Thursday, September 28, 2006

FutureShock

FutureMe allows people to send email messages to themselves at some designated time in the future. Depending on how far forward into the future the send time is set, it's either a reminder service or a personalized time capsule service.

The FAQ attempts to address a fundamental issue with the time-capsule model:

but what if i don't have the same e-mail address in the future?

a possibility for sure. we recommend using an address with some potential for longevity (hotmail, yahoo, your own domain). in addition, we created a account management system so that you can change the addresses of your future letters. (though that's kind of cheating.)
I expect the XRI people would have something to say about this.

When I signed up for an account (Conor, do these sort of test accounts count towards my total?) I specified an email address (which was not verified). When I attempted to use the system to send a future message, I provided a different address to see if I would be allowed. I was. Consequently, I can send into the future helpful 'reminders' to my friends and colleagues.

Examples might include 'Hey, if you owe Paul any money it's time to pay up' or 'Are you still taking credit for the work of your Liberty Alliance colleagues?". Endless fun ahead for me.

Unrelated, I love the disengenuity of the following:

how can i make a cash payment to said fellas for providing such a nifty service?

we're glad you asked. we've set up an amazon honor system thing. it's fresh. you can use paypal too if you'd prefer. they take less money away. see, if you donate a tiny amount of money, we spend less of our money. FutureMe is a free service and will remain so, but it does cost us a bit of cash to maintain the site and ensure proper delivery of your so-very-precious future letters.
Fair enough except for this from the privacy policy:

it is important to recognize that "public letters" submitted on FutureMe.org become solely the property of FutureMe.org. FutureMe.org reserves the right to edit and reproduce any "public letters" as the sole copyright holder (i.e. we're putting together a book and it's very exciting).
So, while we are waiting for the book royalties to come in we'd appreciate some micro-love sent our way.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think you should go take a look at Electronic Time Capsule. If you find futurme interesting you'll adore www.electronictimecapsule.com.

Enjoy!