The History of Email – Remember when it costs ten cents to mail a letter?

Do you know the history of email? by Rashmi

Electronic mail or commonly called email.  Did you know that it was over 40 years ago since email first started. Ray Tomlinson, a computer engineer invented internet based email in late 1971.  Tomlinson used a file transfer protocol that he was working on called CYPNET to adapt the SNDMSG program so it could send electronic messages to any computer on the ARPANET network. The first email was sent between two computers that were actually sitting beside each other. However, the ARPANET network was used as the connection between the two. The first email message was “QWERTYUIOP”. The @ symbol was devised in order to tell which user was “at” what computer.  The origin of electronic email was much before the inception of the Internet. In fact Email was the tool in creating the World Wide Web. The invention of email has revolutionized the world of communication. Email filled the need for faster communication.  Do you remember when a stamp was ten cents to mail a letter?  Or using the telephone or a pay phone to connect with someone and not having a car phone or an iPHONE or mobile device.  Or you had to actually meet  in person as a form of communicating. Email became an inexpensive alternative to connect with people regardless of the location whether at the workplace, personal or the society as a whole. According to the UCLA report, 72 percent of Americans use the Internet and 88 percent of internet users use email.  Just like most things in life, email has its benefits and, at the same time, it has the potential for danger and harm.  Personally the benefits outweigh the cons. Hail to the email!  Can you imagine a world without email?  [Source: Mashable.com, About.com, Wikipedia]