Building Email Apps AJAXWorld October 20, 2008 San Jose, CA Andy Denmark TripIt, Co-Founder and VP Engineering

AJAXWorld

October 20, 2008

San Jose, CA

Andy Denmark

TripIt, Co-Founder and VP Engineering

Email Bankruptcy “ I routinely declare email bankruptcy and simply delete my entire inbox.” - Michael Arrington, TechCrunch “ Wondering if I can get a Bear Sterns bailout for my email bankruptcy.” - willpate on Twitter “ (He) just declared email bankruptcy. I've read those declarations enough to know it means our email tools aren't usable.” - garrickvanburen on Twitter So, why is email still around despite all the challenges and criticism… ?

Email Is Still The “Killer App” Email is a natural extension of a metaphor for communication that humans have used forever Everyone has email and is the overwhelming majority of person-to-person online communication No matter what else people use to communicate, they use email too Email contains an amazing amount of context and data about our lives Our relationships Our purchases Our thoughts and the thoughts of people we know

Email is a natural extension of a metaphor for communication that humans have used forever

Everyone has email and is the overwhelming majority of person-to-person online communication

No matter what else people use to communicate, they use email too

Email contains an amazing amount of context and data about our lives

Our relationships

Our purchases

Our thoughts and the thoughts of people we know

What More Can We Do With Email? Spam and mass email marketing may be contributing to the problems outlined earlier But think of all the things we can do to make our applications better by making better use of email: Broadcasting data Query interfaces Data transfer Intelligent parsing of data Mining of social connections (“Inbox 2.0”) Email as an application platform

Spam and mass email marketing may be contributing to the problems outlined earlier

But think of all the things we can do to make our applications better by making better use of email:

Broadcasting data

Query interfaces

Data transfer

Intelligent parsing of data

Mining of social connections (“Inbox 2.0”)

Email as an application platform

Does An Email App Make Sense? PROS Ubiquity – everyone has email Exposure – email is on all day and captures a lot of attention Simplicity – easy to send email, everyone knows how to do it Embedded identity CONS May just not fit your service May be too complex for your users to understand It’s challenging to properly support all email clients, versions and formats Building and supporting a system that sends, receives, and reads email is a pain

PROS

Ubiquity – everyone has email

Exposure – email is on all day and captures a lot of attention

Simplicity – easy to send email, everyone knows how to do it

Embedded identity

CONS

May just not fit your service

May be too complex for your users to understand

It’s challenging to properly support all email clients, versions and formats

Building and supporting a system that sends, receives, and reads email is a pain

Prehistoric Email Apps

Domain Registration Email Sign-Up Email to: [email_address] From address authentication for new sign-ups Choose to receive your bill via email or USPS Authentication schemes for modify/delete were CRYPT-PW and PGP

Email to: [email_address]

From address authentication for new sign-ups

Choose to receive your bill via email or USPS

Authentication schemes for modify/delete were CRYPT-PW and PGP

Archie File Query Email Interface Available Interfaces Text-based client Graphical client Telnet client Email

Available Interfaces

Text-based client

Graphical client

Telnet client

Email

Browsing The Web Via Email “ For personal reasons, I do not browse the web from my computer. (I also have no net connection much of the time.) To look at page I send mail to a demon which runs wget and mails the page back to me. It is very efficient use of my time, but it is slow in real time.” -- Richard Stallman (2007-12-15)

About TripIt ?

***CONFIDENTIAL***

Forward Any Confirmation Email Automated Online Master Itinerary Automated Weather, Maps, Guides… Trip Sharing & Social Alerts iCal & Atom Support Email & Mobile Access Add Meetings, Activities, Restaurants, etc.

Why Email Made Sense For TripIt The native format of travel data is varied and unfriendly The travel industry isn’t moving to expose that data Partnering with big travel companies and building APIs would take too long Users already have all their travel data in email, but that data is “dead” Auto-account creation using the embedded identity of an email message It has become an “instant delight” factor for users

The native format of travel data is varied and unfriendly

The travel industry isn’t moving to expose that data

Partnering with big travel companies and building APIs would take too long

Users already have all their travel data in email, but that data is “dead”

Auto-account creation using the embedded identity of an email message

It has become an “instant delight” factor for users

Types Of Email App Services Command Line Interface Data Transfer Semantic Parsing Broadcast ?

Types Of Email App Services Command Line Interface Data Transfer Semantic Parsing Broadcast One Way User requests email information to be sent to them Typically triggered by an action or an alert Examples Mailing Lists Google Alerts

One Way

User requests email information to be sent to them

Typically triggered by an action or an alert

Examples

Mailing Lists

Google Alerts

Example: Mailing Lists Searchable knowledge base built as a by-product of natural human communication

Example: Google Alerts “ Real time” alerts delivered right to my desktop Useful way to asynchronously broadcast data I’ve requested as it’s available With linkage to the web, alerts are actionable and controllable

“ Real time” alerts delivered right to my desktop

Useful way to asynchronously broadcast data I’ve requested as it’s available

With linkage to the web, alerts are actionable and controllable

Types Of Email App Services Command Line Interface Data Transfer Semantic Parsing Broadcast CLI Users emails a command and Email App replies with a response Typically a standard list of commands and responses Examples I Want Sandy TripIt

