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I’m not sure when I started to hate Google, but I remember the day I broke free of them. I was a hardcore Gmail fan- had everything organized in perfect folder

I’m not sure when I started to hate Google, but I remember the day I broke free of them. I was a hardcore Gmail fan- had everything organized in perfect folders. I used it since the invite-only days. I survived the migration from folders to tags and eventually decided tags were better. Then one day I read about inbox… it was just a new interface. It required no commitment or migration, why not try it out? It was amazing! It broke me free from the shackles of organizing and let me treat email like a todo list instead. I was hooked. I used inbox for a long time- long enough for me to hate Google, but I knew I was hooked with email. It looks like I used inbox for around 4 years. Then… Google killed inbox. Well, there was no chance I would ever go back to awful Gmail after experiencing the glory of inbox, so that was just what I needed. I have my own email domain now and can switch providers as I see fit- no more will I be hooked into a product via email. Thank you Google for killing inbox! I don’t search with Google. I don’t use chrome. I don’t use android. I block as much of Google as possible. I very rarely use YouTube. I NEVER say ‘Google it’. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an Apple fanboy either, but I don’t hate them like I do Google.

warkdarrior 2y ago
"I am Google free" is the new "I don't own a TV"
timlatim 2y ago
Glad to see I'm not the only one missing Google Inbox! I don't believe it was widely popular, at the time I may have been the only one in my circle to use it, but for me its workflow was just perfect. It gave you a clutter-free mailbox that surfaced the right things at the right time with very little manual fiddling, something I never managed to replicate with Gmail since. The article might be overstating things, "hate" is strong word and not everyone outside the US shares the political reasons, but having a Google service you like end up axed is an experience more and more people can relate to. From Reader, to Inbox, to Play Music, to countless others, the company is oddly insistent on breaking things that just work and offering a subpar replacement (if one at all) that inevitably loses your data or requires manual transfer to fit how the other service is designed to work.

warkdarrior 2y ago

"I am Google free" is the new "I don't own a TV"

timlatim 2y ago

Glad to see I'm not the only one missing Google Inbox! I don't believe it was widely popular, at the time I may have been the only one in my circle to use it, but for me its workflow was just perfect. It gave you a clutter-free mailbox that surfaced the right things at the right time with very little manual fiddling, something I never managed to replicate with Gmail since. The article might be overstating things, "hate" is strong word and not everyone outside the US shares the political reasons, but having a Google service you like end up axed is an experience more and more people can relate to. From Reader, to Inbox, to Play Music, to countless others, the company is oddly insistent on breaking things that just work and offering a subpar replacement (if one at all) that inevitably loses your data or requires manual transfer to fit how the other service is designed to work.