Complaining about email? or is it complaining about communication?
I kind of smirk every time someone talks about "email overload" or "interruptions" that email cause. I say email has become another mode for human communication. I like the way that communications were segmented by John Searle, Fernando Flores and Terry Winograd, an approach not new and touched upon for centuries by philosophers.
There is no one application, or solution for communication or email - the best way is to treat the different type of communication, and in different context separately.
Background of Relatedness
One of the key generators of communication, communication that strengthens relationships, including (a) multiple and frequent communication between young lovers, or (b) checking in with your boss or someone else that you have some vested interest, how their vacation was, also includes finding out about peoples families etc, all to show concern for someone else's concern or wishes, bringing people together. Or the things that we don't like © solicitation - solicitation is a communication to, its trying to establish a relationship, in a networking event, or social events you are being solicited all the time.
In my opinion these different types of communication have their own medium of communication, lets take (a) onto text messaging (b) onto chat - if your company uses Yammer or Chatter use them effectively, including broadcasting your concerns for others (c ) I really think thats the domain of LinkedIn, and other social networks, its impersonal enough, someone wants something from you they send you a LinkedIn message or ask someone to introduce you.
There are some other kinds like personal communications from your friends and family - my solution dedicate an email for personal stuff, including all the announcements (notifications) from your phone company, gas company etc. I love Facebook for the reason that all my personal communications are now there, either as a public conversation or through messages.
Context is key
Its interesting a few of my friends who are Venture Capital/ Angel investors are really tardy with their communications, don't return emails, or just forget - They are the one's who are in some way soliciting communication, "hey email me at anytime" or something like that. Then as a result they are bombarded by emails, and cannot answer most of them -- and speaking bluntly -- really don't want to answer or are interested in answering.
All relationships have a temporal frame (have a dimension of time to it). If you are in a new relationship you will answer back asap, after a couple of year, you will wait till you have the time, or being a VC if you are working and just invested in a hot startup, you are more likely to answer their email asap, or if it was one of your LP's sending an email.
We need to really build an incoming email filter system, which is very dynamic, kind of has "tuning time", like when you are flying you can tune 100-200 people based on your present context.
You can define say 3 levels - Level 1 - people who are in you immediate concern or have a certain authority level. I used to work with a good friend, used to reply my emails in 15 min, before and now when I am not working with him, I really don't expect him to reply. I don't think he is being rude, or is not my friend - I am not addressing his immediate concern.
Level 2 - could be people who are interesting, and may be part of your bigger concern for the world, community or some other interests - and they could get an auto message back saying "hey thanks for the email Sam, I am slammed, will try to answer back within a week, if I don't, don't get mad. If its something critical please reply to this email by putting [**] <-- and this code can be changed.
Level 3 - pretty close to solicitation, but remember you invited them. Maybe an auto reply to them with say 3 explicit concerns that you are focussed on (1) recruiting for VP Engineering (2) looking for some feedback from UX experts (3) anything to do with Management Cascading of Goals and Objectives. If your email does not address these things I am dealing with at the present moment I might not reply. If they do or you can assist in these please email me back by putting [**].
Information
We are always bombarded with information. In conversation notice, specially with some people, how many facts are being given, even if you don't want them. Some of the notifications or information at say work is key. Say an email was sent out that all the badge codes to enter the building requires special instructions after 8 pm. If you did not read it, and you have to get into the building after 8, will lead to frustration.
All email systems, should have a simple notice board application, where all notices/ email can be accessed. All information of this kind is also useful in a "period" of time, and does not need to be archived or deleted by users.
Imaging such a notice board with Gmail or Outlook, all your notices come there, you can take a look, they are setup like pinterest, so that you can see a lot of information by a cursory glance.
Coordination
And finally there is coordination - we send and receive large number of communications to coordinate something - some coordination is very informal, and breaking down of the coordinated action does not have a major consequence other than some people pissed off, say coordinating 6 people to come to your house for dinner.
At work in small and large companies there is heavy dependence of coordination, specially in a diverse, global workforce, the concept of focus on the core outsource everything else, a matrix organization -- all depend and hope that the coordination is working.
Its easy to see the coordination
1. Person A asks person B to send them a spreadsheet with expenses by sales by the end of the week
2. Person B does not have that info and has to ask Person C for EMEA info, Person D for NA info and Person E for Rest of the World info, and then put them together for Person A
Above is an example of classic simple coordination, and this fails more times than it succeeds.
Why?
1. Emails are not specific enough, there is no way to put a specific by when date
2. Its all given by the interpretation of the receiver of the email, and their response subject to interpretation by the sender -- never ends.
Simple solution, there is a very good, well documented language of action.
Ask = Request Request = {to} - {condition of satisfaction} - {by when}
Only 7 logical responses
Accept
Counter Offer
Decline
Already Done
Delegate
Commit to Commit
Clarification
Imagine an email system which uses this taxonomy, simplify coordination across the planet, and also people would be clear about what they committed to, and by when. No more pesky reminders and followup, by the way accounts for 11% of all corporate emails.
Well I can go on forever, one final thought - I think we need to integrate email and chat completely, what do you guys think?
