Nothing has changed as thoroughly in the past few years as our attitudes and behaviors where communications are concerned. The influx of computers into our private lives and the workplace has completely altered the ways in which we exchange information with friends, family, and business partners when compared to a decade previous. This is especially true at work, where many types of business communication with partners and customers alike now depend on e-mail. In fact, e-mail has itself become an on-the-go activity, as busy professionals make use of mobile devices such as notebook PCs, PDAs, or e-mail capable mobile phones to communicate. These in turn have been made possible by data networks such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) and the Global Packet Radio System (GPRS). Today's communications credo can be considered to be: "Always ready to send and receive, anywhere and everywhere."

That said, there are some situations in which e-mail is used inappropriately, or where it just doesn't work all that well. Short questions may not be worth the effort of composing an e-mail, just as trivial, interminable conversations may be too tedious to break up into an ongoing exchange of messages. Spam is also doing its part to make digging into one's inbox much more of a hassle than a joy.

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