It's not for the reason that you might expect. I can't bring myself to find out the facts behind the newspaper headlines that claim that the U.K. Government are going to "read" all our emails. I have broken ribs laughing so hard at Government attempts to make effective use of computers and to keep our data safe. No, the reason I hate email is because it is too much technology. Devised as a means of providing (literally) bomb proof communication across a dispersed network it has grown in volume and complexity but our literary gems such as "fancy a coffee?" or "see attached" are still treated with the same importance as military orders. Our one line email is encapsulated within a packet of source information,routing and delivery information needed to transport it through multiple store and forward mailboxes. Following sucessful delivery to an over-complicated email "client' we agonise over where to file it and then need to employ complex software to find it again. Or more likely don't file it so that we can accumulate thousands of emails to show how busy we are.
A popular approach to is keep your email inbox empty. The best example has to be Merlin Mann see here.
My approach is more radical. Dont send emails, use text or instant messaging instead. This is ideal for the back and forth "fancy coffee" , "where" "when" "OK" for which email is an unnecessary overhead.
This is one thing that the youngsters have got exactly right.
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