I get a lot of email every day and not just from all the amazing people who read this blog. Instead, I get a lot of shopping site updates, some notes from my friends and occasionally a forwarded email from my mom. In case you were wondering who still receives chain mail pass-along, it’s me and it only comes from two sources: my mom and my ex-boyfriend’s mom. Anyway, when you add it up it’s a lot of mail. If you’re wondering how I manage all, well I have to admit, I’m a filer.
A filer is one of three personas Hotmail discovered based on data on the way people organize their inbox, no matter what email service they’re using. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone that I fell into the filer category with my sorted and ordered email account. While my life outside of the inbox might be a chaotic mess, my email is a neat and composed as a military troop. Nothing here is out of line. On average, people like me file 44% of every email and over half have set up rules so that mail will automatically file (I do this with said ex-boyfriend’s mom!). This is even easier with Hotmail’s Sweep to File feature and it’s also great that I can bring in multiple email accounts directly into Hotmail. This way all of my mail gets pooled in one place making it that much easier to stay on top of it all!
I went asking around to find out what other people on the Windows Experience Blog do with their email, and have to admit I wasn’t shocked to find out the responses.
Ben the PC Guy is a “deleter,” his inbox is lean and light. On average people like Ben delete OVER 8,500 emails A YEAR and over a quarter of those go directly into the trash without ever being read. For those of you like Ben, the folks at Hotmail recommend checking out the Sweep to Delete tool. Ben and other “Lean and Light” personalities could benefit from Sweep to Delete since 5% of all of this type of users email gets lost in the shuffle. Maybe that explains why Ben the PC Guy never answered my request for a PC with unicorns on the cover that made a noise like sunshine whenever it opened.
On the other hand, Brandon LeBlanc is a “piler”, his inbox is a happy mess. He keeps over 57% of emails….forever! I like to pin it on the fact that he wants to prove everything he ever did and wants to always be seconds away from the latest email you sent him. What this means is that he has over 9,000 emails that pile up in his inbox each year and that he is super reliant on search for finding messages that are hard to find; this is made even easier with Quick View. This is also why Brandon is the king of “I told you so.” In particular, he likes to reference the email in which he told me Ben the PC Guy would never respond to my request for a bedazzled unicorn PC. Le Sigh.
Want to find out what kind of email persona you have and the Hotmail tools that compliment your style? Find out about all the latest and greatest features here or by joining our regular #win7tech chat from 12-1pm PT on August 23rd to discuss new innovations in Hotmail.