The only thing to come close to email in usefulness for me has been SMS (not counting the phone itself.) But even the email/SMS duopoly could soon change given

The only thing to come close to email in usefulness for me has been SMS (not counting the phone itself.) But even the email/SMS duopoly could soon change given the near ubiquitous presence of smartphones. I'm just waiting for the evolution from "e-mail" to "e-conversation". Just create add protocols to add IM, video, audio, images, and possibly even metadata to allow for non-perfect presumed input (say, transcripts of audio/video, computer devised descriptions of images, all for search purposes). Of course, I say "just", but sadly I can't see that kind of thing happening, despite my honest belief that it would be a benefit to all (think webmail clients) more than attempts to "become" the platform for the future (Myspace, Facebook, G+) that I think we can all see becoming a boom/bust cycle of "new hotness/old busted" if we're unlucky.