Google Inbox*

Google Inbox is Brilliant. Malevolent, but Brilliant(With Capital B). In order to get a Google Inbox invitation, you have to get an smartphone. For someone like me, who had refuse to enter into the hyperconnectivy trend and the almost inevitable reduction of the concentration span that comes along with having a gadget chirping all day long, we are talking about the first condition I gave into.(Well, actually it wouldn't be the first: I'm writing this in google Chrome, Using Blogger, managed by google, in the city google well knows I am, while checking information in different tabs in my browser, from which google collect crumbs of information for showing me the right ads later, and-I have to admit- while I'm google-ing weird porn stuff in my Anonymous window, that anyway, isn't that anonymous for google. That without taking in consideration my recently established relationship with Android(And truth be told, looks like my lack of concentration has nothing to do with the chirping thing next to me)). But frankly, the truth is that all Google Inbox feels like a Pact with the devil. And like all good Deal(Because you might get a bad deal also. The Devil is evil anyway... is not of his concern that you accept shitty offers) the general sensation is that you are addressing an urgent need, today, in exchange for something much more important, like, let's say, your soul, your privacy or your ability to organize and decide where do your mail goes and what information you consider important.

Google Inbox is like a somewhat sexy(Hey! The visual sensation is very appealing(I swear it has nothing to do with the "Weird porn" search)) assistant that organizes your mail in bundles so you don't have to surf hours into seas of trash mail, or on demand Spam(You know, "Send me more information on this Scholarships", "I want to know more about this university", "I need help deciding whether to buy or not a Caesar 2.0, please amazon keep me up to date about new reviews"). It also works like a secretary who reminds you of meetings you have to attend, that mail you received a week earlier and you haven't answer, that flight you have to check in the next 4 hours, all that by reorganizing you mail. Placing first the important thing at the moment.

Gmail

Sexy assistant

Yeah, I already removed all the names... There's enough blackmailing material out there already.

For example, if I get an update from the amazon reviews stream of the Caesar 2.0. during my work hours, I can tell to google inbox to hide it until I get home. How does google knows when I get home? Because I have a smartphone with gps, and Google knows where I live. You can tell Inbox to put an E-mail into your... Inbox, in a few days when you could give an answer. You can also E-mail "to-do" lists to yourself and have them as a reminder in your Inbox when you need them. You can dismiss mails once you are "done" with them. But dismissing them is not deleting them or archiving them. It is just putting them under the rug, where you couldn't find anything if it weren't by your sexy assistant. Of course, when you have an almost irresistible urge for saving everything for later (Digital hoarding)like I do, dismissing things is incredibly powerful when it comes to reducing your procrastination level.(Deciding whether to keep or delete a file, labeling it, then archiving it... doing that with four, or fifty mails implies that I have to stop whatever other thing I'm doing.) The thing is that if by any reason I have to get to my Gmail inbox this is basically what I get. And that's optimistic. Because using the gmail interface I've got 3.000 unread messages in the inbox in my wild times. Dismissing e-mails doesn't remove them from your inbox, it removes them from your sight.

Google Inbox is not a new e-mail or e-mail system. Is a tool that helps you organize how you see your mail. For me, it works amazingly. Just this afternoon I was reading an article about how to improve concentration spans by optimizing how we receive alerts. I started this reading in a series of researchs about how to improve my concentration and efficiency. Other articles talked about the negative effects of the way we consume media, and certainly Inbox is a way to sort our mail in the same fast-flipping way we check the web ("Nice article, lets read it later"). And In my quest for more concentration I've tried to reduce distractions to the minimum (Even if acquiring a smartphone looks totally in the opposite direction) and I have to admit that this new flashy thing called Google Inbox goes a long way into reducing mail checking time. But of course it has a price. If I start using Google Inbox just as it was intended. I won't be able to enter to the traditional mail anymore in a couple months. It'll be like the jungle. 

The Deal is basically this: Google gives me a personal assistant that can fix and organize my mail and in exchange I give it an even more deep access to my personal data. Better ads in exchange for less ability for sorting my new e-mail. E-mails that never delete themselves (google owners are some sort of massive Digital Hoarders) in exchange for an "organized" inbox. In the short term, google inbox looks pretty good. In 20 years... Maybe in 20 years e-mail is like messenger nowadays. Maybe google guys control the whole world using fear and blackmailing. 

Anyway... Now that I think it thoroughly, Google already have enough blackmail information. My soul is already condemned, so, at least let's enjoy the benefits while we can.

*This is no way a serious review. Is the POV of a World of warcraft Rehabilitated with a persecution delirium. But seriously, Google Inbox is cool. Here's some real information about it.

Some useful resources:

http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/85845/how-to-replace-gmail-with-the-new-inbox-by-gmail