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Our Latest Posts About: Gmail

Gmail's Missing Features

Wednesday, May 24, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why doesn't Gmail have a way to sort mail?

Ever since the earliest days of the Internet, just about every major email system has had a way to sort your inbox... except Gmail. Why is that?

Don't get me wrong, I love Gmail, but I can't understand why Google left out this fundamental feature. Even the most basic email systems out there have always had the ability to sort you mail by date, sender, title, or even by the size of the attachments, so why doesn't Google offer it?

Why We Need Real Email Signatures

Sunday, May 7, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Just about every major security breach starts with a fake email.

We've all been told that we shouldn't click links in emails from people we don't trust. The trouble is, most viruses are sent in emails that look like they came from somebody you already know and trust. This is because it's nearly impossible to confirm who actually sent the email.

At the root of the problem is the fact that you don't have to hack somebody's email account to send an email that looks like it came from them. In fact, all you need to do is change the name and address in the "From" part of your email program and it will look like it came from them. This means you can sit in a coffee shop anywhere in the world and send an email that looks like it comes from anyone else in the world, without needing... [More]

Continue...Why We Need Real Email Signatures...

Email Should Have Expiration Dates

Sunday, March 26, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

My email archives are loaded with useless emails for things like Black Friday sales from over 10 years ago. That's stupid.

Even though there's virtually unlimited space in our inboxes, there's no reason to archive most of our emails, especially promotional emails for limited time promotions and other time sensitive events. That's why I think there should be an Expiration Date option in emails.

An Email Expiration Date would simply be an optional date you would enter just before sending an email. If you leave it out, it would work as it does now, without an expiration date, but by simply adding an expiration date the email would have a definitive lifespan, allowing it to be deleted automatically when the expiration date passed.

This could have a tremendous effect on cutti... [More]

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My Favorite Gmail Feature... That's Missing.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why doesn't Gmail have a way to let US control our inbox tabs?

I love Gmail, but it still takes me forever to read my email each day because it's loaded with so much clutter. Some of it is automatically sorted into Gmails default tabs "Primary", "Social", "Promotions", "Updates", and "Forums". It helps a bit, but there is no direct way for us to control how Gmail sorts mail into those tabs, and for what it's worth, I'd rather create my own.

What I'd love to see is a quick way to tag a sender as a "Favorite", then have a simple "Favorites" tab where I can see mail from all of my favorites in one place.

A Hidden Gmail Feature That Can Organize Your Inbox.

Monday, September 19, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Here's how to take advantage of a little known Gmail feature that can simplify your inbox.

Did you know that Gmail ignores periods in Gmail address? So Ladybugkiller123@gmail.com is the same as Lady.Bug.Killer.123@gmail.com, and L.adyBug.Killer.123@gmail.com.

You may not think much of this, but it opens the door to a whole bunch of cool tricks, including the ability to Automatically organize your inbox and cut down on Spam.

The premise is simple. Since Google ignores the periods, you can use multiple variations of your email address on business cards and whenever you sign up for things online, then create simple filters based on where the periods are.

For example, if you use periods in specific positions whenever you register your email address for sites like Ama... [More]

Continue...A Hidden Gmail Feature That Can Organize Your Inbox....

Gmail Should Let You Schedule When To Send Emails

Tuesday, July 26, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

One of the best features of Microsoft Outlook is the ability to schedule when to send a message... Why can't we do that with Gmail?

The most frustrating thing about clearing your Inbox is that as soon as you reply to an email, your recipient send you another reply. You can spend an hour replying to 50 emails, only to have 50 new ones within a few minutes. This is particularly frustrating if you decide to do clear your inbox at night or on the weekend.

The ability to schedule an email gives you the power to clear your inbox by responding to messages, without actually sending them until later. So you can clear your inbox at off hours, then send them all out at 4 am, so your recipients won't respond until the the next day... or the next week, or whatever time and date you'd lik... [More]

Continue...Gmail Should Let You Schedule When To Send Emails...

User Defined Groups in Gmail

Tuesday, April 12, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Gmail needs a way to quickly add senders into your own easily defined groups.

