We joined the i2Coalition

Word to the Wise has joined the i2Coalition. Today they posted our introduction to their blog.
Why did we do it?
Email, and online spaces, are so important to modern life. We shop, bank, communicate, play and interact online. The internet has facilitated everything from political revolution to coffee dates and international friendships. Steve watched the Berlin Wall fall from his college dorm room over the internet. The internet was a major factor in the organization of the Arab Spring and other political movements. And sometimes we just meet people online. BBSes, usenet, email, and social networks let us connect with each other.
With that being said, too many people see online spaces as nebulous and “not real.” But the reality is that people genuinely connect, organize, and participate in online spaces. Those spaces need to be protected so these things can continue. The internet is, in many ways, a very special and unique place that has facilitated the growth of millions of communities. Unless we protect the infrastructure, these communities will fall apart and be useless.

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Give Recipients Options

A few years ago I subscribed to a financial website that emails out articles about investing as well as a recap of your investments.  For the first few months I enjoyed reading these emails but as time went on, I found them less valuable and receiving them every other day they turned into a burden to clean up and deal with.
My options were to either unsubscribe or I could create a rule in Outlook to file away the emails to possibly read them later.
optionsWhat I would really like is the option to define how often I would receive the updates.  If I’m actively looking to change my investments, I would want to receive the emails daily.  I would also like to have the option for either a weekly or monthly email.
The frequency of mailings should be tailored to the subscriber. Buying a new car? I may want to see emails and reviews daily.  Just bought a new blender? I want to receive emails for the first few days learning about the different features and recipes. The idea is to present options to each subscriber on what they prefer.  It’s better to treat subscribers as individuals rather than sending the same message to your entire list.
The newsletter I was receiving does not provide me with any type of control over how many times I receive the updates. The newsletter is also lacking a working unsubscribe link leaving me no alternative to clicking “this is junk”.
Senders should consider providing recipients with options:

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Email can't be dead

Sitting in my drafts folder is a rant I wrote during one of the “email is dead” discussions. I think there’s a core of usefulness in my rant. The discussion was about how many click bait articles claim email is dead because people under 20 don’t have email accounts, or if they don’t, then they don’t check them.
Almost everything online is tied to an email account. Want Amazon prime? You need an email address. Want an Instagram account? you need an email address. Want access to Google docs? You need a gmail address. Want to buy almost anything off a website? You need an email address. Even for stuff that’s ostensibly displayed on mobile (event tickets, plane tickets, hotel check in info) they need an email address. Want to have access to iTunes? You need an email address. Want a blog hosted on blogspot? You need an email address.
Of COURSE people have email addresses. I will say that I’m finding myself using email a little less than I did. Facebook is a bit better at social networking than old school mailing lists and usenet. I mean, nothing will ever replace trn in my heart, but Facebook does remind me of usenet in some ways.
Oh, and yes, you mostly need an email address for Facebook (although I hear you can register an account with just a smartphone).
Email isn’t dead. Email isn’t going to die. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply looking to monetize your clicks.

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Amazon launching new email service WorkMail

Amazon is launching a new email service called Amazon WorkMail.  Amazon already offers a Simple Email Service (SES) that allows customers to send outbound-only emails and unlike SES, WorkMail will be a full feature email, calendaring, and client management product.  The new WorkMail mail service will compete with enterprise email solutions such as Microsoft Exchange Server.  WorkMail will support the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol, something that Google disabled with Gmail in early 2013, and will include Mobile Device Management and Active Directory Integration. The new service will also utilize Amazon’s AWS Key Management Service that allows the customer to create and control their own encryption keys used to encrypt their data on AWS.
Amazon WorkMail will also scan all incoming and outgoing email for spam, malware, and viruses, however, it’s not clear yet if they are going with a third-party solution or will be creating their own filtering system.

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