* e-mail is fast, cheap and effective: It is six times faster than fax, and it has a 3:1 cost advantage in the average office work environment. Its efficiency advantage increases with distance. For example, the clinical clerks taking elective rotations at Family Practice in Santa Rosa access their e-mail by telneting to the their medical school's server to get listserve class news, personal correspondence, critical dead-line notices from administration, and request letters of recommendation from their professors and mentors.
* it works without a postage meter and partially replaces a courier service.
* many companies, universities, banks give away e-mail accounts to their employees, students and customers as a bonus to their regular services. Many of the services themselves or going "online" to more effectively meet the goals of the organizations and their clients.
* the cost of the service is inexpense because it uses public domain or inexpensive software and underutilized hardware capacity. The production, testing, distribution, support, documentation and upgrading of the product are all done online using the same technology and the same medium.
* email standards are in place. While the U.S. Postal Service has a long track record, ISPs are not going to gallop off into the night like the Pony Express. In other words, Western Union,the telegraph, the post office and ,to some extent the telephone company, have been upstaged.
* security can be enhanced by encryption if necessary. Authentification by electronic notary systems like VeriSign is available.
* MEME standard allow text and non-text file attachments to e-mail messages. For example, a graphic image, computer program or a voice mail message can be added to an e-mail envelope.
* message forwarding services like pobox.com can intercept and relay e-mail messages sent to several address that are then treated as "aliases" for what are same person or group.
* e-mail can be accessed from any site with internet access. That could be wireless via a Metricom.com modem, a LAN with a gateway to the WAN, or a portable computer using a phonejack on an airplane or in an airport.
* e-mail has been integated into the Web browers that are now the standard window to and display platform for the Internet. Browers can display e-mail messages thart are in html text format, and many stand-alone e-mail programs can be configured to conveniently link URL Internet addresses to a browser.
* six year olds can learn to send an e-mail to Grandma. Ok, you are right, it is eleven. We just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.