E-mail As the New Database

jira writes "BBC has an article confirming the trend of using inbox as a sort of personal database. At my workplace I can personally attest to the growing sizes of those pst files and an unwillingness to erase any emails because of 'loss of information'." From the article: "The trend has become more pronounced as the services have dramatically increased their storage capacity in response to upstart Gmail offering a free service with 1,000 megabytes (Mb) of storage." Update: 04/22 23:03 GMT by Z : To reflect that the story is at respected news organization BBC, not a BBS.

Comments

Worst. Submission. Ever.

[michael path]

"BBS has an article confirming the trend of using inbox as a sort of personal database. At my workplace I can personally attest to the growing sizes of those pst files and an unwillingness to erase any emails because of 'loss of information'." From the article: "The trend has become more pronounced as the services have dramatically increased their storage capacity in response to upstart Gmail offering a free service with 1,000 megabytes (Mb) of storage."

BBS = The BBC
pst = Microsoft Outlook .PST
Gmail is no upstart, they're run by Google. Gmail currently offers 2121MB (that's Megabytes, not Mb - which is MegaBITS)

This isn't news. This is what Google had in mind when they started the Gmail service.

A few email tips I try to live by

[prototype]

These are a few tips I've found on the net that I've picked up and try to follow.

• Remember, your Inbox is your Inbox. It's not your To Do list. You don't use your paper inbox as a filing system, do you? (Okay, maybe you do. So how's that working for you, anyway?)
• Block out time to "process" email. And when you do, "process" it. Don't spend more than a minute or two on an email--and don't start down the road of firing off two or three emails for everyone you get, or diving into a project after you get to email 13 ("oh, ya! I owe him a project plan!" or "I should blog about that..."). Put it on your To Do list, and keep processing your inbox. If you can't do that, there may be other kinds of help available.
• Don't use your email as a filing system. And for heaven's sake, don't rescue a co-worker who is looking for something you happen to have tucked away in an email folder. Let them rescue YOU! If someone else owns a document/plan/conversation, let them store it for you. Chances are if you need it, someone else has it.
• Ignore Incoming Email until you have time to process it. Can you imagine if snail mail was real-time? Would you wait by your house's mailbox, and open each piece of junk mail as it came in? Thank goodness it only comes in once a day! And even though you pick it up daily, I bet you process that "inbox" only a few times a week. Change your default view on Outlook to open to your Calendar and Task List, rather than your Inbox. Turn off the popup toast and reminder sound when email comes in. Don't respond immediately to each incoming email.
• Pick up the phone once in a while. You'd be surprised at how much you can get done in a phone call rather than on email.

Outlook makes this a nightmare

[EvilStein]

Ever have to deal with a bloated and corrupted .pst file?

No fun.

Users that like to keep everything on the planet should probably think twice about trusting it all to Microsoft Outlook (or any local POP email client, for that matter)

IMAP rocks. :-)

Legitimate concerns about Google and privacy

[isolationism]

It was recently brought to my attention (by a more educated person than I am) that by using Gmail I am trusting Google with my personal information -- whatever that may be -- forever. Because deleting something from Gmail almost assuredly means nothing more than a "deleted" flag in a database somewhere, not an actual deleted file.

Of course, after having this pointed out to me it I realised -- "too late" -- that this should have been obvious to me, only I had never bothered to give it any thought.

My point is, thanks for reminding us all of this fact in an appropriate forum. Google fanboys may mod you down but, you raise a very important and relevant point that deserves consideration. I hope I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Re:Managers never delete email

[Anonymous Luddite]

>> no record of any possible wrongdoing on their part

This is the same reason some people answer emails in person. They don't want it sitting in your mailbox either...

Re:Mb vs MB

[Queer Boy]

There's no universally accepted abbreviation for byte. Some people use B, some use b.

Yes exactly, and some people type "There going to the store to get groceries." some people type "Their going to the store to get groceries." and some people type "They're going to the store to get groceries."

The only reason why it doesn't seem universal is because people don't always use the right one. That does NOT make it more or less correct.