*Warning: The views and opinions expressed in this post are reflective solely of the author and are not meant in any way to offend the servers nor the users of said servers*
Am I the only one who judges people and professionals by their email providers? Okay, maybe that seems a little harsh. I don’t do it intentionally, but for some reason, in my mind of minds, I have come to associate different servers with different…let’s say: degrees of professionalism.
For example: The other day I passed a real estate sign for some local seller and the first thing to catch my eye wasn’t the name of the agency nor the agent, but the email address on the sign. It was a Yahoo address– but why should that be so striking? I have a yahoo address (albeit it’s the one I use for junk mail). I have yahoo as my homepage, even. And yet, my first reaction to the company upon seeing the email address: Wow, so this must be some second-rate agency. I give them 2, 3 years max. I mean, come on, why couldn’t they add a touch of class and at least get a gmail account.
Apparently, somewhere along the way, in my internet exploits and adventures, I have acquired a prejudice toward the different email servers. So here they are, my preconceived conceptions of what email servers say about their users, despite their (most likely) complete inaccuracy.
@Yahoo: The server for children, first-time users, second-rate professionals, or casual relationship. You keep this address to send your junkmail to when you find yourself forced to sign-up for some silly newsletter that you’ll never really read. This is the address you give to your 80 year old grandma who likes to forward you pictures of sunsets accompanied by bible quotes. This is the address you check once a month: you wade through the junk mail whose subject lines makes it clear that they think you have male genitalia or an excess amount of money to send to some Nigerian prince. Every once in a while you find an interesting tidbit or personal email to which you make your monthly, ritual response. Okay, so Yahoo isn’t terrible and I may be over-reacting. I mean, it’s not like it’s hotmail or something. But that’s for later on.
@Gmail: This is the site for stuffy professionals, art school hipsters, broke new-grads, and new-age small businesses. I feel like it’s the all-inclusive server, and yet every type who uses it is a stereotype. It’s like when hipsters say they like things ironically…I’m not sure how it’s like that but it just is.
@AOL: This person hasn’t let go of their first generation Ipod and still thinks that reality television is a somewhat accurate representation of actual reality. These people continue to mourn the loss of Britney Spears’ sanity and cling tightly to their hope that someday their beanie babies will finally reach the promised market value so they can retire by 40. Of course, any negative attitude I have towards AOL probably dates back to the excessive amount of CDs they sent to my house throughout the early 2000s. You know the ones…And so does every single landfill in America (too bad the go green initiative hadn’t quite reached its peak). And thus, I feel like AOL is stuck in the past.
@MSN: The lesser AOL. But also a warm and wholesome, family-friendly server. MSN is like your friendly Avon-selling neighbor: a lovely mother of two and devoted wife who, if you didn’t know any better, you would say has a slight Canadian accent. Doncha-know.
@Hotmail: Maybe it’s the word ‘Hot’ or maybe I’m just crazy, but I have to admit that I believe Hotmail is the harlot among the email community. This, however, is not meant to be a reflection upon its users who I’m sure are all very nice 12 and 13 year old myspace users.
To those email hosts I’ve left out: I’ve yet to pigeonhole you into one of my preconceived opinions. But beware, you are only safe for so long.
To those I have offended: Why are you still reading this then?
