What Is Email?

Email is the short name for Electronic mail. It is how digital messages are sent and received. “Though there is some degree of uncertainty as to when email was invented, the father of the modern version is generally regarded to be American Ray Tomlinson” (WiseGEEK, 2001.p.1). WiseGEEK also shares that in the beginning, messages could only be sent between users connected to the same computer (2001, p.1). In the business world, email is the most common and more preferred way messages are communicated whether intercompany or intra-company.

One message can be sent to multiple recipients. Text, graphic images or data files can be sent within the page or sent as an enclosure. It operates across both public and private internet and established computer networks. One needs to have established an email account to send or receive messages. Address books or distribution lists can be constructed to make it convenient to select single or multiple recipients of the same message. Typically, it takes moments to receive an email that was sent; however, if the enclosure is a large file or the graphic is over the minimum size, it may take time to arrive, or it may not arrive at all. Once email is received, the recipient can return a reply to the message that they received, save the message in an established folder, or delete it. Emails are more convenient to send to those recipients who are long distance, than spending the money for a long distance call or using the U.S. Postal Service.

Reference:  

WiseGEEK, (2011). What is Email? Retrieved March 21, 2011, from

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-email.htm