My inbox has thousands of emails in it, so it's easy to overlook an important email from a friend, family member or business contact. What I'd like to see is an option that lets me create my own categories, then assign a sender to one of these categories with a single click.

Then, whenever an email comes in it can be automatically assigned the category tags so I can find them.

Tags can be broad, such as Friends, Family, Business, or very specific, such as School Soccer Team Parents.

Technically, Google already has the ability to create your own tags, and they even have a system to let you create your own rules and filters to assign people into your tags, but it's not easy to set up. What they... [More]

Continue...User Defined Groups in Gmail...

Did You Know... Gmail Ignores Periods?

Thursday, December 3, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

How to take advantage of periods in Gmail addresses.

A lot of people aren't aware that Gmail ignores periods in Gmail address. So JohnSmith123@gmail.com is the same as John.Smith.123@gmail.com, and J.o.h.n.Smith.12.3@gmail.com.

While that may not sound groundbreaking, it does open the door to a whole bunch of cool tricks, including the ability to automatically organize your inbox and cut down on Spam.

The principal is pretty simple. Since Google ignores the periods, you can give out multiple variations of your email address, and create simple filters based on where the periods are. For example, if you use periods in specific positions whenever you register your email address at shopping sites, you can create a simple Gmail filter that automatically applies a label like... [More]

Continue...Did You Know... Gmail Ignores Periods?...

Email Should Ask Before Sending Many CCs

Wednesday, December 2, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Sending hundreds of emails to a private list is a common mistake.

The CC: box is a fraction of an inch from the BCC: box when you send an email, so it's easy to accidentally paste a long list of emails in the wrong box. That little mistake can cause a ton of problems for the sender, and everyone in the list.

For example, I got an email today that was meant for Amazon's Top 500 Reviewers. That's not unusual, I'm in the top 500. The trouble is, the sender didn't use BCC, so the message had the email address of just about ALL of the "Top 500"... Oops. Now everyone on the list has the email address of just about every top reviewer. That's a big privacy problem, and it's not the first time somebody made the same time with the Amazon list. In fact, a few weeks ago, the email a... [More]

Continue...Email Should Ask Before Sending Many CCs...

ISP Email Portability

Friday, November 20, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Your Internet Service Provider Shouldn't Own Your Identity.

Every major ISP offers a free email account to its subscribers. For example, if you get your Internet from Comcast, you're given an address @comcast.net. Sounds simple enough... or is it?

As time goes by, that email address becomes an important part of your identity. It's the address you give to family and friends who want to write you or send you photos. It's also the address you use whenever you register for things like shopping sites, bank accounts, credit cards, online bill pay, and countless other services.

In a nutshell, that email account IS your online identity. If you lose it, you've got a problem.

That's exactly what happens when some people move from one ISP to another. Some ISPs actuall... [More]

Continue...ISP Email Portability...

VideoMail.

Sunday, November 1, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Voicemail is so 1995!

When was the last time you heard a busy signal? Chances are, it's been at least 20 years. That's when all the major phone companies started including voicemail as an option.

Voicemail made it possible to leave a message to somebody whenever they didn't answer. Unlike an answering machine, it also let you leave a message when the other person was on the phone.

Twenty years later, VoiceMail is bigger than ever, because literally every mobile or landline phone has voicemail as a standard option. This means that busy signals are virtually non-existent, and every caller has the option to leave voicemail.

Now that FaceTime calls are so common, shouldn't you have an option to leave a video message?

VideoMail is the natural evolution of VoideMai... [More]

Continue...VideoMail....

Authenticated Email Senders

Wednesday, October 7, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

The first step towards preventing fraud.

If you open your inbox, and see an email from a stranger with the heading "Check this out", would you trust it?

What if you saw the same email email from somebody you knew. Would you trust it? The problem is, many people would say yes, and that's exactly why scammers spend a lot of time trying to figure out the relationships between email addresses. Once they find a connection, they've got all they need to exploit it, and they don't need to hack your account to do it.

As it stands today, whenever you send an email, there isn't any system in place to authenticate who the sender is.

