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The reason people use email for everything, including urgent matters, is because email is the only thing of the 4 channels mentioned in the article that we usua

by ishener 13y ago

The reason people use email for everything, including urgent matters, is because email is the only thing of the 4 channels mentioned in the article that we usually type on a full size keyboard. It's much more convenient when working than calling/texting/IM(when the phone is needed) the proper solution is prioritizing email, and making your email client/device notify you according to the priority level

stollercyrus 13y ago
I'm suggesting that we make prioritization part of the medium that is used to convey the message. How do you prioritize your inbound emails?
- ishener 13y ago
  isn't it redundant to use different mediums just for noting the importance? seems not efficient, especially when there are many types of IM. it's much better to have everything in one place i'm not prioritizing, right now it's not possible, maybe except for this solution: http://klinger.io/post/71640845938/dont-drown-in-email-how-to-use-gmail-more http://klinger.io/post/71640845938/dont-drown-in-email-how-t... i'm just saying THAT is the proper solution, i'm not saying it's possible...
  - stollercyrus 13y ago
    I don't understand the harm in the redundancy you're talking about.
bcraven 13y ago
I completely agree with this- emails are cross-platform and available on the vast majority of connected devices, no phone required. The IM option of this theory also fails to mention that the number of different IM options all fail to talk to each other, or even an overarching client (like Pidgin or imo). Remembering which of my contacts use Snapchat vs Whatsapp vs Facebook vs Hangouts seems utterly incompatible with the idea of the internet connecting people.
- MasterScrat 13y ago
  Yes plus a lot of these networks fail pretty hard... with Gtalk/Hangouts for example it's not rare to miss notifications because you got them on the laptop but not on your phone, or the opposite. Also Whatsapp stupidly doesn't provide a web or desktop interface. Skype on mobile devices uses way more power than it should. In the end I hate Facebook for a number of reasons but it's the only reliable solution I have found so far: fast, reliable, (nearly) everyone is there.
  - Perseids 13y ago
    > In the end I hate Facebook for a number of reasons but it's the only reliable solution I have found so far: fast, reliable, (nearly) everyone is there. Doesn't this even more so apply to email? I don't know a single person who has a facebook account but not an email address. And even for those there is a build-in email bridge: https://www.facebook.com/help/224049364288051 https://www.facebook.com/help/224049364288051
yusyusyus 13y ago
More or less this. Also, in some places, email is the only reliable way to ensure the receiving party is held responsible for responding (sad that it is needed, I know).
- mikro2nd 13y ago
  Do remember that SMTP makes no guarantee of delivery - so in what way is that "the only reliable way..."?
mattlutze 13y ago
And yet a phone call can be made, and a conversation can be had in 2 minutes, which would otherwise mean a half hour or a few hours of back and forth, distracting you from other necessary work. I like email or messaging when I want de facto notes to refer back to, or when response isn't urgent. But, with issues urgent enough for me that I feel it's worth inconveniencing someone else's time or when I don't want that conversation in my active memory for half a day (waiting on the next response), certainly that phone call is going to be made.
- ishener 13y ago
  a phone call is synchronous, and i personally tend to forget about the call 2 minutes after it ended. an email stays in my inbox until i deal with it. plus many things need to be written, like numbers, links, and much more...

by ishener 13y ago

stollercyrus 13y ago

I'm suggesting that we make prioritization part of the medium that is used to convey the message. How do you prioritize your inbound emails?

ishener 13y ago
isn't it redundant to use different mediums just for noting the importance? seems not efficient, especially when there are many types of IM. it's much better to have everything in one place i'm not prioritizing, right now it's not possible, maybe except for this solution: http://klinger.io/post/71640845938/dont-drown-in-email-how-to-use-gmail-more http://klinger.io/post/71640845938/dont-drown-in-email-how-t... i'm just saying THAT is the proper solution, i'm not saying it's possible...
- stollercyrus 13y ago
  I don't understand the harm in the redundancy you're talking about.

bcraven 13y ago

I completely agree with this- emails are cross-platform and available on the vast majority of connected devices, no phone required. The IM option of this theory also fails to mention that the number of different IM options all fail to talk to each other, or even an overarching client (like Pidgin or imo). Remembering which of my contacts use Snapchat vs Whatsapp vs Facebook vs Hangouts seems utterly incompatible with the idea of the internet connecting people.

MasterScrat 13y ago
Yes plus a lot of these networks fail pretty hard... with Gtalk/Hangouts for example it's not rare to miss notifications because you got them on the laptop but not on your phone, or the opposite. Also Whatsapp stupidly doesn't provide a web or desktop interface. Skype on mobile devices uses way more power than it should. In the end I hate Facebook for a number of reasons but it's the only reliable solution I have found so far: fast, reliable, (nearly) everyone is there.
- Perseids 13y ago
  > In the end I hate Facebook for a number of reasons but it's the only reliable solution I have found so far: fast, reliable, (nearly) everyone is there. Doesn't this even more so apply to email? I don't know a single person who has a facebook account but not an email address. And even for those there is a build-in email bridge: https://www.facebook.com/help/224049364288051 https://www.facebook.com/help/224049364288051

yusyusyus 13y ago

More or less this. Also, in some places, email is the only reliable way to ensure the receiving party is held responsible for responding (sad that it is needed, I know).

mikro2nd 13y ago
Do remember that SMTP makes no guarantee of delivery - so in what way is that "the only reliable way..."?

mattlutze 13y ago

And yet a phone call can be made, and a conversation can be had in 2 minutes, which would otherwise mean a half hour or a few hours of back and forth, distracting you from other necessary work. I like email or messaging when I want de facto notes to refer back to, or when response isn't urgent. But, with issues urgent enough for me that I feel it's worth inconveniencing someone else's time or when I don't want that conversation in my active memory for half a day (waiting on the next response), certainly that phone call is going to be made.

ishener 13y ago
a phone call is synchronous, and i personally tend to forget about the call 2 minutes after it ended. an email stays in my inbox until i deal with it. plus many things need to be written, like numbers, links, and much more...