In this day and age, there are so many ways to communicate using a wide variety of tools it is difficult to avoid anyone...
That being said, the array of communication techniques available to us all come in handy one way or the other, whether it be for business or socialising. Below I will describe a few prominent examples and their applications.
It's hard to pinpoint when email was truly "invented", but it remains a very popular, easy and fast way of communicating today. For both businesses and personal use, and with the ability to add attachments to emails, such as scanned documents or digital images, it is extremely efficient in comparison to traditional mail. As long as you have some form of device to send from (e.g. a computer or a smart phone), an Internet connection and an email account (you can get them gratis using services like Hotmail or Gmail!), you can send emails to your hearts content... within reason of course.
It could be said that a downside to email is that the person you wish to communicate with must also have the necessary 'equipment', but email is such a widely-used form of communication that it has become almost second nature, and particularly in business, it is almost an unwritten law to have some form of email address for the company as a whole as well as individual employees.
Faxing
Faxing is much like a has-been of communication, but don't worry faxing fans, it is still hanging in there. Many businesses use faxing as a prominent form of communication, particularly when it comes to transferring documents that require signatures, however, it doesn't particularly have a casual/social application... as amusing as it would be. Like email, it still requires equipment (a fax machine) and a phone line for both you and the recipient, but it takes little effort as long as you have the fax number you wish to send to. Besides that, there's something oddly gratifying about stuffing paper into a slightly antique-looking phone machine thingy, dialing a number and knowing that the person on the other end is going to get the message on their own faxing contraption-ma-bob. Me gusta.
Telephone
A good ol' chinwag on the telephone is also a very versatile and likely the most commonly used form of communication using technology, that allows you to talk to someone across long distances. With people becoming more and more attached to their mobile phones, there is rarely a time when you can't get hold of someone using this method... that's right, despite common misconception, mobile phones are not only useful for playing games or checking facebook! They can be used for both business and social requirements,particularly when you want a 'guarantee' that you have 'gotten your message across', something that email or faxing doesn't necessarily offer, and it can be said that it is a faster way of communicating than, for example, email, as there are far fewer variables that could delay communication. You either have talked to someone, or you haven't, simples.
Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Blogger (They deserve a nod, too) Tumblr... the list goes on when it comes to 'Social Media'. All of these platforms offer a way of communicating with a broad audience over the internet, in a variety of forms such as blogs, galleries and status updates about the last meal you ate... I'm looking at you, Facebook. Love them or hate them, social media platforms are growing, with new ventures popping up left, right and center, and while many of them dwindle (cough, Google+, cough, Myspace) there are still many that continue to thrive and are used by millions of people worldwide. They come in handy for social occasions when you want to share your thoughts to big audience, great for you attention-hungry individuals, or even for business networking (Linkedin).
WIP
WIP
