Comments on: Outside the US, email is no chatterbox http://michaelgracie.com/2005/03/30/outside-the-us-email-is-no-chatterbox/ Clever Tagline Unavailable At Publication Time Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:19:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Michael Gracie http://michaelgracie.com/2005/03/30/outside-the-us-email-is-no-chatterbox/comment-page-1/#comment-52 Michael Gracie Fri, 01 Apr 2005 17:56:25 +0000 http://www.michaelgracie.com/outside-the-us-email-is-no-chatterbox/#comment-52 <p>No doubt some anecdotal evidence supports the opposite conclusion, but the point could also be made that Europeans use email less often precisely because they equate it to letter-writing moreso than phone calling. I appreciate the insight, and in particular the source (your views on language at <a href="http://www.doubletongued.org/" rel="nofollow">DoubleTongued</a>). </p> <p>I stayed away from additional discussion on mobile use (and particularly SMS), as so many folks have already chalked the high overseas adoption rates to population density, but would appreciate your further thoughts on the matter. Cheers. </p> No doubt some anecdotal evidence supports the opposite conclusion, but the point could also be made that Europeans use email less often precisely because they equate it to letter-writing moreso than phone calling. I appreciate the insight, and in particular the source (your views on language at DoubleTongued).

I stayed away from additional discussion on mobile use (and particularly SMS), as so many folks have already chalked the high overseas adoption rates to population density, but would appreciate your further thoughts on the matter. Cheers.

]]> By: Grant Barrett http://michaelgracie.com/2005/03/30/outside-the-us-email-is-no-chatterbox/comment-page-1/#comment-51 Grant Barrett Fri, 01 Apr 2005 17:46:11 +0000 http://www.michaelgracie.com/outside-the-us-email-is-no-chatterbox/#comment-51 The main supposition, that the styles of sending mails are different in Europe and North America, is supported only anecdotally. The facts that are given support a different conclusion. Overall, a smaller percentage of Europeans use the Internet regularly, they spend less time on it when they do, and they have fewer computers per household (and per corporation). When overall usage and adoption rates increase, the social role of email will change for them, as it did in North America. (Of course, adoption rates vary: compare Spain and Italy to Sweden and the Netherlands.) That SMS messaging is far more popular than email supports this prediction: popularity and widespread informality go hand-in-hand. A technology changes not only culturally from more formal to more informal, but personally: the more individuals consider it as an everyday mode of communication, the more casually they treat emailing and emails. Cell phones on both continents have followed this pattern. The anecdotal evidence is suspect, too: I have email correspondents all over the world, personal and professional, writing to me in two languages. Other than the odd English error, there's little way to distinguish those messages Americans send from those sent by everyone else. The main supposition, that the styles of sending mails are different in Europe and North America, is supported only anecdotally. The facts that are given support a different conclusion.

Overall, a smaller percentage of Europeans use the Internet regularly, they spend less time on it when they do, and they have fewer computers per household (and per corporation). When overall usage and adoption rates increase, the social role of email will change for them, as it did in North America. (Of course, adoption rates vary: compare Spain and Italy to Sweden and the Netherlands.) That SMS messaging is far more popular than email supports this prediction: popularity and widespread informality go hand-in-hand.

A technology changes not only culturally from more formal to more informal, but personally: the more individuals consider it as an everyday mode of communication, the more casually they treat emailing and emails. Cell phones on both continents have followed this pattern.

The anecdotal evidence is suspect, too: I have email correspondents all over the world, personal and professional, writing to me in two languages. Other than the odd English error, there’s little way to distinguish those messages Americans send from those sent by everyone else.

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