EOTO Timeline: The first email

 For my EOTO project I decided to research the history of the very first email. In 1971 the very first email was created by Ray Tomlinson. Ray invented the idea of email while he was still working for ARPANET, which is known as the advanced research projects agency network. Ray created the first email while he was working on ways to improve the ARPANET system, and decided there should be a feature where you could communicate online. While the idea was still new, Ray had only figured out a feature where you could send messages to a person using the same computer. Soon he figured out how to wire messages from one computer to another only on the ARPANET system. In 1976, the queen made history by sending her very first email. Her username was “HME2”, which stood for “Her majesty elizabeth the second”. In 1996, more and more users started using email. People started to realize the efficiency and simplicity of the email. In 1998, the first spam mail surfaced. Unwanted emails were showing up on everyone's accounts, causing frustration by users. In 2002, the first email became wireless! This was a big step in the history of the email. People could now use email from various different wireless platforms including the blackberry and other wireless phones at the time. Moving down the line in later years, around 2004, Gmail was created and completely changed the game. This was the fastest, cleanest, and most up to date email of its time. Almost every and all users switched to gmail, and the rest was history. The email completely changed the game for communication. Before the first email, the main form of communication consisted of morse code, radio transmission, and written letters. Now that email has been created, communication has never been easier and more accessible. Email is known to be used by almost all people, and is even now used by advertisers. Though there were many upsides to the creation of the email, there were still a few downsides. Some of these downsides being spam mail, pressure to respond, and misunderstandings. Spam mail has taken over all email platforms creating it difficult for users to sort through. This caused users to create multiple email accounts where they can have one for personal email, and the other for spam mail. This is just a problem in itself. Forgotten passwords, unsure of which email to use, and much more. The pressure to respond has also become a prevalent issue in email. Studies have shown that people feel pressured to respond to all emails, even when you don’t have to. Emails also play a large role in digital footprint and misunderstanding. Never send an email that you wouldn't want posted on the front page of the newspaper… because it just might happen!

https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/email-marketing/history-of-email/