Inbox workflows are screwed up because they are built by engineers who think that everyone works like they do. We need to look at what users really do and build for a wider section of the market, instead of just left-handed Chrome users who use Gmail to send sales pitches. Mailstrom is one such attempt at using customer-development to create such a tool. Many statistics are cited.

1. FIXING INBOX WORKFLOWS
Today & Tomorrow
Dave Troy
Inbox Love
David Troy, CEO
@davetroy
dave@410labs.com
Made with in Baltimore
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

2. EMAIL, 1971
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

3. EMAIL, 2012
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

4. EMAIL IS A GHETTO.
3.5 Billion Email Users
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp Source: http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/metrics/email-statistics.htm @davetroy

5. EMAIL IS A GHETTO.
Outlook
800M
3.5 Billion Email Users
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp Source: http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/metrics/email-statistics.htm @davetroy

6. EMAIL IS A GHETTO.
Hotmail/Live.com
Outlook.com
Outlook 360M
800M
3.5 Billion Email Users
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp Source: http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/metrics/email-statistics.htm @davetroy

7. EMAIL IS A GHETTO.
Hotmail/Live.com
Outlook.com
Outlook 360M
800M
Yahoo! Mail
300M
3.5 Billion Email Users
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp Source: http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/metrics/email-statistics.htm @davetroy

8. EMAIL IS A GHETTO.
Hotmail/Live.com
Outlook.com
Outlook 360M
800M
Yahoo! Mail
300M
3.5 Billion Email Users
Gmail
425M
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp Source: http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/metrics/email-statistics.htm @davetroy

9. EMAIL IS A GHETTO.
Hotmail/Live.com
Outlook.com
Outlook 360M
800M
Yahoo! Mail
300M
3.5 Billion Email Users
Gmail
425M
iCloud 150M
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp Source: http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/metrics/email-statistics.htm @davetroy

10. EMAIL IS A GHETTO.
Hotmail/Live.com
Outlook.com
Outlook 360M
800M
Yahoo! Mail
300M
3.5 Billion Email Users
Gmail
425M
iCloud 150M
Aol 50M
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp Source: http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/metrics/email-statistics.htm @davetroy

11. EMAIL IS A GHETTO.
Hotmail/Live.com
Outlook.com
Outlook 360M
800M
Yahoo! Mail
300M
3.5 Billion Email Users
Everything Else Gmail
1.4B 425M
iCloud 150M
Aol 50M
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp Source: http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/metrics/email-statistics.htm @davetroy

12. Well... Build for Gmail?
Gmail, yay!
“425 Million Users”
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

13. Well... Build for Gmail?
Web vs. IMAP Client
Inbox Zeroer?
Public-facing or private?
High or Low Flow?
Labeler or Searcher?
Trusts Algorithms? Or Manual?
Gmail, yay!
Understands Archive
“425 Million Users”
Concerned about Privacy?
Understands Filters
People Who Remember Eudora
Conversations vs. Messages
Email as To Do List?
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

14. Well... Build for Gmail? 12 Key Traits... 4096 Archetypes
100,000 Users/Archetype! (sucks)
Web vs. IMAP Client
Inbox Zeroer?
Public-facing or private?
High or Low Flow?
Labeler or Searcher?
Trusts Algorithms? Or Manual?
Gmail, yay!
Understands Archive
“425 Million Users”
Concerned about Privacy?
Understands Filters
People Who Remember Eudora
Conversations vs. Messages
Email as To Do List?
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

15. Maybe the market isn’t that fragmented... maybe it’s
64 Personae
(6M Users Each)
Gmail, yay!
“425 Million Users”
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

16. Maybe the market isn’t that fragmented... maybe it’s
Gmail, yay! 16 Personae
“425 Million Users” (27M Users Each)
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

17. 16 Personae Is Actually Pretty Believable
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

18. 16 Personae Is Actually Pretty Believable
INFP... or INTJ?
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

19. SOLVING A PROBLEM
FOR A VERY WIDE AUDIENCE
• Most email products do not appeal to more
than 1-2 of 16 Personae (Priority Inbox, Sanebox,
AwayFind, ToutApp, OtherInbox, Xobni, ToutApp, etc)
• Most people are not like you. False consensus
effect.Your problem is not everyone’s problem! YOU ARE
NOT FUCKING NORMAL.
• Use intensive research and customer
development to overcome your dysfunction and build
what people actually WANT.
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

20. INBOX WORKFLOWS SUCK
BECAUSE ENGINEERS ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE
THAT ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO BUILD THIS SHIT.
AND ENGINEERS THINK
EVERYONE IS JUST LIKE THEM.
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