This means that anyone can send an email to any email address in the world, and configure their software to say that it came from you, and the... [More]

Continue...Authenticated Email Senders...

Gmail Encryption. Encrypt Email Before Sending... Passwords Shared Verbally.

Monday, September 7, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

For your eyes only.

If you wrote an email that you absolutely, positively want to be read by one person... how could you do it?

If you put it in a regular email, there's no guarantee it will remain private. First of all, Google's server can read it. Although it's just a search engine, it does mean that their server will potentially use some of that information to determine what kinds of ads you'll see on millions of websites, which could indirectly reveal the nature of your messages. For example, a friend once sent me an email asking me my opinion about a cordless electric lawnmower, and I started to see a ton of ads on dozens of websites even before I read the email.

Second, if somebody gains access to your cellphone, or your computer after you've already logged on, they... [More]

Continue...Gmail Encryption. Encrypt Email Before Sending... Passwords Shared Verbally....

More Gmail Domains.

Friday, September 4, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

With nearly 1 BILLION Gmail accounts, it's become nearly impossible to create a new account with a good address.

When Google first introduced Gmail, it was pretty easy to come up with a good address that wasn't already taken. Now that there are over 900 million accounts, it's nearly impossible to create an account without adding a bunch of numbers at the end.

The main reason people get a Gmail address is they love the features, so why not offer the same features with a choice of other domains?

Google owns thousands of domains, and I'm sure some of them are the kinds of domains that are fun, and easy to remember. So, when somebody tries to create an account that is already taken, they should offer them the option to select the account name they wanted at another one o... [More]

Continue...More Gmail Domains....

Buttons To Report Fraud

Saturday, July 25, 2015 12:39 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Just about every email system has a button to report Spam... but you never see buttons to report fraud, which is much worse.

I realize everyone hates Spam, but online fraud is a much bigger problem. Spam is basically a nuisance, but the damages from online fraud can be catastrophic. Every day, scammers send millions of fraudulent emails in the hopes of tricking people into giving them money or personal information, so why don't they make it easier for people to report fraud?

Reporting Spam couldn't be easier, because there's generally a simple button right above the message, but the option to report fraud requires people to look around for a link in a menu. Most people don't even know it's there.

If more people reported fraudulent emails, email providers could not only b... [More]

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Gmail Reseller Program.

Thursday, June 18, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why doesn't Google have a Reseller Program for Gmail?

We all know people with horrible email addresses with all sorts of numbers at the end. I'm sure it wasn't their first choice. After all, who would select "MonkeyBuns7474505B@gmail.com" if they didn't try at least a few dozen other ones first.

The trouble is there are literally hundreds of million Gmail users out there, so it's become nearly impossible to register a good @gmail.com address that isn't already taken, without adding some numbers to the end.

The easy solution is for Google to offer addresses at other domains.

They already offer Gmail at other domains to corporate users using Google Apps, but those companies pay a monthly fee for each account. Because of this monthly fee, Google doesn't show advertising... [More]

Continue...Gmail Reseller Program....

Gmail Aliases. Multiple Addresses... One Account.

Monday, May 4, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Email would be drastically easier to manage if Google offered Gmail Aliases.

Whenever you go to a trade show, you get flooded with emails from almost every company you visited for the next few months. Wouldn't it be great if every one of those emails could be segregated, rather than piling up in your regular inbox?

Or what if you simply want to separate your business or social media emails from your personal mail? Right now, the easiest way to do this is to create multiple email accounts. Then, whenever somebody asks for your email address, you give them one of your other accounts, instead of your regular personal account.

The trouble with that is you have to keep all those other inboxes open a the same time, which takes up multiple browser tabs and resources.

A bett... [More]

Continue...Gmail Aliases. Multiple Addresses... One Account....

GMail Should Have a Favorites Option

Wednesday, March 11, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

There was a time when I was excited whenever I heard my computer say.. You've got mail!

Back in the early 90s, just about every email was from somebody I knew, so I simply couldn't wait to open my inbox. Most of the time, my inbox was completely empty, so hearing that familiar sound let me know somebody took the time to write me, and I looked forward to each and every one.

