I just love it when politicians feel a need to protect us from our own considered decisions.
While the threat of shutting down G-Mail is not Roe V. Wade, it's got that snarky feel.
Last week I started my personal G-journey with an email to a handful of friends sent from the account telling them how I believed the system would work and understanding if, with that caveat, they choose to use my other accounts.
I feared getting ads for self-help and family dysfunction books attached to online conversations with my daughters, but not yet.
Being a journalist, my buddy Renee had to push the system. Her email in response was:
"Not being a subscriber to many magazines from the Netherlands, but a chocolate fan, yes, and interested in any Surf Monkey trinkets -- Ukraine doesn't ring a bell-- , how are you and your collection of Red Stripe Ale, San Diego Padres baseball mitts and John Kerry campaign pages? Can we talk about Finland? Will the roads from Helsinki allow you to take a Mustang convertible across the Arctic Circle packed with the latest Nordstrom's sale bathing suits with matching cover-ups for those sunny days on the tundra? Rosarito is a bit farther west, according to my international map, but what about those great deals on Baja California real estate? My Spanish language skills are in need of a good immersion class en Espanol, but maybe I should just wait for any offers of free movie tickets, Lancome's samples and the latest scents from Escada. Moving along, I wonder what the travel and lodging rates for Tuscany are these days. Napa Valley has some fine wines, but then, there's always Paris.
Cheers! She says from one of the better U.S. destinations for Guinness, In 'n Out burger t-shirts and surfer lessons and any books by Thor Heyerdahl and fine Belgian lace, oh yes, and sealing wax and cabbages and kings. Easter Island, anyone?
Renee"
Her missive drew no ads. I started forwarding a secondary account to this mail box. My daily news scoop from my hometown newspaper brings me ads from that town. A requested real estate promo email, brought ads for the same.
Today I started forwarding my primary email address. A friend emailed a text version of her resume and ads appeared related to educational publishing (her field).
Have I been inspired to click on an ad? Not yet. But it will happen. It's my choice to click or not. My screen is not full of pop-ups and my mailbox has been relatively free of spam. Best of all, if I go a day without getting to my inbox I don't have rejected message notes for running out of space.
This works for me.
This is a free service that I choose to try. There are greater threats to my well-being than my choices. I'd prefer my government turn their attentions in that direction.


Copyright 2004 Judi Griggs