Is Social Media Replacing Email?

Judging from the number of Twitter direct messages I receive, my knee-jerk reaction to the question was "Absolutely."

But the correct answer is "No." In fact, a Nielsen study shows that active social media mavens use email more. It makes sense because Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others receive a steady barrage of messages initiated by the various social network sites.

After giving it some thought and looking at my email, it's obvious that the research rings true here. My observations mirrors Nielsen's thoughts:

"Social media sites like Facebook send messages to your inbox every time someone comments on your posting or something you’ve participated in, and depending on your settings, can send updates on almost every activity.  Also, it’s perfectly logical that as people make connections though social media, they maintain those connections outside of the specific platform and may extend those connections to email, a phone conversation or even in-person meetings."

Here's a graphic display of the data:

Two questions for all of us:

1. Are we conscious of how we're spending the totality of online time?

2. Is the answer consistent with our personal and professional purposes?

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