Inbox 2.0?

Inbox 2.0? Consolidation of social networking - fine. Combining work and social elements - not so fast.

Google and Yahoo are looking to expand social networking within their e-mail platforms, Saul Hansell wrote in the New York Times on Tuesday. There were lots of comments, but Larry Dignan said it best, “social networking utilities will become features of the online services I use, rather than just places I go.”

The big guys (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, etc.) appear to have their eyes on the same prize - serving as the destination that combines a person's business and personal worlds. While people get so enamored with what's happening present day - bets to out-maneuver the competition have long existed. Gmail took Hotmail head on - with 'limited' success (only 50 millions users or so, right?) And with Google’s pending release of Jotspot, you don't need to be a technology guru to see where they are headed with a Wiki/Docs/Spreadsheet/Powerpoint/Email/Calendar combo. Let's give Google a ticky mark for a potentially nice move adding value to the business user.

As a user of Google Docs and Gmail (and no, I won't be a user of G-Jotspot - not a big fan of collaboration unless its lets me get my work done faster, ala Smartsheet), I remain curious to see how much Google plans to 'strongly encourage' its users to merge business services with its e-mail and social network services. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I'm not sure if having my work with my social neworks merged is a net win. There are plenty of folks with whom I interact professionally that shouldn't (or may not have interest in) what the family and I were up to last weekend. If that's where Google is headed I'm sure they have plenty of brilliant people working on ways to let me group and manage my 'professional contacts' from my 'largest customers' from my 'close friends' from my 'really close friends' to my 'acquaintances'. Cool. Too bad I have more valuable things to do than managing to make sure my professional work doesn't intrude on my personal life - or vice versa.

So long as Google gives me the latitude to pick and choose which apps I use (or am forced to see/interact with), I'll continue to be a big fan. I get great value from linking to my published Smartsheets from iGoogle bookmarks and save time working with my VP Marketing by linking to Google Docs from tasks within Smartsheet. I think quite a few folks will have a strong negative reaction if Google forces (or makes too visible) a unified work/personal space that impedes the individual's ability to easily work with the pieces they find valuable.

Mark, CEO