21. INBOX WORKFLOWS SUCK
BECAUSE ENGINEERS ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE
THAT ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO BUILD THIS SHIT.
AND ENGINEERS THINK
EVERYONE IS JUST LIKE THEM.
YOUR PROBLEM IS NOT
THE WORLD’S PROBLEM.
Engineers need to start LISTENING to REAL people.
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

22. Emails Per Day: 4 Personae
150.0
112.5
75.0
37.5
0
Under 50 50-100 100-499 500+
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

23. Desire for Inbox Zero: 5 Personae
150.0
112.5
75.0
37.5
0
Not Important Slightly Important Meh Important Very Important
Source: 352
Survey Respondents
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

24. Inbox Size: 5 Personae
110.0
82.5
55.0
27.5
0
Under 100 100 to 1,000 1,001-10,000 10,001-50,000 100,001+
Source: 352 Survey Respondents
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

25. Age: 5 Personae
150.0
112.5
75.0
37.5
0
Under 25 25-34 35-44 45-55 Over 55
Source: 352 Survey Respondents
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

26. Sex: 4 Personae
300.0
225.0
150.0
75.0
0
Male Female Keeping Options Open Not Saying
Source: 345 Survey Respondents
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

27. Mail Environment: 7+ Personae?
200.0
150.0
100.0
50.0
0
Gmail (Web) Apple Mail Other Desktop Outlook Other Webmail Tablet/Mobile Yahoo (Web)
Source: 268 Survey Respondents
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

28. EMAIL MAKES ANDROID
LOOK UNFRAGMENTED
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

29. EMAIL MAKES ANDROID
LOOK UNFRAGMENTED
Chrome Plugin for Gmail Users
that solves one small problem for
people who use email one particular
way (and care about productivity)?
5 Multiplied Personae = 5M Max
Addressable Market?
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

30. EVERYBODY THINKS
THEY ARE ‘NORMAL.’
False-consensus effect
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fundamentalists and political radicals often overestimate the number of people who share their values and beliefs,
because of the false-consensus effect.
In psychology, the false-consensus effect or false-consensus
bias is a cognitive bias whereby a person tends to overestimate
how much other people agree with him or her. There is a
tendency for people to assume that their own opinions, beliefs,
preferences, values and habits are 'normal' and that others also
think the same way that they do.
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

31. ASKING WHY
• Time to talk to users: Really find out why they use
email! Discover new species of users!
• Accept it: YOU DON’T KNOW what users want
• Test Relentlessly to see if you’re getting it right. ASK
users – and STUDY their habits
• Do Live In-Person testing! Nothing humbles an
engineer more!
• Constantly ask users if you’re getting it right!
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

32. Induced Cognitive Load
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

33. "LOVE Mailstrom. LOVE IT. I have 150K messages in my inbox and it helps me SO
MUCH get rid of old crap from retailers, listservs, etc. and also ID piles of email to finally
filter." - C.P.
"First off, Let me start by saying I LOVE the product! It saved me so much time I can't
even quantify it. Great work!" - A.M.
"OH HOLY GOD THIS PRODUCT IS AMAZING WHERE HAS IT BEEN ALL MY LIFE I
WANT TO HAVE ITS BABIES AND NAME THEM MAILSTROM JR!!!!!!!!!" - L. S.
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

34. 1. Reveal Patterns in Existing IMAP Accounts
2. “Machine Gun” (Prosthetic) to Amplify User Power
3. “Fuel Band” (quant self) for Email; Esther Dyson, advisor
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

35. Aol Alto: Lessening Cognitive Load —
or “Email: Large Print Edition”
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

36. Paul Graham: Frighteningly Ambitious Startup Ideas
“Replace Email with
a To-Do List Protocol”
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

37. • Tools Shape Behavior: People think email works a
certain way because they become habituated
• Fixing Inbox Workflow is going to mean meeting users
where they are now – so we have to understand them
• People are not like you — they’re all unique different
broken creatures with odd ideas about how things are and
should be
• Ifyou really want to make something useful you
need to forget what you think you know and become an
Email Psychologist – And Design for 4, 6, 8 of the 16
personae
• “Design for continuity” great advice from Gloria Mark
410 Labs – mailstrom.co – @mailstromapp @davetroy

38. Check out mailstrom.co
(and let us know what matters to you!)
David Troy, CEO
@davetroy
dave@410labs.com
Made with in Baltimore
410 Labs – mailstrom.co @davetroy