Today, I get hundreds of emails each day, but unlike the 90s, very few are from people I actually know. I still get emails from people I know, but the longer I take to open my mailbox, the more they get buried in the clutter. On a particularly busy day, there's a very strong chance that an important email will be missed entirely.

There's an easy answer to this. Google should give people a simple "Favo... [More]

Continue...GMail Should Have a Favorites Option...

Smart Tags in Gmail

Thursday, February 5, 2015 10:42 PM By Joe Crescenzi

Gmail tags are awesome. They just need better tools to automatically tag emails as they come in.

When Google released Gmail, it didn't have folders; it had tags. For some people this was considered crazy, because they were so accustomed to the idea of putting things into folders that they couldn't even consider an email system without them.

Eventually people learned that unlike placing an email into one folder, they could tag any given email with as many tag names as they want, making it easy to find an email that fit more than one category.

For example, if you received an email with a proposal from a client who is waiting for a reply, you might tag that email as:

Clients... because it's a client.
Proposals... because it's a proposal.
Pending... because you are still... [More]

Continue...Smart Tags in Gmail...

Send Later Option in Gmail... Hold Mail Until You Release Them

Friday, January 2, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

It's your day off and eMails are piling up. You want to reply, but you don't want everyone to see you're active and keep the conversation going.

For many people, having access to mail while you're out of the office is a blessing, and a curse. Even on your day off, the more you clear out your inbox, the more people respond and you're back where you started. What's worse, now that they see you're writing emails, why not just call you too?

The solution is to hold all your replies, until you are ready to release them. The best time for that could be at the end of the day, or first thing in the morning.

There are ways to do this using programs like Outlook, and using a Blackberry, but it's not easy using Gmail.

Using Gmail, you can reply as usual, then close the editor wi... [More]

Continue...Send Later Option in Gmail... Hold Mail Until You Release Them...

A Guaranteed Spam-Free, Pre-Encrypted Email Service

Friday, December 26, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Hacked emails have become so common that the Russians actually started using typewriters to insure privacy. There's a better way.

Some of the best ideas are at their heart, simple. This one is both easy and complicated. The core concepts are very easy to implement, but the complicated part is finding somebody willing to launch such a service. After all, if they do it right, it will make them billions.

Here's how it would work.

Unlike traditional email services, which send plain, unencrypted text through the Internet, this service would be a closed system. In order to communicate with somebody using this secured system, both sides would need to be subscribers of the service, and both would be required to accept an invitation to communicate with each other.

Exampl

... [More]

Continue...A Guaranteed Spam-Free, Pre-Encrypted Email Service...

Block Emails With One Click

Sunday, December 7, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

When unsubscribe doesn't work, why not just block the sender?

Everyone hates spam. But every day, we seem to get more spam in our InBoxes than anything else. Time after time, we hit the "Spam" button, or look for "Unsubscribe" links, but somehow they keep coming. As I wrote about recently, sometimes even after using an Unsubscribe button, we get a message telling us it will take at least 30 days to stop receiving emails.

Wouldn't it be easier if we just clicked a button that said "Block Sender"? Then viola! From that second on, any emails from that sender go right into the Trash.

Sometimes I wonder if the reason they don't have a button like that right now is because that would immediately become the most popular button on the planet and the volume of email would dro... [More]

Continue...Block Emails With One Click...

Unsubscribe Links Should Always Be Instant.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

You decide you no longer want to get daily emails from Rubber Chicken of the Day, so you click the Unsubscribe button, and it tells you it will take 28 days to stop getting emails. 28 days. Really?

Here's a simple idea. It doesn't matter if you use a third party marketing company to send your emails. You've got a computer. They've got a computer. It's not hard to provide a simple way for them to get up-to-date lists that are current as of the exact moment they send your emails.

I've been in the computer industry for over 34 years, so it boggles my mind when I click Unsubscribe, then see a message telling me I'll still get emails for up to 28 days or more, Are they that lazy? Or are they simply that reluctant to get you to stop getting their emails.

