6 ms·

For me it was their marketing message. Empty, annoying, misleading and filled with pats on the back, Apple style. Except I can't find anything innovative

kristianc 6y ago
For me it was the ‘I want you to send us a cringey letter straight up begging for an invite’.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- srik 6y ago
  It’s a classic marketing strategy that has an extremely high success rate - making the prospect justify why they are a fit for you instead of the usual other way.
  - Macha 6y ago
    Or they drag it out so long that everyone loses interest because their friends aren't there (Google+)
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
randomsearch 6y ago
Come on, nothing innovative? It really is innovative. Whitelist screening, batch replying, proper “reply later” etc I think imbox is embarrassing, and I don’t like the graphic design, but it’s definitely innovative and good for them for doing something different.
- moooo99 6y ago
  I completely agree with you. The product itself is quite innovative. Sure, its an email client which itself isn't re-inventing the wheel. But the features they built for a better email experience are quite innovative. But I also don't like their UI and their "Imbox" marketing nonsense. It also bothers me that they don't allow third party clients.
- racism 6y ago
  Whitelist is RACIST.
- alecbenzer 6y ago
  I think there's a subset of tech folks that don't really value UX (which is like 90% of hey's value-add). It's the same people that don't understand Slack's value because "it's just over-hyped IRC"
  - sqrt17 6y ago
    A surprisingly large subset of those tech folks can and does improve the UX of their Mail and Chat life using basic scripting on top of a simple but flexible UI. Both Slack and Hey say F U to that and force you to do everything your way. No standards compliance, no tailoring of the UX to your actual needs.
    - alecbenzer 6y ago
      Focusing on hey for a sec: I understand that some people might prefer a system where they can take various components and combine them how they like best, in the same way some people like to cook their own meals. But what's weird is this sense of anger at products that aren't as flexible. It's like being upset that a new restaurant opened up because they have a set menu and don't let you make your own food. If you like cooking your own meals, great! Keep doing that. This restaurant is for people that want someone else to make a meal for them. With slack I understand the frustration a little more, since it's something an entire company is going to be using and asking you to use.
      - pletsch 6y ago
        Counter point: Hey is asking you to commit for a year, if I was going to the same restaurant every day for a year, assuming the other ingredients are on the menu elsewhere, I would expect being able to make substitutions and change meals up a bit.
        alecbenzer 6y ago
        I think the metaphor starts to break down a bit here because variety is usually specifically desirable when it comes to food, but not really when it comes to email or any app's workflow.
- cwhiz 6y ago
  Mailbox did most of these features 5-7 years ago. There are some innovative things here but they want $99/year for it and it doesn’t support IMAP. It’s also ugly as sin and looks straight out of 2007. The biggest hurdle is that it just won’t play nice with all of my email accounts. I would have to maintain my “normal” mail application and also maintain Hey. The benefits Hey might offer are ruined by not being able to have a consistent workflow across all of my accounts.
- pletsch 6y ago
  You can already whitelist by using a filter to send everything other than contacts to a folder you choose. I don't think I've ever had a need for batch replying. I do like the renaming subjects though, just not for $100/yr.

kristianc 6y ago

For me it was the ‘I want you to send us a cringey letter straight up begging for an invite’.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
srik 6y ago
It’s a classic marketing strategy that has an extremely high success rate - making the prospect justify why they are a fit for you instead of the usual other way.
- Macha 6y ago
  Or they drag it out so long that everyone loses interest because their friends aren't there (Google+)

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

randomsearch 6y ago

Come on, nothing innovative? It really is innovative. Whitelist screening, batch replying, proper “reply later” etc I think imbox is embarrassing, and I don’t like the graphic design, but it’s definitely innovative and good for them for doing something different.

moooo99 6y ago
I completely agree with you. The product itself is quite innovative. Sure, its an email client which itself isn't re-inventing the wheel. But the features they built for a better email experience are quite innovative. But I also don't like their UI and their "Imbox" marketing nonsense. It also bothers me that they don't allow third party clients.
racism 6y ago
Whitelist is RACIST.
alecbenzer 6y ago
I think there's a subset of tech folks that don't really value UX (which is like 90% of hey's value-add). It's the same people that don't understand Slack's value because "it's just over-hyped IRC"
- sqrt17 6y ago
  A surprisingly large subset of those tech folks can and does improve the UX of their Mail and Chat life using basic scripting on top of a simple but flexible UI. Both Slack and Hey say F U to that and force you to do everything your way. No standards compliance, no tailoring of the UX to your actual needs.
  - alecbenzer 6y ago
    Focusing on hey for a sec: I understand that some people might prefer a system where they can take various components and combine them how they like best, in the same way some people like to cook their own meals. But what's weird is this sense of anger at products that aren't as flexible. It's like being upset that a new restaurant opened up because they have a set menu and don't let you make your own food. If you like cooking your own meals, great! Keep doing that. This restaurant is for people that want someone else to make a meal for them. With slack I understand the frustration a little more, since it's something an entire company is going to be using and asking you to use.
    - pletsch 6y ago
      Counter point: Hey is asking you to commit for a year, if I was going to the same restaurant every day for a year, assuming the other ingredients are on the menu elsewhere, I would expect being able to make substitutions and change meals up a bit.
      - alecbenzer 6y ago
        I think the metaphor starts to break down a bit here because variety is usually specifically desirable when it comes to food, but not really when it comes to email or any app's workflow.
cwhiz 6y ago
Mailbox did most of these features 5-7 years ago. There are some innovative things here but they want $99/year for it and it doesn’t support IMAP. It’s also ugly as sin and looks straight out of 2007. The biggest hurdle is that it just won’t play nice with all of my email accounts. I would have to maintain my “normal” mail application and also maintain Hey. The benefits Hey might offer are ruined by not being able to have a consistent workflow across all of my accounts.
pletsch 6y ago
You can already whitelist by using a filter to send everything other than contacts to a folder you choose. I don't think I've ever had a need for batch replying. I do like the renaming subjects though, just not for $100/yr.