Sponsored
Although email has just celebrated its 32nd year in existence, which in the tech world makes it a senior citizen, maybe even “dinosaur”, it is by no means extinct.
To commemorate it’s anniversary, SendGrid conducted a study over two 10-day periods first in 2013 and then in 2014. The data set that included more than 8 billion emails sent by more than 125,000 companies and provided deep insights into global email engagement, the future of email, and why it’s here to stay.
Person-to-person emailing has dropped. But it is repurposed.
Email is the main channel for applications and platforms to engage with their users and has become the standard for B2B and B2C communication.
How many devices, services, or websites have you been to that don’t require an email address to sign up? I’m going to guess not many.
Jim Franklin, CEO of SendGrid says,
"The numbers we're releasing today underscore a simple fact, which is that email remains the backbone of the web and the social web. Most social networks and blogging platforms, the very technologies that were touted as email killers, require users to have an email address to sign up."
Emails are used for much more than just personal-to-person social interaction. They are used for password resets, notifications, coupons, confirmation receipts, etc.
The study also found that the global app economy is only growing. In 2015, we are expected to see 143 billion apps. This means app developers will continue to use email as it’s primary engagement and authentication tool.
Spam Filtering is becoming more sophisticated.
Although this seems counterintuitive to explaining why email is here to stay, spam filtering will increase the demand for platforms and services that offer good email deliverability.
This article describes how giant mailbox providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo are evolving to “increase centralization which produces more efficient feedback and improves their spam filters.”
Now senders are looking to email service providers to consult with and intelligently enhance communications between them and their recipients.
***
What other uses do you think emailing could be repurposed for in the future? Leave a comment in the section below.
Jonathon Mahon is a content marketer, writer and designer based in Boston. He writes for various digital publications and blogs specializing in