Gmail Hype

One sure way to create a buzz around a new product is scarcity. Another is to violate standards of privacy. Both of these have been used to full advantage by the otherwise unremarkable GMail, the free email service from Google. The latest BS to come out of the ad machine at Google is this Wired piece about how some people are selling their Gmail accounts (or invitations to accounts?) on eBay or trading them on some new service called GmailSwap. It should be noted that all it takes to get “invited” to get an email account from Gmail is to have an active blog with Google subsidiary Blogger. I’m going to try to set up a few dozen accounts right now and see if I can’t raise enough money for next month’s rent, or at least trade some accounts for some chocolate covered cicadas.