Musings of a Marketing Maven

I just paid the last phone bill for my fax machine. Sidelining the fax… It feels like the end of an era — yet another unintended consequence of email and web-based services on a small business like mine.

The fax used to serve an important role, for regular client interactions, contract signings, credit applications with new suppliers, buying from catalogs, and so on.

I remember when any new consulting project involved lots of faxing back and worth, especially during the info gathering phase. Or when clients wanted to see PowerPoint drafts by fax, because their email gateways would block large attachments… In its heyday my fax enabled a key project milestone: when clients faxed their purchase order or formally authorized the kick-off for a new engagement.

Lately its primary — and unappreciated function — has been receiving junk faxes. Who needs to waste time or paper on junk faxes from Russia or Nigeria? So it was time to terminate the dedicated phone line for the fax machine.

Nowadays eFax works just fine for those occasional faxes that I really want to receive.

I’ll hold on to the fax machine itself, for the rare occasion when I need outbound fax service… Probably fewer than a dozen occasions next year.