The Tuesday Ten

Microsoft did the impossible: the new Hotmail is fantastic.

It’s easy to hate on Microsoft. (A Google search for “why I hate Microsoft” gives 20MM+ results.) But they’ve given Hotmail a makeover, and damn does it look good! As Gizmodo says, “Hotmail-which-is-now-Outlook doesn’t look like it crawled out of a late 90s sex dungeon, pulling its own cluttered, woefully-designed entrails in tow… It might be the handsomest webmail in the land.” So dig up your old Hotmail password and try it out. I don’t know how long I’ll stick with it, but I’m definitely willing to try it out!

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101 email etiquette tips.

I’m a big fan of email. Which, let’s be honest, isn’t exactly the most favorable POV lately. I find phone calls interruptive and even rude. Maybe it’s my generation, maybe it’s a cultural value I’ve adopted - but really… not a fan. Still, I find that many lack what I’d refer to as manners. Or etiquette. And sometimes I even forget myself (hence the post-it reminder on my monitor that says “Manners, please!!!”) Even though the days of Emily Post may be gone, etiquette is still important. Here are 101 useful reminders. You’re welcome :)

Email Is Crushing Us, Can Activity Streams Free Us?

While email overload has been a well-documented phenomenon, we still haven’t cracked it: How do we get the information we need while eliminating the pain of reply-all email threads? Daivd Lavenda explores the idea of using a stream (think Twitter, Facebook newsfeed) taking over the enterprise world. [It should be noted that while I love the idea of a new email, I think the value of a ‘Thank You’ email - especially in this article - is vastly underrated. Let’s argue about it over pints ;)]

Frighteningly Ambitious Startup Ideas

Paul Graham, an investor and one of the first web-based application developers, wrote a blog post on some of the frighteningly ambitious startup ideas he sees everyday. From a new search engine to replacing email or universities, Graham outlines why they could be brilliant - or a bust.