, email has been replaced by two things: text messaging and social networks.

"I only use e-mail for my business and to get sponsors," Martina Butler, the host of the teen podcast Emo Girl Talk, said during a panel discussion here at the Mashup 2007 conference, which is focused on the technology generation. With friends, Butler said she only sends notes via a social network.

"Sometimes I say I e-mailed you, but I mean I Myspace'd or Facebook'ed you," she said.

When asked about the fact that both Facebook & MySpace email you to let you know you have a message, the kids replied that it doesn't matter. They can access social networks from their phones - they have their network available to them all the time.

The biggest problem for these kids? The fact that there are so many different social networks, and in order to keep up with their friends, they may have to manage several. So what is needed? Simple. Kids (soon to be adults) need a tool that manages all of their information in one place. If I were Microsoft, I'd jump all over integrating this into Outlook before, to this generation, Outlook becomes obsolete.  If I were a social networking site, I'd create RSS feeds for each profile. Imagine seeing all of your information right on your Google Reader (or other reader) all at once.

We're definitely moving in this direction. I think the most important thing to note here is that the nature of communication is changing. While it's becoming more electronic, it's also becoming more public and open. More communication is shared between the masses.

Are you ready to give up your email?

Article: Kids Say Email is Like, Soooo Dead