Remember how the Wii even let you send messages to your friends (...and it took like a day for the message to actually get to them
)?
I feel like messaging directly via the devices is safer than sharing your personal email or Facebook or phone number just so you could better communicate with your 3DS friends. But safety concerns aside, that's still inconvenient because you don't get a notification from the 3DS itself when you receive a message, so you have to check your external inbox manually...
I didn't use SwapNote because it took FOREVER to receive messages (you had to load up the app, it had to download the notes, had to sift through a million backed up messages and load each message up individually...). I was hoping that Miiverse messaging on the 3DS would be more efficient, but whoops.
I would appreciate ANYTHING that would help me trade turnip prices better, honestly. Wah. I am sad.