Email addresses, also known as “electronic addresses” or simply “emails“, represent a form of digital communication popularized in the late 1990s with the arrival of the Internet among the general public.
Emails enable users to exchange digital messages, often free of charge and instantaneously, via a computer or cell phone.
The technical protocol used to send e-mail is called SMTPSMTP stands for “Simple Mail Transfer Protocol”. Created in 1982, SMTP is an email transfer protocol used for... More, which describes the mechanisms that make it work.
The format of an e-mail address is simple, and is made up of two sub-components, separated from each other by the abbreviation “@”:
– the “user name” part (for example: “marion.duchevanelle”)
– the “internet domain” part (for example: “example.com”)
The dummy email address used in this example is “marion.duchevanelle@example.com”
Generally speaking, there are two possible types of email address, with different uses:
– personal email addresses: these are addresses created and used by individuals for their own needs (which can be very varied): exchanges between friends, email to sales sites for advice or assistance, newsletter registration, etc…
– professional email addresses: these are addresses created and used in the context of a position within a company, and are intended for professional exchanges only (exchanges with suppliers, service providers, or exchanges between employees of the same company).
Many free email address providers exist on the Internet, enabling anyone to create one or more email addresses to suit their own needs. Among the best-known email address providers are Microsoft/Outlook, Yahoo, AOL, and GMAIL, the undisputed market leader today, with the world’s largest email address database, sending and receiving millions of emails every day worldwide.
Initially used solely for personal exchanges between individuals, email has gradually become a major focus of 21st century digital marketing, and today represents a highly appreciated channel used by businesses to stay in touch with their customers. The low cost and high ROI of this marketing channel (known as emailingEmail marketing, also known as Emailing, is a digital marketing strategy that uses email as its medium. It is one of the... More) means that it remains the world’s most widely used digital marketing medium, even ahead of social networking and SMSSMS stands for “Short Message Service”
SMS is a digital communication method invented in 1992, enabling t... More marketing (see the article on the main differences between email and SMS marketing for more details).
Despite a marked decline in the number of emails sent from one individual to another (to the benefit of instant messaging services like Whatsapp or social networks), email addresses are still one of the most widely used means of digital communication in the world, and there’s every reason to believe that they could remain so for many years to come.