Are you willing to switch to an @Facebook.com e-mail address?
Email wars, which have been dormant since the 1990s, appear to be back and social-networking behemoth Facebook is leading the charge. But it isn't just mail, said CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and it's more than just chat. It has messaging across a variety of platforms, including SMS and texting conversation history across those platforms and a "social in-box", so people can parse messages from friends and family before the inbox.
The Project Phoenix from AOL means they don't want to be left out of the email wars either. Since its merger with Time-Warner in the biggest exchange of Internet pretend money with real money ever, AOL has practically disappeared, moving from being a closed social site to being a content portal and now a provider with a variety of acquisitions (love ya, AOL! If you want to write us a check, we can buy a big trampoline for the office).
Zuckerberg may be onto something - certainly his instincts can't be questioned, given his billion dollar net worth. Fox reports that "text messaging has surpassed face-to-face contact, e-mail, phone calls and instant messaging as the primary form of communication for U.S. teens, according to a 2009 survey from the Pew Internet&American Life Project."
Gmail is popular with businesses because it can be aliased so that remains an advantage. If you write us here @science20.com you are going through Gmail, though obviously Facebook has done quite well being a social tool so they may not feel the business market is important.
