Category: Gmail

Looks like we are getting closer or they really like me… more like we are getting closer to launch. 5 more invites ready to go…actually 4 now.

If I was Yahoo, I’d be very nervous. First Gmail and now email groups… In my quick test and review, I’d say it’s very similar to Yahoo Groups, though slicker and without the crass ads you find all over the place. Its close in experience though without the UI of Gmail. Simple and clear which is good… hope it stays that way. I can definitely see moving groups from Yahoo to Google through this…

Called Google Groups 2, the service builds on Google’s archive of more than 845 million Usenet postings and adds the ability for users to create and manage their own public and private mailing lists. It also offers faster indexing of postings for search and features for joining groups and tracking hot topics, Google officials said. [eWeek]

I created a group and am inviting anyone reading this to join… I figure we can carry on a parallel discussion though more directly between readers if you like. Just a test, no feelings hurt if no one is game… we’ll see if it sticks.

I don’t agree with the thinking here…

If you run a virus checker, it scans your messages. If you use email from your employer or school, they can scan your mail (and actually read it too), but GMAil seeks only to find relavent ads to send you based on context. The search is happening in an automated sense courtesy of the Google OS. I agree it might be creepy, but from what I understand of the Gmail UI (no account yet) it’s in a place that is obviously not your message, which will certainly avoid any advertorial issues or “paid inclusion” BS.

I think the key detail in all the Gmail hubbub, is that it’s free. Financially free… anyway. If you choose to use it, you accept the terms. If you don’t want it, there are other options (yahoo, hotmail etc…) who will also conveniently scan your mail…

There’s a catch, however. Google intends to run ads down the side of the e-mail messages in Gmail, just like it does in its search results. And, just as on the search pages, the Gmail ads will be triggered by key words in the body of the text — in this case, the text of your e-mail. So if I get an e-mail that refers to, say, a kind of product, I might get an ad for a store that sells that product.

The problem here isn’t confusion between ads and editorial content. It’s that Google is scanning your private e-mail to locate the key words that generate the ads. This seems like an invasion of privacy. Google notes its scanning will be done by computers, and that these machines can’t understand the e-mails and are just looking for specific terms. And the company notes that nearly every e-mail anybody receives is already scanned by computers looking for spam or viruses.

These are logical points, but the proposed system is still a little creepy, and it has the potential for big problems if the content scanning were ever misused by Google. Google might also be forced to use such content scanning in the service of government subpoenas or court orders that might apply to years’ worth of its customers’ e-mails. [WSJ.com]

Sure it costs nothing and offers 1 GB of storage, but Google’s newly announced Gmail service gives some privacy advocates the creeps. A program would scan missives for keywords and serve ads based on the content. [Wired News]

Update – 4:28PM

Cnet has similar coverage as well.

I’m not sure the targeted messaging bothers me so much within a free product. It gives Google great incentive to make an already good product (AdWords) better through a crazy amount of text to search (X users x up to a Gig of email). It is after-all a free product, so you would expect some ads. It should be a whole lot nicer than, the banners you get slammed with on Hotmail and Yahoo Mail. My guess is that the ads will be pretty relevant and probably get a pretty good click-through… have to start seeing how people report conversion numbers once the service is live.