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All these companies trying to innovate on email by making user interface tweaks should really re-adjust their priorities. Email at its core is a protocol. That

All these companies trying to innovate on email by making user interface tweaks should really re-adjust their priorities. Email at its core is a protocol. That's great. But we haven't achieved widespread encryption within the network (e.g. gmail reads everyone's emails). That's the user experience problem that needs solving. Everything else is just adding complexity to something that works well anyways.

utdiscant 6y ago
I am a Front user, and I am happily paying for the features on top of the email protocol delivered by Front. I am on the other hand not willing to spend money on better encryption. So while this might seem like the important problem to solve, I am pretty confident the market is telling a different story.
- timdaub 6y ago
  I think you're right that the market will tell another story. It's because as a person that makes decisions like a VC or CEO, it's easy to say yes to an integration with a company like Slack or Front, as the upcoming productivity increase of 1% may be directly atteibuted to it. However, it's a shortsighted and unsustainable way of making business as Slack gets replaced by Front and Feont gets replaced by some post-front company. If, in theory, they all focused on solving a human-rights issue like digital privacy, so many more people in markets could be permantently helped with.
axegon_ 6y ago
> All these companies trying to innovate on email by making user interface tweaks should really re-adjust their priorities. My thoughts exactly. Some of us remember Google's attempt ~10 years ago with Google Wave(I think that's what they called it) which had the exact same concept. Needless to say it failed miserably. Good idea in principle but it tried to solve a problem people didn't have. And even with the WFH shift due to the pandemic, I'd still argue that it's a problem few people have.
- timdaub 6y ago
  Also what I don't get is why companies are entering this uphill battle anyways. It's like trying to inovate on chairs, just because someone fell down once. But you can't fundamentally change the nature of chairs anymore. We've all agreed that they're useful. Doesn't mean that you can't invent a new type of chair! Email as a tool is mature and well working. Nobody denies that there could be more useful tooks when colaborating online than email. But upgrading and hence replacing or taking away email makes no sense. Why not develop something on the side if you're not interested in investing in protocol development.

utdiscant 6y ago

I am a Front user, and I am happily paying for the features on top of the email protocol delivered by Front. I am on the other hand not willing to spend money on better encryption. So while this might seem like the important problem to solve, I am pretty confident the market is telling a different story.

timdaub 6y ago
I think you're right that the market will tell another story. It's because as a person that makes decisions like a VC or CEO, it's easy to say yes to an integration with a company like Slack or Front, as the upcoming productivity increase of 1% may be directly atteibuted to it. However, it's a shortsighted and unsustainable way of making business as Slack gets replaced by Front and Feont gets replaced by some post-front company. If, in theory, they all focused on solving a human-rights issue like digital privacy, so many more people in markets could be permantently helped with.

axegon_ 6y ago

> All these companies trying to innovate on email by making user interface tweaks should really re-adjust their priorities. My thoughts exactly. Some of us remember Google's attempt ~10 years ago with Google Wave(I think that's what they called it) which had the exact same concept. Needless to say it failed miserably. Good idea in principle but it tried to solve a problem people didn't have. And even with the WFH shift due to the pandemic, I'd still argue that it's a problem few people have.

timdaub 6y ago
Also what I don't get is why companies are entering this uphill battle anyways. It's like trying to inovate on chairs, just because someone fell down once. But you can't fundamentally change the nature of chairs anymore. We've all agreed that they're useful. Doesn't mean that you can't invent a new type of chair! Email as a tool is mature and well working. Nobody denies that there could be more useful tooks when colaborating online than email. But upgrading and hence replacing or taking away email makes no sense. Why not develop something on the side if you're not interested in investing in protocol development.