Responses
How are we defining 'social media'? I don't see the free, publicly visible services becoming a dominant form of business communications. The issues of reliability and privacy are too big to overcome; those questions also apply to paid services. Maybe internally hosted services could supplant e-mail.
Some IM tools can retain the conversation.
I dislike the 'pull' model intensely. It depends on the intended recipient checking the site (or multiple sites). I much prefer 'push' and the assurance that the content was delivered to the intended recipients. I'd also much rather have content delivered to me than have to go out and check to see if it's been updated. I don't see what makes any method "less stressful and more mature". I also don't see what makes social networking less (or more) of a productivity waster or abuse target than e-mail. Indeed, the very name 'social media' strikes me having more potential for wasted time, implying that social activities are as acceptable as work-related ones.
I think most people already know how to use e-mail effectively, as least as effectively as they need to or interested in learning. After all, it's the older technology; people have simply had more time to get comfortable with it. Where I need help (along with those I've observed where I work) is how to get workplace value from IM, wikis, and other social tools. Most of what we do is still accomplished via shared files.
