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Extract from article by Bruce BoyesThere’s no shortage of articles proclaiming that email not only still alive, but continues to thrive despite predictions that social media would bring about its demise.
However, these stories are missing important factors: changes in demographics, and the rapid rise of something new beyond social media.
An article in The Telegraph reports that email is indeed dead for today’s university students, who prefer to communicate using Twitter. Professor Sir Steve Smith, vice-chancellor of Exeter University, reveals how students are tweeting for help rather than waiting for email responses. The university has had to establish teams to monitor Twitter for these messages, with students expecting a faster response than would occur with email.
Email isn’t dead yet, but that appears to be its ultimate destiny because young people have abandoned it, initially in favour of social media, and now messaging apps. Your business, organisation or agency needs to plan ahead for this change, particularly as older generations are likely to also progressively embrace messaging apps, just like they have become enthusiastic users of social media.