Email Is Not Going Anywhere 235
An anonymous reader writes: It seems the latest trend sweeping the online world is the idea that email is on its way out. Kids are eschewing email for any of the hundreds of different instant messaging services, and startups are targeting email as a system they can "disrupt." Alexis C. Madrigal argues that attempts to move past email are shortsighted and faddish, as none of the alternatives give as much power to the user. "Email is actually a tremendous, decentralized, open platform on which new, innovative things can and have been built. In that way, email represents a different model from the closed ecosystems we see proliferating across our computers and devices. Email is a refugee from the open, interoperable, less-controlled 'web we lost.' It's an exciting landscape of freedom amidst the walled gardens of social networking and messaging services." Madrigal does believe that email will gradually lose some of its current uses as new technologies spring up and mature, but the core functionality is here to stay.
serious confusion by the author (Score:5, Informative)
Email is actually a tremendous, decentralized, open platform
Right, because people understand and care about that.
So much that they've flocked by the billions to closed, centralized platforms.
Here's the thought process of most internet users: "Are all my friends doing it?" "Does it have cute pictures of kittens?" YES -> Click on it.
"Open", "decentralized", or "user controlled" don't enter into it at all.
"The web we lost" (Score:5, Informative)
Re:serious confusion by the author (Score:5, Informative)
You're sadly confused. The 3 largest email providers are larger than Facebook, and that ignores all the other providers and corporations, and doesn't include services that are more popular then the big 3 outside the US.
Most people don't have a Facebook account, most of the ones who do, don't use it, fewer still actually bother to login ever, and even fewer still 'prefer' it.
EVERY Facebook user has an email address, as does EVERY twitter user ... you know how they find out about Facebook posts?
EVERY mobile device and OS that matters comes with an email client, do ANY of them come with a Facebook or twitter client out of the box?
Facebook is already past its peak and no longer where the cool kids go as even the kids have realized how shitty it is.
In case you haven't noticed, the fad is ending.