I just read a great post over at the Web Worker Daily Blog.
It essentially has to do with Capturing in one’s inbox, and how using Outlook has lead to very different ways of maintaining a Zero Inbox than using Gmail.
The post makes a distinction between Filers and Finders, and how people use each of these email tools. Filers (predominantly Outlook users) put email in folders, while Finders (Gmail users) use tags to change the way email is displayed to them through different filters.
Ultimately, I think both get the job done (although Gmail’s method is more efficient, but less intuitive.)
The bottom line is that both methods can be used to maintain a zero inbox, which is (in my mind) a sign of superior efficiency. In the case of Outlook, the folder is “empty”while in Gmail the tag or filter is “void.”
In the experience of the user (if not in the case of bits and bytes) the effect is the very same.
The full article can be found here: Email — Are you a Filer or a Finder?
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