email

Facebook has been up to some interesting things lately including the recent addition of the chat feature.  Rumor is a video chat feature is going to be released soon.  Facebook also recently partnered with Openid which means that you can now use your gmail account info to log into Facebook.  I’ve been a loyal gmail user for years but I’m beginning to wonder if Facebook can replace them.  Perhaps within the next few years we’re going to see a “jacob@facebook.com” email account?

I’ve already been using Facebook quite extensively to connect with people and have even found a few potential clients on there.  As a user it would be quite efficient if Facebook allowed me to send emails directly from their platform.  Of course, this would mean a bit of UI work on their end to create a customized email tab, but I think it would be worth it.

I think email could be coming to Facebook in the not so distant future, here are a few reasons why.

  • Facebook has been adding a lot of Gmail-like features including text/video chat
  • The user base is growing and people are spending more and more time on Facebook
  • The recent addition of Openid makes me think that Facebook will at one point allow importing of Gmail contacts directly into their platform
  • The messaging tool is great for contacting friends but it doesn’t make much sense to have to send emails from an entirely new platform to people you are connected with
  • Since they have such as large user base already adoption for their email platform should be pretty decent
  • Facebook is already able to do some things that Gmail can
  • Facebook has a lot of user data that could make sending emails a more personal experience.  What if every time I sent an email I was offered to connect with that person via Facebook?

What do you think, can we see Facebook as an email platform in the future?  I say yes, we’ve already seen data showing that social networks have eclipsed email in terms of usage, a hybird approach of the two seems to me like the next logical step, what say you?

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