Electronic communication is an incredible way to connect to one another. Email, texting, Teams or Slack chats have all become part of our daily routine, a quicker way to say hello, I’m thinking about you or to transmit business information without the sometimes interruption of a phone call.
Any parent with teens or young adults knows the best way to track them down is via text or chat message through some social media platform.
It has become an inherent way for us to communicate and stay in touch with one another. Sometimes a phone call can seem too daunting or too timely to pass along a quick idea or message; instead, we opt for a keyboard and fire off a quick email or text. It has become a preferred way for many to communicate.
The first email was sent in 1971 by an MIT computer scientist to himself using the ampersand, or @ symbol, and seven years later a 14-year-old high school student developed a software version that introduced us to email. The first text message, or SMS message, was first sent in December 1992 by a British engineer. A year later, Finnish phone maker Nokia introduced a phone that could send and accept texts, but the capability was only available between two people on the same network.
SMS technology came to the U.S. in 1995 via Sprint Spectrum. The first mobile phone with a QWERTY keyboard was introduced in 1997.
And here we are today with more than 7.2 billion smartphones in use. We carry these little minicomputers around in our pockets for quick check-ins, email and texting, and that’s in addition to our laptops or desktop computers we use daily. Email and texting have become so ubiquitous, we barely give electronic communications a second thought, other than to following up to ask if a previously sent message was received.
Electronic communication is how we operate in a busy world. When the mode of communication gets upended, it upsets the apple cart. We’ve seen issues in politics and sports, and we teach our children that no electronic communication ever goes away.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when a U.S. judge in Texas opened up parts of the Federal Trade Commission’s complaint in the proposed $4 billion acquisition of Mattress Firm by Tempur Sealy International. The previously redacted parts of the complaint – some still remain hidden – give readers an inside look at alleged email and text conversations between Tempur Sealy executives.
In a number of those conversations, they appear to discuss the impact the acquisition of Mattress Firm – dubbed the “kingmaker” of brands by Tempur Sealy – would have on competing mattress companies. In a vacuum, no harm no foul. We’re all competitive by nature; we want to win. Companies are no different.
However, when the FTC is investigating a deal – and has been poking around such a deal since the fall of 2022 – the backdrop changes. Earlier this year, the FTC voted 5-0 to block the acquisition of Mattress Firm, and a court date for a hearing is now set for December.
You know what they say about hindsight. Maybe good, old-fashioned phone calls or face-to-face meetings are looking more appealing these days.