Reclaiming my inbox
When using services like gmail for your email needs, I think most people come to the point where they just give up regarding marketing email. I say this as opposed to spam which gmail has very effectively dealt with in a way such that I’ve just forgotten about it ever being an issue. These other emails come from every web site you ever signed up to, your bank, random people you have bought something off ever and the list goes on and on and on. All of them take the opportunity to send you an email once a month or more often for the more retarded ones. Pretty soon your inbox is full of this sort of semi-spam which Google rightly doesn’t filter away. Enough is enough!
If you want your inbox to look like your inbox, eg someone I give a damn about has sent me an email, then the deluge of this commercial junk mail is a problem. It’s also a problem if you want your phone to usefully go bing when you get an email, not the latest fucking el-cheapo LCD TV from Krogan.
My past solution to this was to shift email address every few years but I’m kind of attached to this one. So I decided to claim it back. I would systematically unsubscribe from all of these asshats. Since they’re actual companies “best practice” dictates it should just need a click in the footer and it’s done. Mostly that’s true although there’s plenty that make it harder and some which don’t include it at all which is actually Evil. Bit by bit though I did a few a day. I must have done 50 or so now and I don’t think I’m done yet. However my inbox is looking like my actual inbox once again.
All I need to do is get Google’s Buzz the hell out of my inbox (which seems stupid because it’s actually a folder under your inbox also – why not put this shit there?) and maybe create a couple of extra labels for actual useful (and obligatory apparently) emails from people like my bank and mobile operator telling me that bills have arrived. Of course it also requires that I look at the web in a different way and make absolutely sure people understand I haven’t given them permission to send me junk mail. That also includes checking through the tickboxes when registering on forums and that kind of thing…
