Here are the points of a New York Times article on emails and communication.

• Face to face communication is information rich – we interpret from tone and facial expressions as well as content – rapport has a chance to develop
• Email: quick and convenient with ability to stay in touch with lots of people
• Positive email messages tend to be misinterpreted as neutral. Neutral emails tend to be interpreted as negative
• No emotional overtones from the sender are received by the recipient
• No meta messages in emails that appear in face to face interactions
• There is less chance that misinterpretation will happen in emails between people who know each other well.
• Communication through email with a large group of people who are known only through email is essentially like having functional Asperger’s Syndrome.
• As email increases in an organization, the overall volume of other communication drops.
• Creates disconnect between people.
• Email is not better than face to face contact; it is only better than nothing!