Death of Email?

The Wall Street Journal recently posted a blog about social media taking over email.

I can't see social media completely taking it over anytime soon. While web 2.0 certainly gives us faster communication, most people still want a separation between work and personal life. Using email allows for that separation. Your boss probably doesn't care that you're going on a walk with your dog after the 9-5, or that your kid lost her first tooth. He just wants to make sure you filed that TPS report while you were at work.

Email still feels more professional too. It's something that's composed for a specific message for one person, not many. As much as I enjoy and am actively participating in web 2.0, I'm not about to put a wall post on a strategic partner's wall to find out how they want their logo represented on our site. That belongs in an email. As an employer of a big company, you don't chastise an employee by sending them an @reply on Twitter, you email them or send a hard copy. There are just some conversations that don't belong in the social media sphere. The counter argument would be, "But Mitchell! Those services also have personal message systems that no one else can see!" True, but re-iterating the first point, most people want that work and personal life barrier. They're not going to friend their strategic partner or employer with a personal account.