Friday, November 12, 2010

Facebook's Gmail Killer? Wow

Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...Image via CrunchBase
TechCrunch: Facebook’s Gmail Killer, Project Titan, Is Coming On Monday: @facebook.com email addresses ..... a full-fledged webmail client ..... Facebook has the world’s most popular photos product, the most popular events product, and soon will have a very popular local deals product as well. It can tweak the design of its webmail client to display content from each of these in a seamless fashion (and don’t forget messages from games, or payments via Facebook Credits). And there’s also the social element: Facebook knows who your friends are and how closely you’re connected to them; it can probably do a pretty good job figuring out which personal emails you want to read most and prioritize them accordingly.
Facebook has a huge advantage when it comes to email. Not all people who send you email are equal. And Facebook's social graph lets you determine your social concentric circles. And once you introduce the caste system into your inbox, you are in a much better shape.

There are few tech entrepreneurs around who innovate at Zuck's pace. Zuck is in a league of his own. Facebook never had a cofounder. The twins rowing boats never had a clue.

Mostly I am just thankful. I have been begging for inbox innovation for, like - pun intended, ever.

I have no idea what it will look like. This Facebook email might be as fundamental a departure as Gmail was. Gmail still rocks but it stopped innovating a long time ago. Gmail became to Google what the Internet Explorer became to Microsoft. There has been this attitude that we already have the best product,
Image representing Microsoft as depicted in Cr...Image via CrunchBase why bother innovating?

Email's bane has been that anyone can send you email. Facebook could cure that. On the other hand, Facebook might go too much in the other direction. In that, it might become super hard for people who don't know you to email you. That will create innovation space for Gmail which makes no pretensions of "getting" the social graph.

Facebook Needs To Revamp Email Next
Merging Conversations In Gmail
Checking In, Tweeting, Spotting, Updating
Priority Stream
Facebook's Aggression
Facebook And Twitter: The Only Two That Count
Facebook: Mobile, Social, Local, Deal, Check, Deal

Facebook has tried to capture every trend that has emerged. In that Zuck has shown Bill Gates tendencies. Bill Gates never saw a hot company he did not want to buy or bury during the 1980s. Pre-web burying was easier to do. But giving a good run for the money also counts.

Wow. This guy.

What could Facebook do next?

It could create great online work space.

It could go into search in a big, independent way. And then deal with like farms.

There is so much innovation it could do with the stream itself. The stream is to Facebook what the inbox is to Gmail.

Things are looking great for now. I am warmed by the pace.
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