2nd Aug 2012 Do You Remember This?

The birth of the Internet brought lots of change. It changed many aspects of our personal lives and as well as re- shaped the way business is done in many ways. When I zip back in time and reflect on the dawn of those changes back in early 2000 - 2001 I can recall what is today some rather humorous predictions of the time.

It wasn't so funny then, when some self-proclaimed "experts" predicted the "end of shopping malls forever". Yep, they were predicting that being able to shop online would be the death blow to conventional brick and mortar businesses and shopping malls would stand empty forever.

 

Well, we all know it never happened and likely never will happen. But at the time it was a frightening thought for many business people. Sure, the Internet did bring online shopping and things did change, but your local mall is not going anywhere... Which brings me to a more recent prediction of a similar "doomsday" event that was sure to happen.

Not so long ago it was predicted by many that the "smartphone" would mark the end of email - that email is a dinosaur and no one will ever use it again. The fact is, as the Smartphone industry took shape, just the opposite has transpired. Can you guess what the number one thing people use their Smartphone for these days? They use it to check their email! That's right, second only to texting, Smartphones highest use is to check email.

Email is alive and well, and, just like you can never replace a good old fashioned stroll through the mall, you can't replace the convenience and functional value of email, both as a user and as a marketer.

Now "snail mail", that may be another story...

Tags: smartphone, email

Prev: 2nd Aug 2012 While On The Subject Of Elephant ...