I’ve seen some blog posts over the last few months discussing e-mail and its uses. I’ve also seen one or two wondering whether or not e-mail has run its course. Collaboration tools such as Google Wave haven’t really caught on as much as everyone anticipated, and frankly, I’m not ready to give up on e-mail, especially for business purposes.

Why?

It’s reliable. Although there are literally hundreds of other ways to receive information, e-mail remains one of the most foolproof ways to communicate.

It’s mobile. Our BlackBerrys, iPhones, Droids, Nexus Ones and Pres support e-mail. Sure, they support Twitter and Facebook, but I’m not sure those are acceptable forms of communication for professional purposes yet (shudder). And a text message doesn’t quite cut it, either.

It’s collaborative, in its own way. OK, it’s not Google Wave, but listservs are still pretty useful. We can send messages to multiple people and they choose whom they reply to (the sender or everyone on the list).

It’s fast. Once again, Google Wave tried to remedy this with its real-time typing function, but to be honest, I type too quickly for Wave and it often lags, which becomes very tedious. It may not be real-time, but e-mail is still pretty darn quick.

It’s cheap. How many free e-mail services are out there? Tons. We all have our favorites, but no matter which one you use, it’s probably free.

Sure, it can get very annoying and time-consuming and tedious. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who is on several newsletters without knowing exactly how I ended up on them. (I do need to set aside some time and unsubscribe from those.) But don’t let yourself become a slave to the inbox. If we weren’t attached to e-mail, we’d probably just be attached to another form of communicating, whatever it may be.

Does your association rely on e-mail? Do you use Instant Messages? Which form of communication is most effective? And if you could, could you ever go for a week without using e-mail?

(Photo via Flickr)