I have been on a rampage trying to kill the fax for years. And I am not so feeble that I can’t remember being on a rampage to get my boss to buy our first fax back in the early 80s. If you do not recall, the fax machine changed everything once it hit that “tipping point” where everyone in business had one. It was great and we could hardly wait to get one.

I have been on a rampage trying to kill the fax for years. And I am not so feeble that I can’t remember being on a rampage to get my boss to buy our first fax back in the early 80s. If you do not recall, the fax machine changed everything once it hit that “tipping point” where everyone in business had one. It was great and we could hardly wait to get one. I am so over it now I am telling people if they need paper to do business with me their opportunity could be at risk.

Not sure when it happened, but we seem to have hit another tipping point with e-mail. Most folks are working with e-mail these days. I even include my mother, whose age will not be mentioned but I do not think she would mind referring to her as a “senior citizen.” Hell, at 57 I am a senior citizen, so you have to get over it, Mom.

Now it appears that e-mail is in danger of being relegated to special duties. Instant messaging (IM) has been around for a long time but most companies have been unwilling to adopt it fearing workers would spend their days sending IM’s. There were also some fears about security, but those have either subsided or were not a big deal to start with.

Facing the fact that poor-performing personnel will find their own ways of performing poorly, it seems that a lot of firms are embracing IM for internal use and we are beginning to see signs of business-to-business use of IM. If you have never used it, it is like cell-phone text messaging only on a personal computer.

As IM seems to be ramping up in the workplace the social networks have begun to make their way into the office. The new water cooler is the personal computer and the whole world is in on the conversation. Facebook is emerging as a powerhouse and businesses are beginning to use the site to promote themselves.Roofing Contractoris no different. Check out the RC page on Facebook and sign up as a “fan.” It is cheap (OK, it is free) and easy (OK, you must know how to turn on your PC). Just put “Roofing Contractor” in the search box from your Facebook homepage and you can “become a fan” with just one more click to join us on Facebook.

This blog has been so much fun to write once a week that I have begun a new experiment, and that is to post daily on Twitter.com. Gotta tell you I do not know how this is going to work out, but here goes. Have a look for yourself atwww.twitter.com/RoofsByRick. Fair warning: This will be the unvarnished me … no editorial oversight and not sanctioned by anyone other than myself. Sign up to follow me… I will not be offended.

So, in 2009 stalking is OK but faxing is not. Who knew?