June 16, 2004
G-mail
After getting five more invites, a probably not-so-original thought occurred to me: G-mail invites are all part of very devious trick! The G-mail "beta" has become a marketing tool aimed at developing a large customer base where there was none, and all of this is created before public release. By labeling something "invite only" or "beta test," there's an implied exclusivity. We like exclusivity. We want to be part of something special. We'll sign up, even if we wouldn't have, otherwise, to be part of something "special." In my previous post, I mentioned the "virus-like" spread of the e-mail client. I'm now patting myself on the back for such an apt metaphor.
Only in this case, the virus isn't all that bad. In fact, I'd say for an e-mail program, it's pretty revolutionary in concept and design. If we're not actually special, then maybe this e-mail service is. Google has taken the idea of e-mail out of that proverbial box and redefined the way we think and use our electronic mail.
There's always a "but" in these things, of course, and for G-mail, that "but" resides in one of the worst Address Boxes I've ever seen. Sure, it lists all your contacts, name and e-mail. Yes, it even allows for a notes section so you can remember that X uses Y e-mail for work and Z e-mail for home. And boy, that Outlook-like effect of filling in a person's full contact information with only a few key clicks sure is cool. But man, does it do nothing else. Group e-mail? Don't even think about it. Want to add a few others to your To: field? Sorry, no help there. If you look at all the little improvements that add up to such a great product, it's hard to imagine that Google could have overlooked such a basic e-mail element, but overlook it they did.
Here's my proposal: all of you who now have a G-mail account (and as far as I can tell, this is pretty much everyone I know), click "Help" in the top right, then click "Send Feedback" in the top left, and tell them to get their Address Book act together. I've done it twice. Eventually they'll figure it out...
Becca at June 17, 2004 09:55 AM
At this point in time we are selling for them. Almost everyone I know who wants gmail, has gmail. Now we have these invites and we feel this need to push them onto people (or some of us do) and bring them into the wonders of gmail. I feel like I am a drug pusher, trying to convince my dad he wants gmail instead of the email they have that is attached to comcast.net in case they want to change providers.
Personal recommendations (word-of-mouth) are one of the strongest forms of marketing there is. Google has done a damn good job...hmmm, they are in CA, maybe I should go try to work for them.
I do have to say, their support is lacking as well. My sister had an issue with her account and got no response at all. I am about to send her another invite to fix it.
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Ken at June 17, 2004 11:32 AM
the addressbook was one of the first things i requested they fix when i got an account; we'll see if they listen. they haven't made any significant outward changes to the code yet, so it may just be a matter of time.
the invite serves two purposes: you get steady, controlled growth, which is important for a system of this scale, and as you said, you also turn users into GMail proselytizers, in part from the good user experience, and in part from the feeling of power one gets in being "in the club" and able to control future invitations.
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