The wonders of a blank page – the surface is yet neutral. Once introduced, crisply displayed words are the only shaping influence. By the sender’s hand, the neutral page can become anything: a friendly message to a colleague, congratulations to an accomplished nephew, correspondence with an old friend, or formal address to a client.

Although there has been a recent surge in alternative electronic communication methods, electronic mail will endure as a fundamental method of communication. Mediums like Twitter, Facebook, and BBM do have inherent advantages, but their uses are also limited. The information exchange they support is generally short, informal bursts. In daily life, speedy and convenient communication has become a necessity, as well as a pastime, but there are needs not catered to by these services.

The most recognized need is for a medium that puts all of the focus on the message that the sender is trying to convey. This same idea has been known to resonate with proponents of traditional letter writing. When the internet became accessible to the public and email came into existence, some were concerned that letter writing would become an anachronistic trifle. Today, the US Postal Service is still in existence and many individuals continue engaging in hand written correspondences.

Although email does not give the sender complete freedom, constricting him to the permutations of 26 letters and about a dozen symbols, there is no cost and almost no transit time. Thus, both physical and electronic mail have maintained their positions in the communication realm. Email and newer methods, I predict, will develop a similar relationship.

Another perspective on the sound foundation of a blank page is the professional appeal of email. The sharp, clean, to-the-point characteristic is ideal in a world of suits and formalities. In business, the most important information a person can distribute is their email address. Over time, checking email at work has become a task that employees now specifically allot time to. Pick up a coffee, check in at work, sit down at the desk, open the computer, and start the day by checking email. All exchanges are well documented, complete with time stamps, and easily organized. Despite the time that "checking email" takes, most of the communication is necessary and inevitable anyway. By being ingrained in the professional culture, electronic mail has ensured its future.

There is one other aspect though that many individuals do not consider when contemplating the future of this medium; email is free of the problems caused by company ownership. All of the Twitters and Facebooks of the world are operated by owned companies. Thus, there is the competition as to which network to use, the hassle of imbedded advertisements, and the political issues that have barred websites within certain countries. Email lives within the internet – a temporary message that has no physical location, until downloaded. There are companies that facilitate the sending and receiving of these messages, but the system itself stands on its own. There may be competition over which service to use, like Gmail or Yahoo, but regardless there is no exclusion factor. Some people have Facebook and some do not. Who can communicate with whom is limited to which networks individuals choose to use. Email, simply put, is universal.

For these reasons, I confidently assert that electronic mail will persist. The way we view mail or organize it can change as developers come out with new programs, but the fundamental concept will remain unaltered. I am proving this now, as I send an email with this document attached.