Web Worker Daily has another good one today by Anne Zelenka on the dilemma of email. Short responses, long? Delayed, immediate? Email is still in elementary school compared with, say, how to behave on the phone. Pieces like Rising Email Immunity Leads to Conflict over Email Etiquette are good assists to growing up (Keen readers remember Email is for old people here.)
Email immunity is unevenly distributed — some people have become almost entirely immune while others still treat it as a privileged and prioritized channel. Plus, entire generations are less susceptible to email communications: many twentysomethings and teenagers prefer instant messaging and texting.
Facebook, instant messaging, Twitter, and other alternative tools trump email and make some people more immune to email than others. Early adopters of social tools are likely to be relatively more immune to email.
This uneven distribution of email immunity leads to conflict over how to handle email. People with little immunity to email react with indignation to suggestions that you might worry less about responding to email or leave your inbox full or prioritize brevity over niceties. At the same time, those with more immunity question lengthy email discussions, complex email processing schemes, and overly elaborate email etiquette guidelines.
