How Gmail happened: The inside story on its launch, ten years later
This doesn't show a full appreciation for gmail's timing.<p>Prior to gmail I had 4 (5?) different email addresses I moved through with different services. For lots of folks my age (~30) these email addresses we had predating gmail didn't <i>mean</i> anything. They weren't important, they were disposable. Gmail's release coincided with the time for many of us when email addresses starting becoming a thing that mattered. The release lined up with a general shift towards email as a first class communication mechanism.<p>Thanks to all of the things not covered in the email spec --- we are suffering from a bit of email lock in. We figured with phone numbers we needed to be able to take our phone numbers with us. They're a number people will use to communicate with us for the rest of our lives.<p>Email is similar, only it's not really practical to update everyone on your email address when you switch email providers. Some folks will argue that you can forward email from one address to another and reply from your new address - this isn't a real solution. You're still dependent on the intermediary solution. Not to mention that most people start typing in your name and just select the first auto complete address that shows up, so you'll have to always use the old service in case someone emails that address.<p>We really need innovation in email around some kind of portability. I have no idea how to design such a setup --- but right now it definitely feels like I can't leave gmail even if I want to. I have hundreds of people that know my email address as the only way to get in touch with me. I've signed up with my email address as my username at hundreds of sites at this point. Hell, half of those sites don't even let you change the email address of your account.<p>We're totally locked in.<p>-edit-<p>I see comments about using your own domain. While this is obviously a choice (and you can even use google apps for domains to interact with the address if you want) it's not a great solution for the masses.