This is one of those articles that are fun to read but full of overblown speculations. The Post Office will continue to reinvent itself as it has with package delivery. To mail a DVD or small book by Media Mail is $2.66. Why would I pay UPS and Fed Ex rates?
Most music downloaded or streamed is lower quality.
My understanding is that operations make money, but congressional requirements to put away pension money beyond real necessity shoots off too much money. Anyway The “Post Office” can move in many directions. Reduce regular delivery to once a week. If you want to send that DVD slow, send it by media mail. Otherwise overnight it with FedEx or UPS. Eliminate the postal system as we know it, and contract all services to private businesses with a Postal Board overseeing contracts etc.
Agreed.
I am a small time eBay / Etsy seller who uses the post office almost every day. There are so many of us out there who rely on the relative low cost of the post office for shipping.
I could not use Fedex, UPS at anywhere the same costs.
Also the writers estimation of books going the way of the Dodo
bird might be incorrect. I read somewhere that the popularity of ebooks and the like has leveled off.
I stare at a laptop all day long and look forward to reading
an actual book the end of the day. I do not want to stare at a tablet in order to read the latest from a favorite author.
I don’t know. I sent a birthday card with a gift card to Danville, PA. It arrived in Danville, was determined it was 1 oz over postage and sent back to me for 21 cents. How much did it coast to transport it to Danville and then deliver it back to my hone? Was it over 21 cents? If so, how does the Post Office manage to survive when it cannot manage its business properly?
“This is one of those articles that are fun to read but full of overblown speculations.”
Yes, it reminds me of all the predictions about the “paperless office”. Things will change no doubt, but it’s tough killing off things. Hell, even vinyl records are making a comeback! I’m awaiting the return of 8 track tapes.
absolutely.
and my VOIP.MS "landline" costs me maybe $50.00 per year for nearly unlimited talk time in North America. And "landlines" are still indispensable tools for most businesses. Not to mention, all the folks writing articles about landlines going away all live in ultra-dense urban areas well served by cell towers, which is not the case for the vast portion of our country. The map below is for t-mobile, but it's pretty much the same for all carriers:
Why pay $2.66 or anything at all for that trivial service?
You can use Google Drive or iCloud or Dropbox or ZipCloud or whatever. Upload your content and send your correspondent the download link. Simple. Post Office not needed!
Or just have your correspondent set up an FTP server, log onto it, and upload your content directly onto your correspondent's hard drive. Or you can set up an FTP server, post your content, and let your correspondent download it. More work, but Google, etc., not needed, just the internet.
All you need is an internet connection. You would not be reading this if you did not have one of those.
Why do you need the Post Office to send bits? The Post Office is about dead trees, about sending physical things, not bits.