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If it's not overflowing, filled with spam, and it's easy to organize, then this concept may not be your cup of tea. Or maybe it will be.
Anyway, my business partner and I are at a disagreement right now, here's why:
We're building a site/app/platform that allows people to receive their direct mail online instead of physically (this means no more "junk mail" or at least a noticeably lesser amount). There is NO "scanning" required on neither the users or advertisers side, we DON'T re-direct the mail, or anything of that nature. Obviously the success of this would strangle the Postal Service. Now since you have some context, time to get to the point.
A lot of people dislike/hate email, everyone has their own reasons why but most of them I've found, revolve around:
1. Just about anyone can invite themselves into your inbox, it's not "personal" and important messages are overrun by less important messages
2. It takes way too much time to sift through unimportant messages to find the ones that are important (especially if you're someone who receives a lot of email period)
3. Generally email from everyone, advertisers, businesses, subscriptions, are piled into the Inbox and have to be manually organized (again, more time consumption)
So I thought of a messaging system that is based off of real home addresses (like letters) instead of "email addresses", except it's online. So the only way someone can contact/message you is if they have your real address.
What are the benefits of this? Let's see:
1. Personal - You don't give your real address out to random strangers do you? Of course not, which makes this concept all the more special, because you only receive mail from people who are REALLY important.
2. Control - Even if some creep did manage to get your address (which for 99.9% of people who would be using this service is highly unlikely), you can see both their name and confirmed return address, and you can decide weather or not that person can send you mail.
3. Convenience - Both your direct mail/advertising mail and personal letters/mail are separated, meaning that any subscriptions/catalog's/coupons are placed in a direct mail category and no longer physically show up at your home, and the only letters/messages in your box is from important people/people you want to hear from.
With the concept above^ direct mail advertisers have to be accepted on the back-end which means any spam is automatically filtered out, so this means no spam + no physical advertising mail anymore. It also means that sending messages/letters are personal, so your inbox is no longer overflowing with messages from people you don't know, or people who aren't important that you don't care about.
If you put the two together, you basically have the Postal Service online, the only thing lacking would be physical packages. However, we would allow people to handle both their messages/letters + direct mail online, on one platform. No spam, no unimportant messages, you can block people from messaging you, everything is automatically organized, and it's a lot more personal. People also don't change home addresses as often as they do email addresses, and if they did change it, our messaging system would update/notify you.
So the part we disagree at is that he doesn't think we should add in the personal letters/messaging part.
His argument summarized:
"There already is many ways to communicate with each other, I'm afraid all we are doing is creating a type of social networking with a messaging system, basically just another e-mail account ..."
My argument summarized:
Many people are tired of juggling through multiple social networks and overflowing email accounts just to communicate with important people. Online messaging has not yet been personalized and it would make sense for the "Official Online Mailbox" to replicate what the Postal Service does, but online, and in an obviously efficient and convenient manner.
Even further summarized:
I think we should become the new Postal Service in the long haul, except mostly online of course (as that's where the future is heading anyway), he thinks we should just be direct/advertising mail online.
So my question is, which concept would you guys prefer/are you more interested in? Just getting your physical advertising mail online, or a whole new online postal mail revolution?
Thank you.
Anyway, my business partner and I are at a disagreement right now, here's why:
We're building a site/app/platform that allows people to receive their direct mail online instead of physically (this means no more "junk mail" or at least a noticeably lesser amount). There is NO "scanning" required on neither the users or advertisers side, we DON'T re-direct the mail, or anything of that nature. Obviously the success of this would strangle the Postal Service. Now since you have some context, time to get to the point.
A lot of people dislike/hate email, everyone has their own reasons why but most of them I've found, revolve around:
1. Just about anyone can invite themselves into your inbox, it's not "personal" and important messages are overrun by less important messages
2. It takes way too much time to sift through unimportant messages to find the ones that are important (especially if you're someone who receives a lot of email period)
3. Generally email from everyone, advertisers, businesses, subscriptions, are piled into the Inbox and have to be manually organized (again, more time consumption)
So I thought of a messaging system that is based off of real home addresses (like letters) instead of "email addresses", except it's online. So the only way someone can contact/message you is if they have your real address.
What are the benefits of this? Let's see:
1. Personal - You don't give your real address out to random strangers do you? Of course not, which makes this concept all the more special, because you only receive mail from people who are REALLY important.
2. Control - Even if some creep did manage to get your address (which for 99.9% of people who would be using this service is highly unlikely), you can see both their name and confirmed return address, and you can decide weather or not that person can send you mail.
3. Convenience - Both your direct mail/advertising mail and personal letters/mail are separated, meaning that any subscriptions/catalog's/coupons are placed in a direct mail category and no longer physically show up at your home, and the only letters/messages in your box is from important people/people you want to hear from.
With the concept above^ direct mail advertisers have to be accepted on the back-end which means any spam is automatically filtered out, so this means no spam + no physical advertising mail anymore. It also means that sending messages/letters are personal, so your inbox is no longer overflowing with messages from people you don't know, or people who aren't important that you don't care about.
If you put the two together, you basically have the Postal Service online, the only thing lacking would be physical packages. However, we would allow people to handle both their messages/letters + direct mail online, on one platform. No spam, no unimportant messages, you can block people from messaging you, everything is automatically organized, and it's a lot more personal. People also don't change home addresses as often as they do email addresses, and if they did change it, our messaging system would update/notify you.
So the part we disagree at is that he doesn't think we should add in the personal letters/messaging part.
His argument summarized:
"There already is many ways to communicate with each other, I'm afraid all we are doing is creating a type of social networking with a messaging system, basically just another e-mail account ..."
My argument summarized:
Many people are tired of juggling through multiple social networks and overflowing email accounts just to communicate with important people. Online messaging has not yet been personalized and it would make sense for the "Official Online Mailbox" to replicate what the Postal Service does, but online, and in an obviously efficient and convenient manner.
Even further summarized:
I think we should become the new Postal Service in the long haul, except mostly online of course (as that's where the future is heading anyway), he thinks we should just be direct/advertising mail online.
So my question is, which concept would you guys prefer/are you more interested in? Just getting your physical advertising mail online, or a whole new online postal mail revolution?
Thank you.
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