Is email the root cause of the attention problem

Recently, there have been a lot of ongoing discussions about problems related with emails. Some of the interesting ones are:

• The 9x Email Problem
• Harbors in the Ocean of E-mail
• Getting Rid of Email
• Lost in E-Mail, Tech Firms Face Self-Made Beast

Studies by Basex has concluded that 28% of a person's day is consumed with "interruptions by things that aren't urgent or important, like unnecessary email messages -- and the time it takes to get back on track." And one of the solutions being offered around is another tool (possibly Enterprise 2.0 tools).

While Enterprise 2.0 offers much other benefits over email, I do not agree entirely that a new tool can solve all the problems completely. There is much likelihood that we will shift from one house into another house with the same set of baggage. Let me visualize what could possibly happen if email is ever replaced by other tools.

1. "You got new feeds" - Most of the email client are configured to check for incoming emails regularly. This problem will still stay if users configured their RSS readers to check for changes at every 5 minutes interval. Personally I will always check my inbox after leaving my desk for some time. The best way to work around this is to re-configure the frequency of checking for incoming emails. It will be better if users can configure rules to download high priority emails within shorter intervals.
2. "Hi there" - Even without email, users can still use instant messagers to poke at their counterparts causing interrupts.
3. "Ring ring" - There are people who will always use the phone for every small matters that doesn't warrant immediate attention.
4. "Spam" - Besides spams from the advertisers, there are also "spams" from friends and colleagues ranging from chain emails, and useless FYIs.
5. The "control freak" - There are some managers who always wanted to included in the all the distribution lists for all emails. The person could be subscribing all the RSS feeds or notification emails to track all the changes.

Therefore in my opinion, the mindset will also have to be addressed together to solve the problem. There is a need for a set of email ettiques and clear understanding that time and attention is limited. Perhaps a system for charging emails being sent will help more. The tools can only help to alleviate the problem by guiding the users to the desired behaviour with the well-designed user interface.