WHY USE E-MAIL?

It's instantaneous. Most e-mails reach their destination in a few seconds.

It's free. There's no per-item charge for postage or connection time.

It's reliable. The delivery rate of e-mails is very close to 100%. E-mails don't get lost, and, unlike voicemail messages and faxes, they won't be intercepted by someone else and misplaced.

You avoid "telephone tag." You can say everything you have to say-not just "please call me back"-even when the person you're trying to reach is busy.

It creates a record. No one will forget or misinterpret what you said-it's all there in writing.

You can send messages to several people at once. Copies of e-mails can be sent to any number of people, all with one click of the mouse button.

You can reach people wherever they are. Many people set up their e-mail so they can access it from any computer, even if they're not at home or in the office.

You can forward information. Probably the best reason to use e-mail is to send information to other people. You can attach photos, drawings, property listings, contracts or other documents, mortgage calculators, voice messages, videos and even other e-mails to your e-mails. It's usually easier, faster, and cheaper to attach a file to an e-mail than to send it by fax or messenger. You can also send people information from the Internet by including a link, or pointer, to that information in the e-mail itself.