Even a lazy progr... [More]

Continue...Unsubscribe Links Should Always Be Instant....

Gmail Idea... An Inbox Showing Just Emails From REAL PEOPLE.

Friday, October 24, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Have you noticed that most of your current inbox Isn't from actual people?

I remember the first time I ever received an email from a company, rather than a person. Before the Internet, every email I ever wrote or received was from somebody I knew. Back then, there was no @ in your email address because you could only send mail to a small group of people who happened to use the same online service as you.

Once the Internet came along, everything changed. I remembered getting this odd email and thinking... who the heck is this? My first reaction was to write them back and ask them if it was a mistake. I wondered how they even knew my email address. I didn't get a response. How rude. I couldn't imagine why anyone would take the time to write me, and not even write me back... [More]

Continue...Gmail Idea... An Inbox Showing Just Emails From REAL PEOPLE....

Gmail Is Getting Way Too Creepy. They Need to Re-Think How They Read Our Mail.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Google knew that I was shopping for a lawnmower... even before I did. That's creepy.

As many people know, when Google introduced Gmail, in the Terms of Service, Google reserves the right to use the content of your emails to serve targeted advertising. They don't hide it. They try to make it a point of telling you it's there.

When Gmail first started, it was pretty simple. If you were reading an email about sneakers, there was a good chance the advertising on the Gmail page might be related to sneakers. It freaked some people out at first, including a lot of people in Congress. Google defended their system by making it clear that although their software was indeed reading your email, no human was. At worse, you saw some ads next to your email that seemed to know what you... [More]

Continue...Gmail Is Getting Way Too Creepy. They Need to Re-Think How They Read Our Mail....

Idea For Email Providers to Reduce Clutter - Create Expiration Dates for Emails.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

My Gmail Inbox has over 5,000 emails in it.... plus countless archived junk

Let's face it, some of us get too many emails.

If you are the typical Gmail user, you've been conditioned to archive your email, instead of deleting it. After all, they give you virtually unlimited space and the awesome power of Google's Search to find any email you may be looking for.

The trouble is, after nearly a decade of Gmail, our mailboxes are full of so much clutter that every search is like finding a needle in a haystack.

My Solution... Expiration Dates for Emails

Think about it, you open an email in October, and by December... it's gone, without lifting a finger. How cool would that be?

Since the protocol for email is not easily changed, I think an easy solution is for Em... [More]

Continue...Idea For Email Providers to Reduce Clutter - Create Expiration Dates for Emails....

Cat Video Network

Ketchonnaise - Pre-Mixed Ketchup and Mayonnaise

A Guaranteed Spam-Free, Pre-Encrypted Email Service

iPhone and iPad Keyboards Should Show Numbers Too

Sleeveless Snuggies!

Don't Bother With SEO. Use Real People Optimization Instead.

3 Ways Smoke Alarms Can Be More Pet Friendly

Emergency Contact Info Needs to Bypass Locked Phone

Autocorrect Should Translate Text Slang into English... Because Kids Actually Think It's Correct Grammar

Lookalike Finder Site

Out of Ideas? Fusion of Two or More Ideas Could Change Everything.

How Camera Makers Can Simplify On-Camera White Balance

Darth Vader is Retuning to Star Wars

A Bedside Book Projector - Read Books on the Ceiling!

Reinvent The Wheel? YES. There's Always Room For Improvement.

Amazon Echo as an Intercom. Room to Room Communication, Even Across the World.

TV Needs More Shows Like Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood... The Seinfeld of Children's TV

Stop using default Security Questions... here's why.

A Car Periscope? Why Not?

Digital String on Your Finger... To Remind You You Left Something Behind...

Use Social Media to Listen To Your Customers, or They'll find Somebody Who Does.

Why Doesn't Apple Offer a FULL SIZED Wireless Keyboard?

How Banks Can Make Checking Accounts More Secure

4 Cell Phone Parental Control Ideas Your Kids are Guaranteed to Hate.

.Podcast Domain TLDs. A Direct Domain For Podcasters.

* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

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