Michael Gaigg: Über UI/UX Design

Hey Teacher, Leave the “E-” alone!

Posted by Michael Gaigg

e-

Nobody will argue with me that the internet has changed our lives (for good or for worse). We don't communicate anymore like we did 20 years ago. Back then we had a quarter phone line (our house shared 1 phone line with 3 other houses) where we had to wait for our neighbors to finish their call before we were able to make ours. It was a big deal to get our own line. I remember an Egyptian university professor telling me that his university had to share the phone line with their students internet dial-up. Back then I felt pretty privileged having two ISDN lines in my room, 1 for the phone and the other for internet. Well, we all know where we are today, amazing, isn't it?

Similarly the web has transformed itself. Back in the days it was a big deal to print your web page address onto your business card, top-level domain a plus. We started handing out e-mail addresses by the dozen, the more we were able to present the higher the importance it seemed... until one day the realization set in: It makes more sense to only have ONE e-mail address, pick one and stick with it.

I believe another realization has to set in: Finally stop using this "e-". It doesn't apply anymore, it's not cool anymore, it's actually only confusing.

We don't need this "E-" anymore, it's all the same. e-mail? e-cards? e-commerce? e-news? e-trade? e-ticket?

I don't even remember the last time I went to the airport with a 'real' paper ticket in my hands. I almost exclusively receive correspondence online - I still like hand-written letters - but at the end of the day it's all mail to me.

I shop online and receive the products by carrier - is this e-commerce? Let's get real, that's how we do business today, it's online, offline, inter, intra, mobile, snail - what is left is commerce. Like AOL co-founder Steve Case says: "Someday [...] it will just be called “commerce” — just because it is so ubiquitous that it is just taken for granted."

So my plea is: Let's remove the "E-" and get real.

And while we are at it already... Let's stop the "Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone." etc. I know, it's really cool that you got a smart phone and I forgive you all your typos, but actually, your writing isn't any better with a real keyboard and I kind of expected a quick response already as well...