“Email is probably going away,” says Facebook’s COO

Tony Zanders

A thought leader in the social networking industry has made a bold statement about the state of email. Usually when we hear conclusions like “Email is probably going away,” we tend to question the validity of the source, especially in situations like this where the majority of us use email more than any other communication device. But Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg has sound reasoning for making that claim.

During her presentation at Nielsen’s Consumer 360 conference yesterday, Sandberg spoke about the value social media has on businesses. She offered that only 11% of teens use email daily, which is far lower than the percentage of older generations that use email daily. This could be for several reasons, but Sandberg’s perspective is that since Facebook is growth is not slowing at this point, and over 500 Million people around the world are using the application, we may be at the cusp of the death of one communication platform, and the birth of another: Facebook, Twitter, and Mobile.

So what does this mean for Higher Ed?

We’ve previously written about how Email was the primary method for students to receive acceptance news from admissions departments. But in light of the effect social media is having on the next generation of college students, we are being forced to reevaluate what the future looks like. While most roles don’t require people to think about how to adjust communications strategy for the Class of 2020, it’s food for thought. It can also allow us to become comfortable with the fact that companies like Facebook, Twitter, [fill in blank with new technology here], are around to stay.