Intel last week held its first "No Email Day". A group of 150 engineers was encouraged to talk in person or over the phone instead of resorting to email messages.

Email is great for getting concrete answers to very concrete questions. But it's a horrible collaboration tool. Email doesn't allow for conversations, it spawns discussions at the best, and flame wars at the worst.

09 Oct 2007

Great new ideas are often created at the lunch table or during cigarette breaks. True collaboration requires face to face conversations. By promoting a non-email days, Intel is promoting people to actually talk.

Intel chief Paul Otellini has previously blamed high cubicle walls for preventing one-on-one conversations. Minor detail, however, is that Intel itself was instrumental in establishing that dreaded cubicle culture.

Gordon Moore last month admitted to introducing the cubicle to Intel as a low cost way to jam as many people as possible into an office space.