Steve Strauss Special to USA TODAY Though we are surrounded by a slew of social media platforms, email remains the backbone of all business communications – and that has benefits and drawbacks. Even though the first email was sent all the way back in the 1970s, strangely, email has not lost much relevance even after all these years, and even despite newer alternatives like Slack and Trello. The good news is that as times have changed, so has email etiquette. What passed muster even a decade ago is different than what works today. But fear not. I have compiled a list of the six most important new rules of email for your reading pleasure.