Google Offers E-mail

[GuyFromChicago]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=4718913&section=news

This should be interesting.

[Foxy]

Supposed to be launched today, April 1?

Really? :D

[Tomas]

and giving each account 1Gig of storage...hmmmm, if they had said 10 Megs, i would have believed it...
the story is on the CNN and NY Times websites too..

[digitalpoint]

Google wants people to keep their old email and never delete anything. It keeps them coming back to use it, look up old emails, etc. Google is going to put up AdSense ads targeting the content of the email the user is looking in.

I'm guessing Google hits another homerun with this one. No popups, not more than one group of AdSense ads that are context sensitive, 1GB of storage space, and for free.

They probably will be the first free email service that is profitable because of the AdSense technology. People are going to swarm to this service I'll bet.

- Shawn

[tphyahoo]

It makes me weirdly paranoid.

I mean, I like google. But they're like... powerful. I feel weird thinking goole
-- Knows my web searches
-- Knows my linking/SEO strategies
-- Knows my clicks
-- Now can read my email as well????

But I'll probably sign up for this service anyway. That 1GB is just tempting.

;)

Thomas.

[digitalpoint]

Well, I'm much more comfortable with Google having my email than MSN or Yahoo. But I don't use free email... but if I did, it would go to Google.

- Shawn

[candysmith]

I agree with Shawn 100% . At least Google operates ethically (compared to some others....)

[compar]

We have been discussing using AdSense ads in email in another thread. And it is pretty clear that Google prohibited it.

Now we can understand why. They were reserving the right to do so for themselves.

I wonder what impact that will have on the number of click throughs we will get from our web sites?

[GuyFromChicago]

I'll be interested to see if they let people with Adsense accounts tie the account into their free Gmail account.

My first guess is that they won't….but I really hope they do. They could take some steps let Adsense account holders tie into Gmail, it would probably involve setting limits on the number of e-mails that could be sent within a certain time period for starters. Otherwise the spammers would have a heyday with this.

I bet we see the third option in Adwords soon too - "Search", "Content Sites", "E-mail".

As an Adwords advertiser, this is opening up an entire segment of the market that I didn't have access to before. Let's face, there are a lot of people that still don't "Google". Now they don't have to, they just need to have a friend or associate that does and sends them e-mail.

As an Adsense account holder it has me a little concerned…what's going to happen to my CTR on my sites? I'll hold off on passing judgement though until more details are released.

In any event, I think this is pretty exciting.

How long till' we see the Google messenger service :cool:

[Such Great Heights]

Yep, I got an email about it from a co-worker of mine, and checked it out.
Then later I actually got my GooglePress e-mail about the new service they will offer later.
Did anyone else submit their e-mail addy to be notified about new Gmail info?

It's at the bottom of this page ... http://www.google.com/gmail/help/about.html

At first I thought it was an April Fools joke as well, especially with the 1Gig space ... but the Press Release was actually on March 31st, soo ... I guess it isn't. Plus it's not that funny if it is. :rolleyes:

[digitalpoint]

It's not April fools... or at least it would be stupid if it was, because I'll bet it's going to be wildly profitable for them.

- Shawn

[GuyFromChicago]

http://www.forbes.com/technology/newswire/2004/04/01/rtr1320652.html

It's not a joke. The lunar job post is, but the e-mail service is not. They will make a killing off this...

[Foxy]

It is going to make mass mailing promoting your product to your customers very interesting if you were to use your google email account won't it? :D

[GuyFromChicago]

It is going to make mass mailing promoting your product to your customers very interesting if you were to use your google email account won't it? :D

Assuming that you won't be able to link your Adsense account to your Gmail account, Gmail will be just about 100% useless for any type of business promotion.

Who's going to send an e-mail announcing their new product or service that will have competing ads in the same message?

Not I.

[GuyFromChicago]

It makes me weirdly paranoid.

