09th Apr 2004
Gmail Me
I’m delighted to say that I just got invited for a Google email beta account: rickbruner at gmail dot com
Problem is, no one knows to email me at that address, so I can’t test how effective the system is yet. Please feel free to drop me a line there.
So far, it looks pretty cool. Automatically adds any email address you send to, to your address book, which is handy.
Also, per all the privacy anxiety about them targeting text ads against the text of your email messages, I think they’re fairly well covered on that score: they fully disclose that fact to you in an email from their staff waiting for you in your inbox when you open the account, so if you don’t like the deal, you can simply close the account at that point. To their advantage, however, the improved functionality of the service compared to the likes of Hotmail and Yahoo mail (a gigabyte of storage, search-based organization, topical threading) are enough incentive that most folks (like me) probably won’t care about them targeting ads in exchange. I do, however, wonder about the effectiveness of those ads, given that ads that come up against what my friends and I might be emailing about seem less likely to relate to my commercial interest than search phrases I’m hunting for on a search engine or even topically relevant subjects on an article I’m reading. But time will tell whether their business bet pays off or not. Meanwhile, I’m going to enjoy this cool email app.
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I think the privacy concerns go way beyond simply targeting ads. I suggest you research this a bit more before truly committing to this service. I think Germany has already banned gmail for these reasons.
When a coalition of 28 privacy and civil liberties groups write Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page a letter urging them to think again about the service, you have think there’s more going on than what you’ve dediced from Google’s privacy policy. Inserting ads on the fly requires a chain of directories, databases and logs, and a long memory. Those auditing trails could be correlated with data collected from Google’s search site, or social networking site Orkut. The fact that Google will keep your email messages even after you delete them is probably a violation of UK and European privacy laws, too, not to mention just plain creepy. Google’s use of cookies enable it to link personal details from a user’s email registration to their online surfing patterns, providing the most comprehensive understanding to date of a person’s life. Is that enough?
Whatever. I was unware of the letter, but having read it, I’m unmoved. Bottom line, they’re offering something of value. They’re not forcing anyone to use it. If they fully disclose that they target ads against the content of email messages, which they do disclose, I think they’ve done their part. At that point, it’s up to users to decide whether or not they consider that a problem.
I am a blogger. Obviously, I’m not paranoid about putting my personal details on the web.
i agree with mark, rick…. and the fact that it is akin to the patriot act of free email is not a good sign for the future of the internet.
I don’t get it. They disclose the practice. You can choose to use it or not. What’s the problem?
Regarding deleting, the privacy policy now says this: “Because we keep back-up copies of data for the purposes of recovery from errors or system failure, residual copies of email may remain on our systems for some time, even after you have deleted messages from your mailbox or after the termination of your account.” Maybe not as creepy as it sounded at first.
this is a test take it easy
Here the latest on what the EFF thinks about Gmail, and includes some interesting links at the bottom to others’ concerns:
http://blogs.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/001375.php#001375
I should just leave well enough alone on this topic, but then I came across this comment on Esther Dyson’s blog, she being a former EFF bigwig herself. I think she nails a key point a lot of the Gmail bashers are ignoring:
That is, no email is secure, if you’re really concerned about the Feds getting ahold of your secret thoughts. Emails leave snatchets of themselves on relay servers all across the web. Besides, the Feds already are reading your email. Have we forgotten about Carnivore, which well pre-dates Sept. 11, 2001?
For me googles privacy policy is acceptable. I dont mind some machine reading my mails as long as they dont disclose it to third party. I especially liked the threading of mails as conversations and the simple interface of Gmail.
However, I would be happy to get some features like notification (like Yahoo messenger), signature at the bottom and text mail (which they are going to introduce soon).
I am gradually shifting from my old web-based email to Gmail and asking my friends to ‘gMail’ me instead of saying eMail me.
Wow, scary residual copies of e-mails. I think we should call them exactly what they are so the public knows what Google is doing: backups. That’s all they are. Here’s what I think the problem is: Google has told everyone they are going to do what Yahoo! and MSN probably already do, without expressly telling you. I haven’t read Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail’s privacy policy, but I bet you agree to have your e-mail scanned for spam, viruses and “other purposes”. I bet backups are mentioned too. If anything is a complaint against Google’s privacy policy, it should be that they should lobby for better protection of e-mail older than 180 days and should not be pushing the “store everything” angle as hard as they are.
As I am a owner of a blogspot blog I own my Gmail for 3 weeks now and I must say It kicks ass!!!
Since when has general purpose free email became this grand fortress of security? Hotmail and Yahoo! mail get scanned anyway.
It is fashionable to bash Google. Many people who do not like their policies are looking for press or have financial interest in competitors.
I think it’s really good that Google has started to create adiitional features like Gmail. I’ve always liked it as a search engine but it wasn’t as good as Yahoo or MSN in terms of other services. I believe that now Google will become even more popular, there might be a lot of people who like the Gmail. If I didn’t have my domain name account, I would sign for Gmail as well.
Sure thing
i heard that google and yahoo offers , large memory for mail services.
Just a tip: dont use dictionary passwords!
Im sure people are sensible enough not to but just in case this article should scare you into sorting it out…
An exploit is doing the rounds… “Software designed to exploit the much lauded Gmail service has just been released this week. Aptly named “Gmail Hack” the software performs Dictionary and Brute Force Attacks against a GMail email account.”
fullstory:
http://www.bonar.co.uk/bonarmedia/html/print.php?sid=13