Fred Harteis News Articles - Ohmigod, teens are so over e-mail!

Fred Harteis News Articles - E-mail is so, like, 2005. Just ask the kids: A recent ComScore Media Metrix report shows teen usage of Web-based e-mail dropped 8 percent last year.

In search of a faster, more fluid way to communicate with friends, today's so-called "instant generation" is turning to text messaging and IM instead.

The growing trend spells good news for mobile operators, who last year raked in $70 billion in text messaging revenues worldwide, according to technology research firm Gartner.

But it could spell big trouble for Web portals, which depend on e-mail for much of their traffic. According to Hitwise, a research company that tracks Web traffic, Yahoo and Microsoft got more traffic to their e-mail Web sites than their main portal pages.

With charges of up to 15 cents per outgoing and incoming message, it's no surprise wireless network operators are making lots of money from the billions of emoticon-packed text messages young users churn out on their cell phones each year.

Among parents, text-message charges are controversial, if only for the end-of-the-month shock when they receive their bill. But to their credit, mobile operators have gotten smarter about the way they charge young customers for text messages - many are now pushing affordable monthly plans, instead of the more traditional (and pricey) pay-per-message fees.

Texts are for kids
"If I want to send quick messages to my friends, I text," says Bruhis in a rare phone call. "E-mails are more for work and school."

Bruhis isn't alone. According to a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project report on teens and technology, nearly two-thirds of teen owners of cell phones use text messaging.

Getting the instant message, too
And when kids aren't on cell phones, they're probably using instant messaging instead of e-mail. The same Pew report found that 46 percent of teens who are online chose IM over e-mail as their preferred method of written communication with friends.

Text messaging and instant messaging sound pretty similar - and in fact, they're converging on cell phones, creating another way for wireless carriers to profit. Many also offer young customers mobile versions of IM services like AIM, MSN and Yahoo Messenger. Often, these are being marketed in the form of monthly plans as well.

"I really don't think e-mail's going to disappear anytime soon," says Madden. "But for social interactions, it's definitely no longer the bread and butter for teens."

Source: Cnn.com

About Fred Harteis: Fred Harteis leads Harteis International. Fred Harteis has a background in agriculture and has created many successful business ventures.