Email Forever
Posted by Eric Stein - December 21, 2007 CE @ 03:29:09 UTC
Dhirender Nirwani over at Wild Blue Skies has an interesting idea - that email may be on the way out due to the increase in messaging over social networks. I disagree - this is just another proof of Zawinski's Law:
Most platforms try to keep the user within them - and as long as everyone the platform's users wants to contact and interact with are within the walled garden, it can succeed. The problem social networks face if they aim to replace email is that there are so many, and most of them hold onto their status as a walled garden very dearly.
Facebook and Google are trying to make social networks a more open platform for interaction, but they have not gone anywhere near as far as the old standby, email. SMTP is one of the oldest protocols still in use on the Internet today - it was originally specified in RFC 788 way back in November 1981. Anyone can set up and completely control their own little piece of the email universe, which will interoperate with all the other email servers and services out there. Until social networks create something that makes this universal interoperability with no penalty a reality for their users, email will last.
Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail. Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones which can.
Most platforms try to keep the user within them - and as long as everyone the platform's users wants to contact and interact with are within the walled garden, it can succeed. The problem social networks face if they aim to replace email is that there are so many, and most of them hold onto their status as a walled garden very dearly.
Facebook and Google are trying to make social networks a more open platform for interaction, but they have not gone anywhere near as far as the old standby, email. SMTP is one of the oldest protocols still in use on the Internet today - it was originally specified in RFC 788 way back in November 1981. Anyone can set up and completely control their own little piece of the email universe, which will interoperate with all the other email servers and services out there. Until social networks create something that makes this universal interoperability with no penalty a reality for their users, email will last.
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