The Future of Email Gabor Cselle October 15, 2008 CSIRO / Macquarie

Background on Gabor MSCS, ETH Zurich on “Organizing Email” Software Engineer at Google VP Engineering at Xobni Just started a new email company

MSCS, ETH Zurich on “Organizing Email”

Software Engineer at Google

VP Engineering at Xobni

Just started a new email company

Xobni Plugin for Microsoft Outlook “ Find that email you’re looking for” Fast search People profiles

Plugin for Microsoft Outlook

“ Find that email you’re looking for”

Fast search

People profiles

ISN’T EMAIL SOLVED?

Email volumes are rising … Billions of non-spam messages sent per day “ In 2008, average business user sent or received 156 messages / day.” Source: Radicati Group [1]

Emails Clients haven’t Changed

The 400M Pound Gorilla

Users are Drowning in Email Email overload is now considered a much bigger workplace problem than traditional email spam . - Wall Street Journal The burden of managing all that e-mail has prompted a backlash. One extreme reaction is " e-mail bankruptcy ," where users throw up their hands and erase their entire inboxes. - National Public Radio

Email overload is now considered a much bigger workplace problem than traditional email spam . - Wall Street Journal

The burden of managing all that e-mail has prompted a backlash. One extreme reaction is " e-mail bankruptcy ," where users throw up their hands and erase their entire inboxes. - National Public Radio

PROBLEMS

Whose Problems? I want to improve email for users who are: LAZY

I want to improve email for users who are:

LAZY

Whose Problems? I want to improve email for users who are: LAZY UNDISCIPLINED

I want to improve email for users who are:

LAZY

UNDISCIPLINED

Whose Problems? I want to improve email for users who are: LAZY UNDISCIPLINED AVERAGE

I want to improve email for users who are:

LAZY

UNDISCIPLINED

AVERAGE

Three Big Problems in Email Prioritize Organize and Search Multiplex Emails have different levels of importance, urgency. But email clients treat every email the same. Folders are not a natural way to organize emails. In today’s implementations, search is badly done. Pull in and synthesize information from various sources other than email. Make email universally accessible.

PRIORITY

My Inbox …

… Actually Important

Important vs. Urgent “ Your Amazon order has shipped” “ Please review the board slides this week” Not Urgent “ Guys, there’s cake at my desk” “ The servers are down” Urgent Not Important Important

How do you classify it? How do we find out what emails are important? Some ideas: Machine learning [2] Heuristics [3] Reply prediction [4] … BiFrost, [3]

How do we find out what emails are important?

Some ideas:

Machine learning [2]

Heuristics [3]

Reply prediction [4]

…

“You’ve Got Mail”: Alerting No more “toast” for unimportant messages Notify only on super important messages? When should we interrupt the user ? Between task switches [5]

No more “toast” for unimportant messages

Notify only on super important messages?

When should we interrupt the user ?

Between task switches [5]

ORGANIZE & SEARCH

Coping with Folders Source: [6] Cheap but messy Search only No effort to delete or file email No filers Takes some effort, temporary mess Intermittent clean-ups Spring Cleaners High mental burden, stress Daily passes to file or delete email Frequent filers

New Approaches Based on structure of data: Tasks Attachments Emails People Actions Conversations

Based on structure of data:

New Approaches Based on structure of data: Xobni Gmail Outlook TaskMaster GTD Tasks Attachments Emails People Actions Conversations Outlook

Based on structure of data:

Organize by People Xobni: www.xobni.com (and others, e.g. [7]) People Connected to Adam Conversations with Adam Files Exchanged with Adam

Xobni: www.xobni.com

(and others, e.g. [7])

Organize by Task TaskMaster [8]

TaskMaster [8]

Organize by Next Action Getting things done (“GTD”)

Getting things done (“GTD”)

This Reminds me of …

Improving Search Relevance Best results on top Understand user intent “ Andrew inbox” Better UI

Relevance

Best results on top

Understand user intent

“ Andrew inbox”

Better UI

MULTIPLEX

Many Sources of Data EMail SMS Blogs Twitter Facebook Unified communications

A Multiplexed Feed Twitter Email Blog entry

CONCLUSIONS

Conclusions Email will stop being a simple transport channel, but will add filters to show you what’s important Email will stop being a file system but will be organized and displayed in new ways . Search needs to improve dramatically . Email will stop being an island . We’ll bring in content from social networks, blogs, etc.

Email will stop being a simple transport channel, but will add filters to show you what’s important

Email will stop being a file system but will be organized and displayed in new ways . Search needs to improve dramatically .

Email will stop being an island . We’ll bring in content from social networks, blogs, etc.

REFERENCES

References Radicati Group, www.radicati.com Horvitz et al: Attention-Sensitive Alerting, UAI 1999 Baelter and Sidner: BiFrost Inbox Organizer, NordiCHI 2002 Dre dze et al: Intelligent Email: Reply and Attachment Prediction, IUI 2008 Smailagic et al: Task Interruptability Analysis, Technical Report, CMU, 2007 Whittaker, Sidner: Email overload, CHI 1996 Turski et al: Inner Circle, CHI 2005 Belotti et al: Taking email to task (TaskMaster), CHI 2003

Radicati Group, www.radicati.com

Horvitz et al: Attention-Sensitive Alerting, UAI 1999

Baelter and Sidner: BiFrost Inbox Organizer, NordiCHI 2002

Dre dze et al: Intelligent Email: Reply and Attachment Prediction, IUI 2008

Smailagic et al: Task Interruptability Analysis, Technical Report, CMU, 2007

Whittaker, Sidner: Email overload, CHI 1996

Turski et al: Inner Circle, CHI 2005

Belotti et al: Taking email to task (TaskMaster), CHI 2003

QUESTIONS? [email_address] www.gaborcselle.com