E-mail Overload

My wife dislikes checking her e-mail because it takes too long to get through it all. My colleague says he receives more than 300 e-mails a day, and has a hard time finding and responding to the important messages.

E-mail traffic has increased to 11 billion per day worldwide, a threefold increase since 1999. It’s evolved from a mere means of communication to a medium we can’t seem to escape. Of course, not everybody wants to.

AOL released a survey identifying the top 20 markets for e-mail addiction. The survey looked at several factors, including number of residences with more than one e-mail account, percentage of users that check e-mail on vacation, and number of hours dedicated to e-mail. Washington, D.C., topped the list; four in 10 people there sleep with their PDAs under their pillow to make sure late-night e-mails aren’t missed. Atlanta ranked second, New York third and Miami 10th.

The Problems of Excess
Not responding to e-mails can get you into trouble, a lesson learned by the CEO of Worldcom who reportedly refused to read or respond to e-mail, and therefore was ignorant of many critical issues facing the company. He went to jail, as you may recall.

Responding to e-mails has problems, too. For instance, you never know where your e-mails might ultimately land. Poor e-mail etiquette might also aggravate colleagues. I have seen executives resend e-mails numerous times (and even call the recipient) if their e-mails are not answered immediately.

On the back end, IT professionals have to figure where to put all this information. Fort Myers-based Yacht Clubs of the Americas had to double the size of its e-mail storage in the last year, and anticipates at least doubling it again next year. My company, Synergy Networks in Fort Myers, has had to upgrade e-mail servers yearly to keep up with the burgeoning traffic flow.