I mean, I like google. But they're like... powerful. I feel weird thinking goole
-- Knows my web searches
-- Knows my linking/SEO strategies
-- Knows my clicks
-- Now can read my email as well????

But I'll probably sign up for this service anyway. That 1GB is just tempting.

;)

Thomas.
Yesterday's news about Gmail was all focused on "is this a trick?"

Today it's shifted to "Google is invading my privacy"

I just don't get what people are so worked up about. E-mail is not and never has been a "private" form of communication. E-mail is routed through mail servers, and there's really nothing to stop some server admin somewhere in the cycle to read e-mails if they want to. In my opinion, you would have to have an absolutely depressing life if you wanted to spend your time reading other peoples (that you don't even know) e-mail. Not to mention a lot of free time.

Google has said people will not be reading the e-mail to determine context for ad placement…it's done by computers. After reading today's news I don't think this concept has sunk into the general public yet.

Don't people realize that those Yahoo or MSN accounts they've been using for years are no more or less private than Gmail will be?

[compar]

It all depends on how paranoid you are. I know people who are absolutely convinced that the FBI or the CIA run every email in the world through some type of filter looking, I suppose, for keywords.

So while it is true that anybody with email server admin priviledges can read email I don't think people worry about it much because if it is read by a human being how many can s/he possibly read? Not many.

But what Google will be doing is using very sophisticated theme determining software. Do you think this will be used to dynamically place the AdSense ads and that a record will never be made of the theme? If so then probably there is no reason for concern.

But if this information is stored in a database anywhere then it would be a legitimate concern.

[GuyFromChicago]

I guess I'm on the "not paranoid at all" end of the spectrum.

I don't mind giving up some privacy (to a reputable company) in exchange for a better online experience. I don't mind if Google stores info about the theme of the messages I send. I don't send any confidential or condemning information in e-mails, ever. They're just not private, and probably never will be. That's just me though, I know a lot of people do use e-mail for more critical communication.

At some point, Internet users are going to have to decide what they want from their online experience. If you want a truly customized online experience, you'll have to give up a little privacy. To those who think they should have the personalized experience without giving up any privacy…look at it this way; that's like going to the doctor and asking him to make you feel better, but refusing to give any of your symptoms or take the tests required to diagnose your problem. Sounds silly doesn't it?

[respree]

Now can read my email as well????

They've already gotten some criticism from privacy groups on their targeted advertising. Technically, 'they' are not reading your e-mails to deliver their targeted advertising. Its the same way their programs 'read' your searches to deliver their current advertising.

While I think they'll attract many takers, others may feel creeped out by the fact that you're writing to your friend about what a bad headache you had this morning, all of a sudden an ad for 'aspirin' suddenly pops onto your screen. :eek:

[digitalpoint]

But if this information is stored in a database anywhere then it would be a legitimate concern.

Well the email *itself* is stored in a database on Google's servers, so... But again, you come down to sheer volume. Even if some Google employee decided he wanted to read people's email (which the admin of any mail server could do), how many can they actually read? They would get very boring very quickly for them I would think... My own email is so boring I wouldn't care if someone *did* read it. I would just feel sorry for them that they had to. haha

Even if some organization was able to pass every email through a filter looking for keywords, the computing power required for that would be astronomical, and not some little box in a corner somewhere they could keep a secret.

- Shawn

[Alpinesprings]

Can anyone tell me how to aquire a Google GMail Address?
If not, does anyone know when it will open?

[digitalpoint]

They aren't yet allowing public usage... But it should be soon.

- Shawn

[GuyFromChicago]

You can sign up to get a notice when it's available at:

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/help/about.html

[schlottke]

I have the gmail for the beta right now.. They will not allow discussion about it on forums or the account gets taken away (they are trying to keep all of the errors hidden until it is perfected.).. if you want a quick heads up, email me.

[lim (x² - 5x³) = -∞]

interesting, but I will wait then it will not beta