Oddbean new post about | logout
 As a matter of fact, most of my business (and I work in a very traditional sector: food) with external parties like clients and suppliers is done via messenger/chat app. Text, voice and documents. Real time calls, including video calls same thing, or via video call software, on a computer or on a mobile phone. Emails are used for group communications like shipping documents, but simply out of habit. Those could be perfectly sent via chat group too.

The only reason why email is still used at all is that some older people still believe that their emails are stored locally and that makes them feel safer somehow. Usually it's the same people who like printing the emails out on paper too, occasionally...

Email could be 100% dispensed with today and not only there would be no disruption at all in any sense, but productivity would be increased instantly because there is no "oh that one went to spam" excuses to not reply in two weeks...