1. Introduction
The significance of email as a modern medium for communication has grown fast and sustainable. The technical basis, especially the availability of a digital infrastructure enabled the global spread of email as a user friendly, flexible and versatile medium. By now email can be considered as one of the most frequently used applications of the internet. The advantages of email as being low in costs but high in speed and reliability led to its increasing use and significance. Furthermore its quality of being “viral” through easy forwarding and multi-receiver-sending has opened new possibilities for communication. On the one hand the disposability of email has led to these new trends, on the other hand the very same quality can be held responsible for the short-lived and unsustainable attributes of email.1
Since the emergence of the first communication through electronic mail the face of email concerning both quality and quantity has changed significantly. In terms of quality it has changed from a simple substitute for the hand written letter to today’s most important tool for collaboration, knowledge-management, online marketing and global business communication. Furthermore it is “now used for multiple purposes: document delivery and archiving, work task delegation; and task tracking. It is also used for storing personal names and addresses, for sending reminders, asking for assistance, scheduling appointments, and for handling technical queries.” Electronic mail can be considered as vital precursor for globalization and the modern information society. Its commercial use for offers, contracts, orders etc. created demand for an obliging and explicit legal framework together with new standards regarding electronic signature, identification and data safety.
The trend of an increasing quantity of electronic mail is strongly related to its development, standardization and availability of digital infrastructure. The exponentially increasing amount of email per day has led to serious problems regarding efficiency in the use of the medium and to new challenges both for the technical infrastructure, the software and the user.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Scope of the work and Structure of the Seminar Paper
2. Problems resulting from increasing Email Traffic
2.1 Technical Problems
2.2 Economical Problems
2.3 Personal Problems
3. Personal and Business related Email
3.1 Email Lifecycle Management
3.2 ELM Process
4. Unsolicited commercial Messages: SPAM
4.1 Spam Filter
4.1.1 Classical Filter Methods
4.1.2 New Approaches for encountering spam
4.2 Legislation
5. Concluding Remarks
Research Objective and Key Topics
This paper examines the negative impact of the exponential growth in email traffic on communication efficiency and explores potential strategies, including Email Lifecycle Management and advanced spam filtering, to restore an efficient communication flow.
- The evolution of email from a simple communication tool to a vital business infrastructure.
- Categorization of problems caused by email overload: technical, economical, and personal.
- Implementation of Email Lifecycle Management (ELM) to optimize business processes.
- Technical and legislative approaches to combat the rising tide of unsolicited commercial messages (SPAM).
Excerpt from the Book
3. Personal and Business related Email
The increasing volume of email traffic consists of two different kinds of communication. Besides high numbers of spam and junk mail an increasing number of valuable and meaningful email correspondence concerning personal and business related topics can be hold responsible. The increasing usage of email in almost all areas of daily life led to a displacement of classical forms of communication and to new challenges for the user. High numbers of relevant email in the inbox make it more difficult for the user to make efficient use of the medium and to manage their communication.
Emerging problems are the inability to respond quickly to important email due to a constant stream of new communication, tasks etc. throughout the day. The user is more likely to loose track of his correspondence, loosing sight of important items in his inbox or simply overlook urgent email. The overwhelming volume of incoming email leads to a vicious circle of in-responsiveness and the attempt to catch up.
Changing purposes of email communication such as document delivery, archiving, work task delegation and knowledge management led to changing needs in administering, archiving and storing data. Lucidity of all stored data and the ability to find and access important information is getting more complex and time consuming to handle. Email is vital part of almost all business areas such as Accounting, Sales, Human Resources and medium for sensitive data and contracts. The user has to take theses new requirements into consideration, especially legal aspects in a professional environment have gained importance.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the significance of email as a modern medium while noting the challenges posed by its exponential growth and viral nature.
2. Problems resulting from increasing Email Traffic: Categorizes the drawbacks of email volume into technical, economical, and personal limitations that impact productivity and infrastructure.
3. Personal and Business related Email: Discusses how increased email volume complicates communication management and introduces Email Lifecycle Management (ELM) as a systematic solution.
4. Unsolicited commercial Messages: SPAM: Analyzes the impact of spam and evaluates various filtering techniques alongside the limitations of current legislative efforts like the CAN-SPAM Act.
5. Concluding Remarks: Synthesizes the need for an integrated approach involving technology, legal frameworks, and user behavior to solve the email overload problem.
Keywords
Email, Email Traffic, Spam, Email Lifecycle Management, ELM, Information Society, Communication, Technical Infrastructure, Spam Filter, CAN-SPAM Act, Business Communication, Knowledge Management, Electronic Mail, Data Volume, Digital Infrastructure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this paper?
The paper explores the challenges associated with the exponential growth of email traffic and investigates strategies to restore efficient and effective communication in both personal and business contexts.
What are the primary areas of concern regarding increasing email volume?
The paper categorizes these concerns into three main areas: technical limitations (bandwidth/memory), economical issues (server costs/productivity loss), and personal challenges (user trust/email overload).
What is the main objective of the author's research?
The primary goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of emerging problems in email communication and to identify promising strategies to mitigate these issues and improve overall efficiency.
Which scientific approach does the author use?
The author performs an analytical literature review and synthesis of existing industry solutions, such as Email Lifecycle Management, spam filtering, and legislative frameworks, to provide a structured overview of the problem and potential solutions.
What topics are discussed in the main section of the paper?
The main section covers the causes and consequences of email overload, the implementation of ELM processes, detailed taxonomies of spam filtering techniques, and an evaluation of legislative measures like the CAN-SPAM Act.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Keywords include Email, Spam, Email Lifecycle Management, Business Communication, Technical Infrastructure, and Information Society.
What is Email Lifecycle Management (ELM)?
ELM is described as an integrated, holistic approach to comprehend, classify, process, and track email throughout its entire lifecycle to ensure compliance and improve business productivity.
Why are reputation networks discussed in the context of spam filtering?
Reputation networks are presented as an innovative approach that combines social network ratings with traditional filtering to increase accuracy by assigning trust scores to senders.
How effective has the CAN-SPAM Act been according to the author?
The author notes that while the act establishes national standards, it has faced criticism for perceived weaknesses, and reports suggest it has had little effect on the overall volume of spam saturating the internet.
- Citar trabajo
- Dipl.-Kfm. Christian Laase (Autor), 2005, Drowning in e-mails – from a helper to a burden and how to get back to an efficient use of e-mail, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/73979
