Vint Cerf loves email and IM equally

Email is not dead - but all forms of communication, from IM, to email to SMS now carry equal weight but perform starkly different tasks, according to Vint Cerf, the man regarded by many as the 'father of the internet'.

For example, instant chat provides an informality to people's discussions and lets them seamlessly transition between text, voice and video. "It should interwork with other messaging services like paging and SMS," said Cerf.

But Cerf cautioned that there are unintended side effects with any advancement in technology. For example, by allowing voice mail to be indexed in email, the communication is no longer as ephemeral as it once was, because it can be easily forwarded or disseminated onto the internet.

"We need to think about the interoperation of all this communication because there could be side effects," he said.

Examples of communications convergence are proliferating fast.

At its technology lab in San Jose Cisco Systems is showing off internet phone applications that can convert voice messages into digital files that can be forwarded to an email inbox, as well as email that can be converted to audio that can be retrieved over a telephone.

The latest version of Microsoft's desktop email application, Outlook 2003, matches the immediacy of IM, offering pop-up windows that notify recipients of new messages the moment they arrive.

Other companies are starting to push email through IM networks.

This week, internet marketing services developer MessageCast said it plans to release a test version of an email alert tool aimed at bloggers that taps into Microsoft's MSN Messenger network. The service immediately notifies users of new postings via instant messenger, email or, on mobile phones, SMS.

MessageCast CEO Royal Farros believes IM is more spam-resistant than email because it gives end users the ability to opt in and out of distribution lists without the need to go through an intermediary, thus ensuring messages go only to people who really want them. In addition, IM currently has better authentication security than email, making it more difficult for spammers to hide behind anonymous or stolen accounts, Farros said.

"Will this become a spam engine? No, this will help guarantee messages are 100 per cent solicited," he said. "This is an education issue we face each and every day."

Evan Hansen and Stefanie Olsen write for News.com