Social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter are taking on many of the functions once completed by email. In the same way text messaging changed the way we use cell phones, Twitters and “status updates” are changing the way we communicate online.

Here are seven reasons social media will make email obsolete.

7. Email takes too much time

Nothing like opening the morning email to find 100 or more emails awaiting your attention. Just sorting them can take up the better part of a morning – least bit reading and responding. While email has made communication easier, it has also made our lives much busier.

6. Email Etiquette demands are greater then with social media tools

Email etiquette stems from traditional letter writing. Salutations and signatures are somewhat expected – at least upon first contact in an email string. Tools such as Twitter, with it’s 140 character limit, don’t allow for such formalities.

5. Email discussions can be hard to follow

Email discussions can often become so long and unwieldy as they get passed from one participant to another that those late to the discussion have no chance of catching up. Add to that the failed “reply to all” and you are soon missing important elements of the discussion.

The basic structure of a forum with the topic posted at the top of the string makes the conversation much easier to follow. Remember how the email user group used to be so popular? Now the discussion takes place in forums.

4. Social Media allows quick communication to the group

Social Media sites make it much easier to broadcast messages to the group. Instead of emailing pictures of the children to each and every family member, they are now easily posted on Facebook pages or Flickr albums.

Businesses are using social media to broadcast content to massive audiences in ways email does not allow.

3. Email can’t accommodate larger files or group access

Ever try to send a video by email? Video hosting services such as YouTube eliminate the bandwidth constraints of many email servers. Forums also allow users to post files needed by the entire group. No need to email each document individually.

2. Social Media Tools are quick and to the point

When you are limited to 140 characters (Twitter), you’ve got to be concise. Get to the point, respond, move on. Twitter also has the advantage of both broadcasting to the group or responding to the individual.

1. NO SPAM!

At least not yet. Spam is one of the biggest reasons many dread opening their morning email. Even with the best filters, it still gets through. Worse yet, spam filters often block the messages we need to see.

Unlike email, social media sites allow us to choose who sends us messages. While social media makes it easier to broadcast to the group, it also makes it easier not to listen.

So while email will always have it’s place, many are finding social media tools filling in for the shortcomings of email.