I saw some research about a year ago that suggested email was definitely dying out, and that virtually no-one under 30 used email any more because they preferred to communicate via text, IM or Facebook.
It sounded reasonable to me - in my own experience, the activities of my 20-something nephews/nieces/stepkids seemed to bear this out.
So I was interested to read on eMarketer today that 'email still tops Facebook for keeping in touch' according to a new report from Chadwick Martin Bailey. Granted, this was a US survey, so the results may not be quite the same as if the study had been done in the UK. But it was interesting nonetheless.
When it comes to sharing, the survey found that 'the youngest users, who care the least about whether the recipients of their content actually want to see it, are most likely to disseminate the information to the widest group.' Older age groups, however, were more likely to share content which they thought their contacts would find interesting, so shared in a more targeted way.
But is it just age? It could be partly down to the technology. In usability parlance, Facebook affords sharing with all contacts (it's quicker and easier than selecting individual friends to share something with), whereas email affords sharing with individuals - even when the process is automated, 'send to a friend' links generally allow you to enter a maximum of 5 or 6 recipients, and usually you have to add them manually to a form.
So the next time you look at your email campaign stats and think 'oh, 3 people forwarded to a friend, big deal', those three 'shares' may still be more effective than hundreds of Facebook fans promoting your latest promo to their mates, (that's if they find it entertaining enough to do so).
