Happy 20th Birthday Gmail! 🥳

[Zoom7000]

💌 Gmail launched 20 years ago today!

 

⭐ I still remember getting an invite (thanks Neowin!) to setup a Gmail account, which was a much needed upgrade from what was a very limiting 2MB mailbox with Hotmail! 😱

 

🥳 Congratulations on 20 years Gmail!

 

[jthompson]

Oh wow. Yes, I still remember getting an invite. Conversation view, and labels rather than folders, were a revelation. I'm still puzzled by people who don't see those things as 'better' even now.

[Rob_D]

Wow, it doesn't feel like nearly 20 years ago when one of my techy university mates offered me an invite. (I'm still not sure if that makes me feel really old or not)

[Norphy]

For the longest time, everyone thought it was an April fools joke. 1GB was utterly unprecedented

[Dos_Box]

Gmail, because everyone needs a spam account

Seriously though, it still seems new to me!

If Google can be credited for one thing, it's making Microsoft realise it can't just sit back and rest on its laurels.

[jthompson]

It really blew away the existing options at the time. Most of its USPs were the flip-side of Google wanting you to keep all of your messages in perpetuity, which was perhaps why it was so different from the competition. Don't delete any of your messages, but instead use labels, archive, search and virtually infinite storage.

 

I still think it stands to represent the value of allowing employees the flexibility to explore using thier own initiative. IIRC Gmail began life as a Googler's "20% time" project.

[Rob_D]

Gmail, because everyone needs a spam account

When I first started using it, I liked gmail because it got way less spam than my hotmail, and even now it's one of the best at keeping all the junk out of my mailbox.