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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009

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Twitter

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Online schemes take advantage of the holiday spirit

Nov 21, 09 3:12 PM CST
WHAT'S YOUR VICE?

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YouTube is like shots of tequila; Gmail is caffeine

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|NEXT STORY »

OPINION

Gmail Reveals Google's Achilles' Heel: 'Arrogance'

Search giant is starting to look a lot like the companies it toppled in late 90s: Blodget

By Nick McMaster| Posted Sep 17, 09 3:49 PM CDT|

(Newser) – Henry Blodget of the Business Insider recently switched from Yahoo Mail to Gmail, mainly because Yahoo had become “buggy, inconsistent, and unreliable.” For basic functionality—and spam-blocking—Gmail performs well. But he hates the "conversation model" for email. Why? "Because I can't easily find the exact message I'm looking for. Because I have to scroll down to find the new email. I can't change the headline of a message string if I want to just hit reply and change the topic."

But more than the model itself, Blodget hates that Google imposes it on the user. Why doesn’t Google offer the choice to view email in the conventional format? "Only one answer seems plausible, and it's the answer that gets to Google's Achilles heel: arrogance." Google has decided it knows what’s best for users, and that “leaves an opening for someone, somewhere to do what Google once did to Yahoo: Do it better.”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

The Gmail logo. (Google)

Yahoo headquarters is shown in Sunnyvale, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Google has apparently decided that the conversation format is 'better' than regular old email. And so the hell with me.
- Henry Blodget

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

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21 comments

VIEWING:

pkmac4
Sep 17, 09 3:53 PM CDT

Wow. I'm sure in three clicks of their heel Google could add this feature. It's by far the best e-mail service I've ever used as far as simplicity and customization goes. Reply

+19

IN RESPONSE:

ILikeMyDogMoreThnU
Sep 17, 09 4:00 PM CDT

exactly...sounds like bitching about NOTHING. if this guy added up the time it takes him to "scroll down" through his conversations it wouldn't add up to 1/100th of the time he used to spend taking spam out of his Yahoo! inbox.

+16

| 0 minutes ago

edbro
Sep 17, 09 4:00 PM CDT

Well, you could always ask for your money back. Reply

+15

IN RESPONSE:

dontlikeyou
Sep 17, 09 5:13 PM CDT

Exactly.

| 0 minutes ago

Unaffiliated
Sep 17, 09 4:17 PM CDT

Or you could use POP3 or IMAP and read your Gmail the old fashioned way in Outlook (or whatever desktop email program you choose). I prefer Gmail's convention for conversations. And when I need to find a conversation that's not right at the top, I can easily search for it. Reply

+14

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Sep 17, 09 5:56 PM CDT

Yes, this is true. Lots of email programs will work fine with gmail using POP3 this way, and you can make folders there. Folders are more difficult with IMAP . . . Gmail is the most flexible of the major free email providers. You can figure out a workaround for almost anything if you try. Still, I agree that gmail should offer the option of making folders on the web interface.

IN RESPONSE:

Unaffiliated
Sep 18, 09 10:10 AM CDT

Folders are OK, but I like labels better. You're not forced to choose one label over another, and you can easily create flexible label hierarchies.

| 0 minutes ago

Unaffiliated
Sep 17, 09 4:18 PM CDT

"Blarg! Anything that's not what I'm used to must be bad!" Reply

| 0 minutes ago

gogo
Sep 17, 09 4:22 PM CDT

It's a national story because old Henry Blodget of the Business Insider had a problem with Gmail? Old guys have problems with everything including yahoo, including gmail. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

KitKat302
Sep 17, 09 4:28 PM CDT

I have liek most people used all of the big name mail providors ( hotmail, yahoo, aol) and I really believe that GMail is the best so fatr Reply

| 0 minutes ago

gogo
Sep 17, 09 4:30 PM CDT

I think Henry Blodget of the Business Insider should stop using email altogether. n 2002, then New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, published Merrill Lynch e-mails in which Blodget gave assessments about stocks which conflicted with what was publicly published.[5] In 2003, he was charged with civil securities fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[6] He settled without admitting or denying the allegations and was subsequently barred from the securities industry for life. He paid a $2 million fine and $2 million disgorgement.[7] Reply

| 0 minutes ago

wizofeverything
Sep 17, 09 4:42 PM CDT

I agree with the writer and Gmail should give users an option like it does with a bunch of other features. But calling it arrogance and comparing to 90's companies it toppled sounds more like paid propaganda; by a rival. The writer only loses credibility; if there is any left. Reply

-1

| 0 minutes ago

Distie
Sep 17, 09 5:38 PM CDT

Sounds like this guy doesn't like Gmail simply because it's not Yahoo Mail. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

janbee
Sep 17, 09 7:04 PM CDT

It's not so much that Gmail is better than Yahoo, or that yes Mr Bloggett it's called free enterprise, and eventually a competitor will battle Google, like Google has been able even take down Microsoft a few notches....... It is the arrogrance of the Blodgett's, the Godin's and anyone else with enough hits to their blog to become newsworthy?? Been using Gmail abt 5 years now -- donlt know of one person that didn't have some adjustment to make and again not commenting abt the technology as much as Mr Blodgett -- go away -- why do we want to hear from you. It took you this long to leave the whom of Yahoo? Reply

| 0 minutes ago

reddist
Sep 17, 09 8:20 PM CDT

Whoah... how about taking a few moments and learning how to use gmail's filters and labels? The tools are built in, but ya gotta take the initiative to learn them. And I simply do NOT have the time to deal with the spam in my yahoo account. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Deebles
Sep 17, 09 9:11 PM CDT

Personally, I have my real name, no numbers etc. and I have a common name, on an AOL address-- that is when you are ooold. Got it in 1993. My gmail is for the kids. It's easy but I love the way the ads try to keep up with you. I write fiction and google some weird shit: how old was Mark Twain when Grant rode into Florida, MO to take it during the Civil War? For three weeks, I had the weirdest ads. One was actually about frogs. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

jolinevdk
Sep 18, 09 1:39 AM CDT

And the 'conventional way' wasn't imposed on us? All it takes is some getting used to. A month - max. THEN write an article about it, not after 5 prejudiced minutes as a Yahoo! fanboy. Seems like the writer revealed his Achilles' heel more than Google supposedly did. His: rigidity Reply

| 0 minutes ago

c0kkakahn
Sep 18, 09 2:44 AM CDT

Erm...cry more? Yahoo Mail just received a brand new update today and not for over 2 years has there been a notorious spam problem. Plus, they don't keep your data like Google does. Enjoy your internets, slaves. Reply

-1

| 0 minutes ago

Wireless.Phil
Sep 18, 09 9:00 AM CDT

What the heck is he talking about? I don't have this problem. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

ntnchamp2
Sep 18, 09 9:37 AM CDT

Well, my favorite feature in G-Mail would solve your problem: Search. The search function is very fast and I use it more often than not to find a message. Very easy. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

westonism
Sep 18, 09 6:52 PM CDT

There are billions of free email services out there, billions I tell you!! Don't let the door hit you... Reply

| 0 minutes ago

View all 21 comments »

Yahoo • Google • email • Gmail • search • Henry Blodget

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Gmail Reveals Google's Achilles' Heel: 'Arrogance'