I use Twitter, I use Facebook and I also extensively use my Email. While there have been articles/reports and research produced in the past which said that Social Media sites are replacing email in a lot of instance but I find myself using my email a lot more because of Facebook and Twitter [they are a big part of "Social Media" sites for me]. Instead of commenting on a post by visiting Facebook, where possible I comment from within my email, I upload pictures from my email and I forward and respond to lot of messages that originated from Facebook. On discussing on Twitter, when conversations get serious, they continue within my email inbox. I use Gmail as my primary email. And when I get messages from Twitter and Facebook, most of the time Gmail's Priority Inbox does a good job of marking important and not so important messages originating from these sites.
Email is not going to go away anywhere for a long time to come. If anything, we will see improvements happening in this space.
So how long before Email gets well integrated into a Social Media site such as Facebook? I could have seen that happening faster if Google Buzz was a bigger success for Google. How long before we use a "RockMelt" like version of a "Social Media" site where email is in the centre with all other aspects of social media cluttering it on the borders. I think this has already started with add-ons within Gmail where it displays information relating to your contacts from "Social Media" sites and other places. But how long before it comes mainstream?
This can happen more faster if the lines blurred with so called 'Social Networks' and 'Other Networks' and it all becomes just networks within which we distinguish between professional interactions and interacting with friends.
But I have been wondering few things lately?
How long before the word "Social Media" fades away?
Is Facebook still a Social Media site? I see a lot more professional activities happening on Facebook now.
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