Email is simply the shortened form of electronic mail, a protocol for receiving, sending and storing electronic messages. Email has gained popularity with the spread of the Internet. In many cases, email has become the preferred method of communication.

Though there is some degree of uncertainty as to when e-mail was invented, the father of the modern version is generally regarded to be American Ray Tomlinson. Before Tomlinson, messages could be sent between users but only those connected to the same computer. They could not be targeted to a particular individual. Tomlinson devised a way to address email to certain users and thus was credited for one of the most important communication inventions in the 20th century.

Tomlinson’s idea was to identify the name of the user and the computer at which they were located. As a result, the basic formula for addressing an email was username@usercomputer. This standard has not changed over the years, other than the user computer now commonly being replaced by the name of an email provider. In many cases, this is the same as the user’s Internet service provider.

The influence of email cannot be overstated. The United States Postal Service, for example, notes that it handles 212 billion pieces of mail per year. Many sources have nearly that many e-mails being sent back and forth every single day. In other words, email handles more than 300 times the amount of mail of the largest postal system in the world.

In many cases, users receive, send and store email based on one of two standards, SMTP or POP. SMTP stands for simple message transfer protocol. POP stands for Post Office Protocol. Though there is some amount of confusion over what these two protocols mean, the explanation is rather simple. POP is a protocol for storage of email. SMTP is a protocol for sending and receiving.

In the beginning, email usage required having a program dedicated to the application, or at least having an email service provider with a system set up to handle it. The software for the application is called email client software. Some common programs include: Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Opera Mail, Eudora and Pegasus Mail. Many are available for free through open sources.

In addition to accessing electronic mail through email client software, Webmail has also become very popular. Most email service providers offer this as an additional benefit, where the user can access their mailbox over the Internet. Some email services are specifically designed using the World Wide Web as its primary interface. These sites, such as Yahoo! Mail, Google Mail and Hotmail have become very popular, as they offer individuals a chance to open an email account at no charge.