Multiple Email Addresses: A Socio-technical Investigation

This research investigates individuals’ everyday use of multiple electronic mail addresses. Email remains the dominant form of online communication. According to research by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 93% of Internet users have sent or received email. [20] [15] In preliminary interviews I conducted, nearly all participants maintained multiple email addresses. These preliminary interviews, others’ research data, and a cursory analysis of market research data indicate that the use of multiple addresses is both common and mainstream. [13] The phenomenon is not well documented in either the technical or the popular literature, nor are the behaviors well supported within email applications. For example, many users employ workarounds to maintain multiple email addresses, but the process is often frustrating and error prone. This research agenda arose from a series of preliminary interviews I conducted on the organization, navigation, management and analysis of email by individuals. It became clear that many email addresses had specialized uses and that the functionality available in email applications for maintaining these multiple email addresses was inadequate. My future research will help better inform systems design by examining a common user behavior in email systems. In order to improve system design, the research seeks to answer the following questions. First, why do people maintain multiple email addresses? Second, what are the socio-technical explanations for this behavior? Third, what are the strategies and tools that people use to manage their own and others’ email addresses? How does user behavior vary across time and space and how do users organize their email collections. Finally, what are the implications of the existing strategies for the design of future email clients and servers?