The End of Email and Other Tech Prognostications
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2010-11-23/end-email-and-other-tech-prognostications
When Facebook unveiled its new messaging system last week, some said it was destined to be a "Gmail killer." When Amazon first released its e-reader, some said it would put printing presses out of business. Today's tech companies rarely shy away from outlandish claims about their newest products. But many products making their debuts this season could very well change the way we communicate in the future. Tech Tuesday explores how technology giants are trying to shape our digital future.
Guests
Rob Pegoraro
Personal Technology columnist, The Washington Post
Ben Bederson
Professor of Computer Science, University of Maryland-College Park; and Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, Zumobi
Comments
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There are two main problems with email for individuals.
First lack of identity authentication of sender (Sender Keys and Domain Keys incomplete solution both in terms of needing 100% usage and not authenticating individual sender). This has led both to spam and to being scared to openly list email addresses.
Second is that most people to not control the domain of their email (businesses more often do). So when a person moves or changes their email provider, they have to change their email address. Unfortunately, identity and communication technology are unnecessarily bound to each other.
Facebook solves most of the first one, as Facebook is fantastic authentication system within its own network. This keeps spam to minimum and provides solid notification.
Facebook repeats error of personal email and domain binding. A persons identity and communication technology are unnecessarily bound with Facebook. Your Facebook user account is confused with your identity-- http://facebook.com/userid means that you can never leave the network. This happened with AOL Instant Messenger and also their email. At the time it seems like a great solution, but then AOL for communication technology was eclipsed in popularity with other systems.
A better system might be to give everyone their own domain/subdomain, like http://person.name with a corresponding email address for backwards compatibility (e.g. mail@person.name). OpenID can provide this perhaps. In any case, people would be able to use their identity with any communications technology or network and not be locked in. You could even then control ones own friends list and access.
Daniel Bennett
CTO, eCitizen Foundation