few days away, I hate email….

I am back from a trip to Ningbo…and I didn’t have access to email…so now I am digging through 493 new emails…thus I am writing this “complaining” post, enjoy! and let me know what you think

“did you get my email about that notice”, “dont you read my email?”. Then there are the guys who write book-long emails…and expect people to read it…..

I mean, i remember when i made my first email account, maybe it was in 1995, i was in 8th grade and i had a 25mhz processor pc with a 1440 baud dial up modem. I got a CD for a free juno email account, installed the software on my computer and then could create a free @juno.com email account (actually cant remember the handle i picked). To get the email i would have to open their email software and dial up to their email server to download the messages. In exchange for this free email account, i had to watch banner advertisements and download extra email advertisements.

It was exciting. before that i remember dialing up to local bulletin boards (BBS) and posting messages there to communicate online.

And then there was the AOL craze, with the cool and famous “you’ve got mail” voice alerting you of new messages. I remember going through multiple free “10 hour” trial CDs acting like different people. I remember trying to convince my dad we should pay for AOL internet, but the $29.95 usd/month was too expensive…..so i kept finding ways to get online for free.

But back to email……i have maybe 10 active email accounts. Sure, that seems crazy, but mostly they route to my shadstone company account.

I try to push my friends and work colleagues to use twitter…..why, because its FAST, and forces the sending party to GET TO THE POINT. Plus, if the message is on the internet, other people can see it, and contribute to solving the question or issue….not just a 1-to-1 conversation. Plus, being an internet dude, those messages are archived on the worldwide web to be indexed by search engines and be found in the future….
Also, when sending an email, the person sending should consider, “what is the end goal on writing this message?”

Emailing shouldnt be a full time job! i read the book “four hour work week” by tim ferris, and he says we shouldnt check our email when we start work each day. That is because we are being reactive instead of proactive! So i have to wait for someone to email me for me to work? NO! I should have my tasks ready, get to the office, have my coffee and get to work NOT open emails and be responsive. Do your immediate to do tasks done first, and then check emails. Prioritize!
People think i am crazy when i say email will drop in usage over time. More people will talk through social media, such as twitter, facebook, and others. I have yet to play with it, but google made a new tool – google wave – and it will combine email and social media into publiv conversations….even contact form submissions can be treated as a conversation, no more needing to forward contact us forms filled out throughout a company.
And i try to dig out of unread email….i remember when i quit my job at deutsche bank, i had over 1000 unread emails, that i never read! I didnt have time to open them, i would scan the subject lines and from field to pick the ones i needed to open. Same in my hotmail now, thousands of unread messages…..i will never open them, just scan and open….

Sure, i am not very organized, and sure, i dont have good focus….but i think others out there will feel my pain…..

I look forward to the days emails become a less imprtant part of our daily lives. Thoughts???