Let me share my thoughts as we have been working on these ideas lately. To see our work please visit http://bubbleideas.com
At the outset, let me be straight and upfront to say that it is nearly impossible to kill or replace emails. The idea may be frighteningly ambitious, but from where things seem to be one cannot possibly replace email by creating yet another (so what if better) - mail service.
Current level of email, its provisions, functionality, simplicity and pervasiveness are enough to keep the user coming back in and keep him/her satisfied too. Probably the thinking of having an evolved protocol, that provides for more control on who can/cannot write is also not ambitious enough. At least not so much as the idea itself is.
What I mean to say is that the approach to execute a disruption of this level one has to think on a bit on radical lines. Answering 15 regular questions on a HN post may help but not let you get away from reality. Think deeper, perhaps.
Fifteen years ago emails nearly killed physical letters (yes they do exist even today) with its convenience, simplicity and for being completely free. At that time the need to be able to write to anyone with something as simple as a form hit at the bottom of one's hierarchy of needs.
Now this is not the case. The need to move to something higher or better is not at the bottom of my need-pyramid. I believe this is true for many users out there. One cannot just service, iterate and evolve from the existing to be able to disrupt/replace. That's what my thoughts are.
At the outset, let me be straight and upfront to say that it is nearly impossible to kill or replace emails. The idea may be frighteningly ambitious, but from where things seem to be one cannot possibly replace email by creating yet another (so what if better) - mail service.
Current level of email, its provisions, functionality, simplicity and pervasiveness are enough to keep the user coming back in and keep him/her satisfied too. Probably the thinking of having an evolved protocol, that provides for more control on who can/cannot write is also not ambitious enough. At least not so much as the idea itself is.
What I mean to say is that the approach to execute a disruption of this level one has to think on a bit on radical lines. Answering 15 regular questions on a HN post may help but not let you get away from reality. Think deeper, perhaps.
Fifteen years ago emails nearly killed physical letters (yes they do exist even today) with its convenience, simplicity and for being completely free. At that time the need to be able to write to anyone with something as simple as a form hit at the bottom of one's hierarchy of needs.
Now this is not the case. The need to move to something higher or better is not at the bottom of my need-pyramid. I believe this is true for many users out there. One cannot just service, iterate and evolve from the existing to be able to disrupt/replace. That's what my thoughts are.