So Long Gmail

Published on by David A. Kennedy

I ditched Gmail this weekend. Permanently.

I had contemplated the move for a long time. One of my friends jokingly responded to my tweet about it with:

“WHY DAVE WHY?”

It does sound kind of crazy when you think about it, but here’s why:

  • I’d read Marco Arment’s, Let us pay for this service so it won’t go down, and was inspired to rethink how I managed my own data.
  • I liked the idea that my email was mine. No matter what happens to my provider, I can take it with me, both in name and data.
  • I wanted to make things simpler. No more multiple emails – just one for everything.

I’m now with FastMail. Funny thing: I used FastMail as my email provider before I switched to Gmail in 2008. Since then, they’ve seen a lot of changes. Opera bought FastMail in 2010 and recently redesigned the interface. Plus, now you can use your own domain.

I’m pleased with the switch. Pushing the delete button on Gmail wasn’t that hard with a bit of planning. I:

  • followed the import instructions according to FastMail.
  • set up new filtering rules.
  • waited a few weeks to make sure I changed email addresses where I needed to and let everyone know of the change.

It’s good to be in control.


Tagged EmailPersonal