Dot.column: What do you think about Facebook e-mail?

What up, Zuck? (Credit: AP photo)

Jon Bausman, @JonBausman, director of media and brand development at Ricker Oil
It seems like an interesting product that will integrate a lot of features together and make Facebook an even larger hub of shared information. However, based upon their Terms of Service, all that shared information belongs to Facebook and could be used or distributed as they please. I’m not related to Mark Zuckerberg, but I think this is just one step closer to him becoming my Big Brother.

Lindsay Manfredi, @LindsayManfredi, president of Linzstar, ghostblogger
Man, after watching that whole Mark Zuckerberg talk, I don’t know about this. I’m sure it’ll catch on. Or it COULD catch on. But really, only time will tell. Remember Google Buzz? Exactly. WTH is it? What about Google Wave? I don’t hear much about that these days. This could be a fad. Maybe not. I do love my e-mail, and my Gchat (yes, I said CHAT!).  I think this would be more popular with the kids. Did I just say that?

Casey Mullins, @mooshinindy, blogger, www.mooshinindy.com
One time my sister-in-law responded to a Facebook message my brother-in-law  sent. She didn’t realize I was  CCed on the message so I could see her reply in which she called me a not-so-nice name. When I confronted her, she accused me of hacking her Facebook account because I’m a computer hacker! (!!1!!) Sure, 350 million people use Facebook, but how many are *really* going to get it?

Andy Huston, @hust0058, 4sqIndy
Smart move by Facebook to keep you hooked on all things social. It sounds like this is becoming your communication hub by combining e-mail, text and other messaging in one place. This could make e-mail more relevant for Millennials. It also might make the feat of “inbox zero” imdifficult (impossibly 8difficult).

Chuck Gose, @chuckgose, co-founder of Indy Social Media
I’m always willing to play with new toys, but I wonder if Facebook is reaching a bit here. While I disagree with Mark Zuckerberg’s assertion that e-mail is too slow, I can appreciate the role that IMs, SMS text messages and Twitter DMs play in personal communication. This is clearly Facebook’s next step in becoming a communication hub for people.

Chris Banks, @CBanksIndy, founder of 4sqIndy
It has the capability to be awesome, especially the cross-platform conversation history and the social inbox. Mark Zuckerberg said that “It’s designed to highlight conversations with your real friends and be spam-free.” The problem is that the ratio of “friends” to “real friends,” for most people, is very low. Another question I have is if brand pages that you like will have access to e-mail you. If they can, that would tear a hole in the idea that it is spam-free.