CLI

Users emails a command and Email App replies with a response

Typically a standard list of commands and responses

Examples

I Want Sandy

TripIt

Example: I Want Sandy http://iwantsandy.com/

Example: TripIt

Types Of Email App Services Command Line Interface Data Transfer Semantic Parsing Email Forwarding Users forward emails and Email App recognizes and parses them Typically converts “unstructured” data into “structured” data making it more usable to the app and user Examples Flickr Blogger Broadcast

Email Forwarding

Users forward emails and Email App recognizes and parses them

Typically converts “unstructured” data into “structured” data making it more usable to the app and user

Examples

Flickr

Blogger

Example: Flickr

Example: Blogger

Types Of Email App Services Command Line Interface Data Transfer Semantic Parsing Broadcast Intelligent Agent Structured data from email is enriched by the Email App by retrieving related information from other sites Typically leverages “keys” such as geo-coding to capture relevant data Examples TrackMyShipments TripIt

Intelligent Agent

Structured data from email is enriched by the Email App by retrieving related information from other sites

Typically leverages “keys” such as geo-coding to capture relevant data

Examples

TrackMyShipments

TripIt

Example: TrackMyShipments

Example: TripIt Timezone Online Checkin Flight Status Seat Advice Flight Details Weather

Types Of Email App Services Command Line Interface Data Transfer Semantic Parsing Email Forwarding Users forward emails and Email App recognizes and parses them Typically converts “unstructured” data into “structured” data making it more usable to the app and user Broadcast CLI Users emails a command and Email App replies with a response Typically a standard list of commands and responses One Way User requests email information to be sent to them Typically triggered by an action or an alert Intelligent Agent Structured data from email is enriched by the Email App by retrieving related information from other sites Typically leverages “keys” such as geo-coding to capture relevant data Examples Listserv Google Alerts Examples I Want Sandy TripIt Examples Flickr Blogger Examples TrackMyShipments TripIt

Email Forwarding

Users forward emails and Email App recognizes and parses them

Typically converts “unstructured” data into “structured” data making it more usable to the app and user

CLI

Users emails a command and Email App replies with a response

Typically a standard list of commands and responses

One Way

User requests email information to be sent to them

Typically triggered by an action or an alert

Intelligent Agent

Structured data from email is enriched by the Email App by retrieving related information from other sites

Typically leverages “keys” such as geo-coding to capture relevant data

Examples

Listserv

Google Alerts

Examples

I Want Sandy

TripIt

Examples

Flickr

Blogger

Examples

TrackMyShipments

TripIt

Email Systems as Platforms Why turn an email system into a platform for running applications? Natural personal productivity integration point with other tools such as calendar, contact list, etc… All the data is already there Done right, the UI is a natural extension of what hundreds of millions of people use everyday, small learning curve Examples Outlook/Xobni GMail w/ GreaseMonkey GMail Labs Yahoo! Open Mail

Why turn an email system into a platform for running applications?

Natural personal productivity integration point with other tools such as calendar, contact list, etc…

All the data is already there

Done right, the UI is a natural extension of what hundreds of millions of people use everyday, small learning curve

Examples

Outlook/Xobni

GMail w/ GreaseMonkey

GMail Labs

Yahoo! Open Mail

Outlook/Xobni Search your Inbox People-focused analytics and semantic analysis (e.g., phone numbers) Implicit social graph discovery (i.e., who talks to whom?) Related conversations http://www.xobni.com/

Search your Inbox

People-focused analytics and semantic analysis (e.g., phone numbers)

Implicit social graph discovery (i.e., who talks to whom?)

Related conversations

http://www.xobni.com/

TripIt for GMail http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/25778 Drives the UI to “forward” the email No access to the data in the message (e.g. headers, attachments, etc…) “ Brittle” solution that relies on a UI that doesn’t change No feedback loop or error handling with TripIt’s backend

Drives the UI to “forward” the email

No access to the data in the message (e.g. headers, attachments, etc…)

“ Brittle” solution that relies on a UI that doesn’t change

No feedback loop or error handling with TripIt’s backend

GMail Labs Features on top of GMail, no mashups yet Not available to non-Googlers Huge un-fufilled potential

Features on top of GMail, no mashups yet

Not available to non-Googlers

Huge un-fufilled potential

Yahoo! Mail Video: Yahoo! OpenMail/TripIt Integration

Video: Yahoo! OpenMail/TripIt Integration

Key Takeaways Email is not dead! Treasure-trove of data waiting to be mined At least four different types of apps Broadcast, CLI, Data transfer, Semantic parsing Emerging email platforms New ways of delivering your applications via mail platforms are coming If you get it right, huge payoff for you and your users

Email is not dead!

Treasure-trove of data waiting to be mined

At least four different types of apps

Broadcast, CLI, Data transfer, Semantic parsing

Emerging email platforms

New ways of delivering your applications via mail platforms are coming

If you get it right, huge payoff for you and your users

Questions Andy Denmark TripIt, Co-Founder and VP Engineering

Andy Denmark

TripIt, Co-Founder and VP Engineering