Gmail Idea... An Inbox Showing Just Emails From REAL PEOPLE.
By
Staten Island, NY Posted: 10/24/2014 1:00:00 AM
Have you noticed that most of your current inbox Isn't from actual people?
I remember the first time I ever received an email from a company, rather than a person. Before the Internet, every email I ever wrote or received was from somebody I knew. Back then, there was no @ in your email address because you could only send mail to a small group of people who happened to use the same online service as you.
Once the Internet came along, everything changed. I remembered getting this odd email and thinking... who the heck is this? My first reaction was to write them back and ask them if it was a mistake. I wondered how they even knew my email address. I didn't get a response. How rude. I couldn't imagine why anyone would take the time to write me, and not even write me back. Eventually, that trend increased, and the idea of a "No-Reply" MailBot became the hallmark of every automated bulk emailer.
Fast forward over 23 years, and I've come to realize that as much as 95% or more of my current Inbox is not from people, but from automated mailing systems. Some of it is clearly spam. Some of it are important notifications, confirmations, subscriptions, social media updates and coupons.
I'm not proposing Gmail removes these other types of emails. I think there should be a way to designate a sender as a "Real Person", so they can be listed in their own Inbox Tab, just for emails that are not just priority, but are people that I may actually wish to reply to.
Gmail could start with their current tabbed Inbox feature which currently has "Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums", then just add at least one more, called "People"... or even just "Favorites", so you can decide what goes there.
To jumpstart the filter that designates which emails go in the People Inbox, they can filter most of the common senders, then detect things like senders starting with "No-Reply", and emails with unsubscribe links. It won't be perfect, but each user can fine tune it over time by checking or unchecking a "Real Person" checkbox when they open an email, which will add that address to the appropriate Inbox.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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