Business email will eventually be replaced by more accessible forms of communication like Twitter and company wikis. - Inspired by Alex Iskold

Perhaps it's not the NEED for lengthy emails which is reduced, but rather the appetite.
Information means different things to different people at different times.
Google has been collecting as much data as is currently possible, but how it monetises this will be a function of what people have the appetite for, not what Google tries to send us.
In a corporate environment, a full, timely and accessible wiki or other online repository is imperative for success and competitiveness. Users will mine the data depending on their interest and attention span.
If the framework of the database adapts to what people are interested in by adjusting output to the users profile of current projects and monitored interests, the environment will be value added.
If the repository of data cannot be queried in an intelligent (semantic) way, it likely will not add value.

So I agree with the idea overall, but there is much more to this than written here.

Communication forms like Twitter are simple -- which makes it elegant (at least when it's working). But it really makes instant communication, from an IM client, cellphone, a desktop app, email, extremely easy. You can immediately reply to people, send direct message -- all with simple commands. The only thing it's missing is a group feature. But that's where a service like FriendFeed comes in, because you can create rooms. FriendFeed though doesn't have as many means of connecting as Twitter does. I could really see corporate identities adopting Twitter-like services for employees. It's simple and effective (forces people to say things in 140 characters or less). It cuts down on TMI, when only a quick response is necessary. People -- especially those used to and in love with long forms of communication -- will definitely have to be reprogrammed though.

As for Wikis, there's no better tool for collaboration. Various entities can contribute to one project and make the project better.

I think replaced is the wrong word to use. I think email will be supplemented by other forms of communication and email will change to be used in a slightly different way. But, it won't be replaced.

I also think replaced is the wrong word to use here.

I am decently invested (time) in Twitter and I think it could be great for business use. It's non-intrusive, easy to notify many people, easy to communicate one on one, etc.

I agree with Matt Farina that services like Twitter or FriendFeed would just supplement email.

Email provides easier ways to document communication (exact timestamps, recipients, etc) and it is also very easy to organize for quick reference. For example, Thunderbird offers tagging, rating and searching. Much quicker than rooting through a Twitter/FriendFeed timeline.

@Kasey Marcum - Your comment got my attention. Both you and @Matt Farina are probably right -- replaced is a bit overkill. When I think about the features of gmail as a webmail app, there's nothing about Twitter or FriendFeed that quite replaces some of the functionality there. It would be safe to say these types of services would work for companies in addition to corporate email. But now that I think about it, I argue that corporate email should work more like gmail.

I agree with Matt, Kasey, and Lynn d - email won't be replaced; but it may modify. While long rambling business emails may drive us up the wall, 140 characters is too restrictive for good communication. If someone sends me emails that ramble too much (for me), I tell them so as gently as I can, & redirect them to communicating their points succinctly so we can get busy dealing with the subject. It has worked so far..

The notion of other forms of communication "eventually replacing" email is, of course, inevitable. Consider how our communication tools have shifted over the course of time and it's obvious that we will progress. That being said, let's consider micro-blogging (i.e. Twitter) and knowledge-mgmt systems (i.e. Wikis') because they are referenced directly here.

Micro-blogging has its place in the sense that it is an enhanced version of what we used to call 'Instant Messaging'. For example, now we can tweet out updates to groups of 'followers' instead of having to send one-off chat messages. However, micro-blogging is only effective in certain business situations. Why? Because there is a significant restraint: 140 characters. While we have removed the time constraint (as the power of the tweet is real-time updating), we have created a length constraint. Ironically, the 140 character limitation isn't in place to help us be more succinct - it's about a conducive variable size relative to heavy network traffic!

In terms of Wikis, there is power in the sense that we can create a Knowledge Mgmt system. With our impending "Brain Drain" on the horizon, organizations are attempting to share some of the tacit knowledge locked in the minds of the more seasoned players. Wikis, while imperfect, offer that opportunity. The problem is that I cannot see a Wiki being used as a method of communication - again, the goal is sharing knowledge across the enterprise.

I envision a convergence between the different means of communication, updating, and sharing knowledge today. Perhaps an enterprise-level collaboration tool given all the above will be launched . . . we may be looking at a considerable market opportunity. Anyway, just thinking out loud ;) . . .

Joshua Letourneau
Mg Director
LG & Assoc Search / Talent Strategy
BLOG: www.lgexec.typepad.com
FC BLOG: http://tinyurl.com/56r66g

I would suggest that businesses seriously consider self hosted wiki/forums or other web-based application for collaboration among teams and also to support a positive company coulture. When employees are plugged-in often this generates a sense of belonging and ownership. I also believe that using an internal server to run a chat service along the lines of twitter would also help the team share their passion for business.

It may even be fun! imagine an organization where for the most part employees are engaged within the organization and having fun at work day-in and day-out. People may even get more involved and become more dedicated. Could tools like this cause team members miss being at work when actually home, sick?

@ Bill Heaton - I completely agree with you! Imagine the possibilities for organizations across the board that would benefit for that kind of instant communication. So long lengthy, inefficient meetings! Let's all meet online while multi-tasking from our desk -- or home office -- and actually enjoy our jobs a little more.

There is a pretty big group of fortune 500 companies that are already employing wikis / forums / even blogs - well protected within their own zone 3 / intranet infrastructure. The same goes for Instant messaging - and while IMs and E-mail clients are somehow better protected and usually tailored to their security needs - wikis / forums and blogs are still in their Enterprise Infancy and most often companies are using the free - out of the box solutions from Wordpress / blog / etc /etc... This creates enormous possibility for some software companies that can take advantage and migrate those applications into their "secure" Portal Infrastructure. Going back to the point about e-mail - something similar happened to voicemail which now days is slow and cumbersome when compared to modern forms of communication such as e-mail / im / or twitter. I say it was bound to happen and this is not over yet.

Twitter would cut back the time we need for weekly department check-ins, certainly. I doubt it will completely eclipse email. As a case in point, folks still take time to leave voice messages, even though email is quicker in most cases.

It makes sense that presentations be shared centrally, and knowledge be entered into a wiki, and group messages use a FriendFeed room or Twitter feed rather than circular emails. However, email is a hard habit to break, and it's right there on the desktop, it's ubiquitous and in regular use.

In short, business users need training to help them make use of social media. I may be biased, as a provider of said training, but it will be the savvy businesses who invest in their staff who reap the benefits.

We use BaseCamp at MansuetoDigital (includes FastCompany.com) to track internal projects and messages related to the projects. This has dramatically reduced confusion from e-mail chains about projects, and encouraged much more discussion. Outlook notifies us when there's something new we have to look at in BaseCamp, but it no longer serves as the primary communication tool.

How do you fit a comprehensive email into 140 characters or less (i.e. in the case of Twitter)? Does everyone at the company need to spend time reading something (i.e. in the case of a wiki)?

Instead of Business email being replaced, I see more like an integration of different technologies in order to keep email up-to-date. Mixing cool apps like IM, Twitter, Wikis, email, etc could help organizations managing email cluttering and optimization/effectiveness, increasing employee productivity.