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So it famously worked really well to create desire around Gmail, but it also famously didn't actually get anyone to use Google Plus or Google Wave. I was desper
by wcunning 3y ago
So it famously worked really well to create desire around Gmail, but it also famously didn't actually get anyone to use Google Plus or Google Wave. I was desperate for invites to both and then... never found a reason to use them? So it probably does better in terms of rate limiting than anything else. Maybe the right modern comparison would be Threads to BlueSky?
- ghaff 3y agoEveryone increasingly needed email at the time, people weren't especially wedded to their current email providers, and Gmail was arguably better than whatever they were using and free. Google Plus was a social network that never got widely used outside of certain circles and Wave was this new weird thing that never took off.
- coffeebeqn 3y agoThe free alternatives were also kind of ridiculous with terrible UX. Like hotmail was the best MS could do
- ghaff 3y agoYahoo wasn't terrible but Gmail was definitely better. I kept using Yahoo for a while as the address I used when I ordered stuff but over time Gmail tabs did a pretty good job of compartmentalizing email and it made more sense to just have the one address.
- JoshTriplett 3y agoDon't forget gmail having 1GB of storage at a time when most email providers offered a few MB.