What is Facebook E-mail: will it revolutionize the traditional e-mail platform?
If you have been reading the newspapers, or browsing the web, you have already heard the buzz about Facebook e-mail. On November 15th of 2010, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new e-mail system to be launched by the social network, which will soon offer users the option of implementing an “@facebook.com” e-mail address.
What is Facebook e-mail and how will it be different from regular e-mail?
According to statements from Zuckerberg, Facebook email will be a revamped messaging product, incorporating e-mail, SMS, IM, mobile text, twitter, other chat clients, online document sharing and eventually VoIP, which will be filtered by a social inbox. Zuckerberg described the new system as “a seamless messaging product: the way the future should work.”
Some Facebook users, however, have spoken out against the implementation of this new e-mail system, on the basis of security concerns. “Geez! Now e-mail too? Do we really want Facebook to know even more about us?” said one outspoken critic of Facebook e-mail.
Business leaders and technology experts believe that over the next five to ten years, traditional e-mail and social networking messaging systems will have fused together, radically changing the face of e-mail forever, and shaping the future of communication.
~
So what is Facebook e-mail? Does it symbolize the death of e-mail as we know it today? Or, does it represent a historic shift in the world of real-time communication? Only time will tell. Research and studies have suggested that Facebook e-mail may have greater appeal for the younger generation, who already prefer texting and IM-ing to the more time consuming e-mail platforms.
According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the the new Facebook email system will be rolled out gradually over the coming months. Facebook users may request an invite to test out the new system.
Once you’ve received your invitation and confirmed that you want a Facebook e-mail address, Facebook will send you a list of 3-5 potential e-mail addresses that match your current Facebook username. Simply select your desired Facebook e-mail address to get started.
While Facebook email has been lauded as a revolutionary collaboration of technologies, it remains to be seen whether people will actually start using this product.