Gmail or not - e-mail will continue to provide the backbone of digital conversation for personal life and business. Because it is not a proprietary protocol but

Gmail or not - e-mail will continue to provide the backbone of digital conversation for personal life and business. Because it is not a proprietary protocol but an open standard protocol with free, open-source implementations independent of operating systems and platform companies. None of your chats will be there in 5 years, but all your emails can be in another 20 years, if you elect not to delete them. The one thing you need to remember is what you want to happen to your emails once you pass away; it will all get lost unless you put your email passport in a sealed envelope somewhere safe (e.g. deposit with your will at a notary public, or in your safe).