Social networking more popular than e-mail

It would seem that Mark Zuckerberg (the founder of Facebook) is seeing his vision become a reality. Studies show that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, along with blogs, have over taken e-mail as something that the average person now considers a daily necessity.

"A Nielsen Online report says two thirds of us now use what it calls “Member Communities,” which includes both social networks and blogs. MC's now make up “the fourth most popular category online – ahead of personal email,” says Nielsen Online. The others are search, portals, and PC software. Nielsen Online says: Facebook - the world’s most popular social network - is visited monthly by three in every 10 people online across the nine markets in which Nielsen tracks social networking use."

Read the entire article here: Social Networking and blogs now more popular than e-mail

I read recently than Mr. Zuckerberg's "plan" is for Facebook to actually replace e-mail, at least on a personal basis. I can attest to this personally. While I, like most, can't escape e-mail in my work related activities. I use my Blackberry to check messages and status updates on Facebook, not e-mail. In fact, my wife checks her e-mail about once per week, while she checks her Facebook pages, daily. She has told me that if someone wants to send her a message, they need to send it through Facebook, or she might not see it. Now, I send her messages and post notes on her "Wall", so I know she'll see them! Speaking of Blackberries, iPhones, and most other smart phones all have Facebook applications for download, so that you can keep in touch with your "friends" all the time. So one day in the not so distant future, e-mail programs like Outlook, Eudora, and GroupWise, will bite the dust like the pager, the Visor, and the Walkman. I wonder how many people can't start their day without reading "my" blog?