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Google Launches AMP For Email To Bring Web-like Actionable Content To Gmail (venturebeat.com)

Posted by msmash on from the but-why dept.

Google today announced an extension of the AMP (accelerated mobile pages) program to include another popular communications medium. From a report: The internet giant unveiled the Gmail developer preview of AMP for email, a web-like experience designed to make emails more engaging and interactive. One of the key benefits of AMP for email will be that content within an email can be updated, and recipients will be able to browse email content much like they would a web page. So an email from Pinterest, for example, could contain actionable content, allowing users to Pin content to their own Pinterest account without leaving Gmail. Or they could complete a form to arrange a meeting, fill in a questionnaire, and do just about anything -- all from within the email itself. It's clear that marketers will be a major target audience here.

11 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. Maybe it's the decades of viruses by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    sent via email talking, but no, God no. Do not want.

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    1. Re: Maybe it's the decades of viruses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      But just think of the advertising and analytics opportunities it gives to Google!

    2. Re: Maybe it's the decades of viruses by Cryacin · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'm more thinking of all of the security policies the banks have about email being a "secure" medium...

      Dear Mr. Smith,
      Please log into your internet banking here, as a fraudulent transaction has been detected by our software:
      Username:
      Password:
      Submit

      From Russia with love.

      --
      Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
  2. NO oooo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Another major bandwidth hog and malware assault vector.

  3. AMP is irrelevant by loufoque · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just stop trying to create technologies that do the same thing as what established standards already do, but in a sillier way.

  4. No. Stop. Don't. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Email should be a flat, inert, self-contained message. Links if you need them, but otherwise *stop*

  5. F__K NO!!! by Major_Disorder · · Score: 5, Funny

    Words can not explain how much I do not want this.
    I know it is only Tuesday, but I am calling this as worst tech idea of the week.

    --
    First law of people: People are generally stupid.
    1. Re:F__K NO!!! by Rakarra · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Ideas need to be combated aggressively. How it works in the tech world is that if you just sit back passively and say "eh, not for me," then the powers that be will make it default, and more and more companies will use it exclusively. There will be a short period where you really can opt out, but as it gains more traction, you will be more cut off and marginalized like folks who, say, refuse to use sites that require Javascript. The vast majority will always choose something more functional, regardless of security concerns. As long as they don't care, don't expect that just sitting back and doing nothing will keep you safe from this -- especially since the advertisers, the trackers, and general do-badders REALLY want it, and they have a lot of resources to push for it.

  6. all I'll need to know is how to block/disable it by mikeabbott420 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    a feature whose primary uses will be to make spam more annoying and phishing more surreptitious

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  7. I don't want my mail "engaging and interactive." by nctritech · · Score: 5, Insightful

    At what point does email just replicate the functions of a web browser and thus is no longer "email?" STOP TRYING TO MAKE MY EMAIL INTO A WEB PAGE. It's like the salesman who won't just drop off his brochure and instead talks to you for ten minutes; it's"engaging and interactive" but in a way that causes URGE TO KILL RISING.

  8. Re:Security? by unrtst · · Score: 4, Informative

    Google saves, complies, and sells the contents of every email. I don't know how email could be *less* secure.

    You and your parents post are discussing entirely different subjects, even though they both use similar words.

    I believe afidel was referring to the risk to the security of your local computer being greater if using a desktop client versus gmail. That may be debatable, but there are some good supporting facts for that.

    You are referring to information security, or the risk of your personal email data being exposed to others.

    While you do have a point (google can read all unencrypted emails and provides stats and such to advertisers), I'd still wager that your data is more secure on gmail servers than many other services. There's a wide range of email setups, but they typically fall in the range of:
    a) admin your own server and leave mail on server
    b) use some 3rd party email provider (your ISP, a paid for service, etc), and download mail to read locally with local email client
    c) use some webmail provider, like gmail ... and there are mixes in between each of those (ex. you can use gmail and download all mail to local client).

    Which of those provides the most security to the average users data, and to the average users PC? I think the big names in webmail fill that role, from fastmail to outlook.com to gmail. And if you admin your own server, you'd better be damned good at it, and good luck with your spam filter (though obscurity does helps here).