Deciphering Electronic Mail: Connecting and Interconnecting Services
| Pages | 29-32 |
| Published date | 01 February 1983 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047494 |
| Date | 01 February 1983 |
| Author | Dennis Oliver |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Deciphering Electronic
Mail:
Connecting and Interconnecting Services
Dennis Oliver
A history of
electronic
mail
services is
provided,
with
charac-
teristics and
potential
described.
Factors to
consider
in
selecting
an
electronic
mail
system
are listed.
Means
of
communicating
with
different
types
of
systems
are
discussed,
emphasizing
soft-
ware for
personal
equipment and
use
of an
interconnection service
agency. The
features
of
Inter-
national Electronic Mail
Services,
Inc., are
described.
On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse demonstrated to
members of the United States Congress and assembled
officials and friends the first public telegram transmis-
sion and inaugurated a new era in communications tech-
nology. The first electronic message consisted of the
text, "What Hath God Wrought!," a quotation from the
Book of Numbers: Chapter 23, Verse 23, which had
been secretly selected for the occasion by Annie Ells-
worth, daughter of the U.S. Patent Commissioner.
Samuel Morse could not find anyone to buy his inven-
tion - he was asking $100,000.
One hundred and thirty-four years later, electron-
ically communicated messages and information are an
integral part of world civilization. The synergistic inter-
action of computers and electronic communication
creates an environment in which virtually any kind of
information transfer is possible. The increasing impor-
tance of electronic communications to individuals and
organizations has resulted in thousands of companies,
services, products, and options for electronic mail and
messaging. However, this explosion of choice has also
resulted in confusion; a 20th century tower of electron-
ic babel that is sometimes a channel, but often an ob-
stacle, to effective communication.
Selecting the most appropriate option for a particu-
lar communications requirement can be an odyssey in
frustration, especially if one needs to handle messages
from and to several different kinds of communications
systems. To address some of the options for intercon-
necting electronic mail services in today's complex en-
vironment, a brief history of the various types of
electronic mail services will help clarify their essential
distinctions.
Dennis Oliver is Vice-President of Marketing for
International Electronic Mail Service (IEMS) in Cuper-
tino,
California.
FALL 1983 29
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