First-class mail lost in the limelightTom PoonPulse Reporter
A new tombstone was recently placed in the graveyard of technology.
When Western Union decided to finally pull the plug on its telegraph service last month, the once-mighty telegraph joined a long list of communication casualties. From smoke signals to semaphores, and homing pigeons to the pony express, history is littered with bygone forms of communication.
While it's true the seed of the telegraph's demise was sown more than half a century ago when the telephone became the dominant form of communication, the telegram's demise was still newsworthy.
With the passing of the telegram, one can't help but wonder what other present day form of communication might become obsolete one day. A logical choice might be the U.S. Postal Service's first-class mail, which may find itself chewed up by the jaws of the digital revolution.
In the last two decades, e-mail has grown from something only a few people used to being the global standard for how the world communicates. As more and more opt to use a system that's free and instant over a system that's slow and costs 39 cents per delivery, the signs don't look promising for the Postal Service.
According to the Postal Service's 2005 annual report, the volume of single-piece first-class letters has declined by more than 11 billion, or 20 percent, since 1998.
The slump isn't isolated to just single-piece first-class mail. In 2004, the Postal Service reached a dubious milestone. For the first time, first-class mail shrank both in volume and in revenue. The news is cause for concern because, historically, first-class mail has financed the greatest part of institutional costs of the Postal Service.
Not only has the Postal Service lost the battle for person-to-person correspondence mail (letters and postcards) - less than 1 percent of all first-class mail service - to e-mail, but it's also lost the battle in the commercial front.
According to a study done last year by the Adrenale Corporation, a consulting firm specializing in postal markets, business-to-business e-mail is now 50 times more prevalent than business-to-business mail in the United States.
The reason people prefer using e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging and telephone calls instead of first-class mail can be boiled down to speed and convenience.
Perhaps no segment of society uses technology to communicate more so than college students. Interviews of several students in the Student Center found most hardly ever used first-class mail.
Jessica Jelen, a sophomore studying speech communication from Rockford, said while she enjoys receiving letters in the mail, she uses e-mail and her cell phone as her main source of keeping in touch with friends and family.
"The only people I write to are my grandparents because they don't have a personal computer," Jelen said.
Many students who don't use snail mail now said they don't see a day where that's going to change.
Daniel Lyons, a junior studying administration of justice from Chicago, said if he had a choice of sending something through the mail or through the Internet, he'd choose the Internet. He said he hardly ever uses first-class mail because e-mails, direct deposit and phone calls do not require waiting.
"I mailed three letters last year, and they were a Christmas card and thank-you letters," Lyons said. "Besides using first-class mail for sending out resumes, I don't think I'll be using it much this year."
The three pieces of mail Lyons sent out last year were three more than some have sent in their entire lifetime.
Philip Sanders, a freshman studying chemistry from Kankakee, uses everything available to him to get in touch with friends and family - except first-class mail. He said he's never even put a stamp on a letter to mail out.
"Why send a letter when you can just call instead?" Sanders said. "It's more personal to speak with someone. With cell phones, most people don't even pay long distance charges anymore, so why write when you can use the phone?"
Technology is affecting not only the Postal Service, but also the University's mail system, where about 50,000 pieces of mail are delivered each week.
Aaron Stearns, manager of Campus Mail Service, said although the amount of mail being delivered by people has gone down as a result of e-mail and other factors, he doesn't think technology will ever be able to replace the need to hand-deliver documents.
"Mail delivery is still essential because there will always be documents and forms that need a physical signature," Stearns said. "Purchase orders and legal documents are things e-mail and fax machines can't address."
Despite losing business to online bill pay services, e-mail and other forms of communication, the Postal Service has embraced the Internet to develop its other services. Some of the Internet's most popular e-commerce sites like eBay, Amazon.com and Netflix rely on the Postal Service as their main form of delivery.
With delivery confirmation, priority mail and online tracking, the USPS has shown an ability to adapt to change. Since 2001, delivery receipt services - used by many sellers on the Internet - have more than doubled, topping 950 million in 2005.
James Kelly, an SIUC journalism professor with a doctorate in mass communication, wasn't surprised by the changing philosophy of the Postal Service. He said it's rare for any form of communication to completely fall out of use. Rather than disappearing, a communication media will change the way it occupies the media environment.
"First-class mail's niche in the communication spectrum might be decreasing," Kelly said, "but I don't think it will ever completely disappear. There are just too many businesses relying on first-class mail."
