Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Web Sites Let Users Send E-Mail to Future
Associated Press ^ | Mon Dec 19, 8:12 AM ET | NAHAL TOOSI

Posted on 12/19/2005 1:42:26 PM PST by Redcitizen

NEW YORK - In the year 2009, on the 25th of April, a man named Greg is supposed to get an e-mail. The e-mail will remind Greg that he is his best friend and worst enemy, that he once dated a woman named Michelle, and that he planned to major in computer science.

"More importantly," the e-mail says, "are you wearing women's clothing?"

The e-mail was sent by none other than Greg himself — through a Web site called FutureMe.org.

The site is one of a handful that let people send e-mails to themselves and others years in the future. They are technology's answer to time capsules, trading on people's sense of curiosity, accountability and nostalgia.

"Messages into the future is something that people have always sought to do," said Paul Saffo, director of the Institute for the Future. "In a way, it's a statement of optimism."

Matt Sly, 29, came up with the concept for FutureMe.org about four years ago. He was inspired one day after recalling how during his education he had been given assignments to write letters to himself.

Sly, who partnered with 31-year-old Jay Patrikios of San Francisco on the project, said the site has made maybe $58 through donations. He is adamant that FutureMe.org is not a reminder service and that users should think long-term.

The site lets people send messages 30 years from now, though Sly's numbers show most users schedule their e-mails to be sent within three years.

"We want people to think about their future and what their goals and dreams and hopes and fears are," he said. "We're trying to facilitate some serious existential pondering."

He said a large number of the messages sent do one of two basic things: tell the future person what the past person was doing at the time, and ask the future person if he or she had met the aspirations of the past person.

"The tone of the past person is not always friendly," said Sly, now a Yale University graduate student. "It's often like 'Get off your lazy butt.'"

Recently, Forbes.com jumped on the idea, offering an "e-mail time capsule" promotion. More than 140,000 letters were collected over about six weeks. Nearly 20 percent of the messages sent are supposed to land in the sender's inbox in 20 years; others requested shorter time frames. Forbes.com is partnering with Yahoo! and Codefix Consulting on the project.

"A lot of people have kind of been freaked out by it," said David Ewalt, a Forbes.com writer who worked on the project. "It really makes you stop and think about your life in a way that you usually don't."

Another type of future message service can be found at sites such as myLastEmail.com or LastWishes.com, which promise to send messages to loved ones (or less-than-loved ones) after you die.

Paul Hudson, co-founder of the International Time Capsule Society, said e-mail time capsules were new to him.

"Part of the value of time capsules are that they are thought processes in the present," said Hudson, a historian who teaches at Georgia Perimeter College. "You define yourself when you do a time capsule. It might be a good exercise in introspection."

But sometimes the past is best left behind, said Saffo, who personally finds the whole thing "sad and really weird."

"The lesson about all these things, it's the lesson from time capsules, is you have to be careful lest you set yourself up for enormous embarrassment in two decades," Saffo said. "Do you really want to be reminded that you thought ABBA was cool?"

Service providers try to make the delivery process fail-safe through partnerships or back up software, and they urge people to hang on to their e-mail address, but there's no ironclad guarantee that the message will ever arrive.

Technology changes. Companies go out of business. Spam filters might get in the way.

Still, that hasn't deterred a sizable number of people from signing up.

On FutureMe.org, where more than 112,000 messages have been written, many writers are confident enough to make their e-mails — though not necessarily their names — public.

"I hope that I've learned to take responsibility for my actions — to not be passive aggressive and to not avoid things that are scary for me," one wrote. "I hope I've changed a little."

"Are you missing an eye? If so, I apologize." wrote another.

And, of course, the cautious optimist: "Hell, I hope you're still alive."


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: computer; email; future; futureme; internet; spam; time; timecapsule
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-26 next last
I hope my future self pays heed to my advice to collect those soda can tabs. With this concept, you can spam yourself and people who aren't even born yet.
1 posted on 12/19/2005 1:42:27 PM PST by Redcitizen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Redcitizen

It would be a lot more useful if I could E-Mail advice to myself in the past.


2 posted on 12/19/2005 1:44:19 PM PST by M. Dodge Thomas
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Redcitizen
My future self and me...


3 posted on 12/19/2005 1:45:22 PM PST by Phantom Lord (Fall on to your knees for the Phantom Lord)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Redcitizen

Dear Me: You see? The stuff that was giving you fits today really wasn't that important after all, was it?


4 posted on 12/19/2005 1:46:02 PM PST by SlowBoat407 (The best stuff happens just before the thread snaps.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Redcitizen
He is adamant that FutureMe.org is not a reminder service and that users should think long-term.

Well, I was going to use it to remind me to pay my electric bill next week, but I guess that is out.

I guess I'll just send a message to myself in 2045 to remember to take my anti-Alzheimer's medication.

5 posted on 12/19/2005 1:46:20 PM PST by KarlInOhio (What is the most obscene gesture to a Democrat? An Iraqi voter showing him a stained finger.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Redcitizen

And what are the odds this FutureMe place will still be in business by next year?


6 posted on 12/19/2005 1:46:33 PM PST by Lekker 1 ("Computers in the future may have only 1000 vacuum tubes..." - Popular Mechanics, March 1949)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: M. Dodge Thomas

Yes. unload those Enron stocks. :)


7 posted on 12/19/2005 1:46:50 PM PST by Redcitizen (My tagline can beat up your honor tagline)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Lekker 1
What is their business model? How do they plan on making money?

Yahoo keeps trying to get me to send myself future emails. Haven't done it yet.

8 posted on 12/19/2005 1:47:48 PM PST by Phantom Lord (Fall on to your knees for the Phantom Lord)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Redcitizen

"The future is now."


9 posted on 12/19/2005 1:48:42 PM PST by LurkedLongEnough
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lekker 1

Dunno. I'll post myself a reminder to answer your Post in 366 days.


10 posted on 12/19/2005 1:49:17 PM PST by Redcitizen (My tagline can beat up your honor tagline)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: M. Dodge Thomas
It would be a lot more useful if I could E-Mail advice to myself in the past.

Amen.

11 posted on 12/19/2005 1:49:27 PM PST by SittinYonder (That's how I saw it, and see it still.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Redcitizen; Jeremiah Jr; aculeus; dighton

Doc Brown thought of this idea back in 1885.

12 posted on 12/19/2005 1:52:35 PM PST by Thinkin' Gal (As it was in the days of NO...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

To: Redcitizen
Subject: Greetings From 2005
On December 19, 2005, You Said:
--- Attached Message ---
Just testing this thing out!  This is COOL!  Let me know when you receive this e-mail!
--- End Attached Message ---
 
The Address Of This Recipient Could Not Be Found, Therefore This Message Has Bounced 
Back.  We Are Terribly Sorry For This Inconvenience, But All Is Not Lost --- Have A Happy & Prosperous 2010

14 posted on 12/19/2005 1:55:13 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Luke 2 : 8-14)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Redcitizen
This ranks up there with the pet rock. I have an Outlook reminder that prompts me to remember to renew my driver's license every five years.
15 posted on 12/19/2005 2:00:12 PM PST by Heatseeker (Never underestimate the left's tendency to underestimate us.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Thinkin' Gal

Doc Brown. Now there was a man who deserved a Nobel Prize more than the dearly departed Tookie.


16 posted on 12/19/2005 2:01:20 PM PST by Redcitizen (My tagline can beat up your honor tagline)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Redcitizen
Dear Juanita,

You better put some ice on that.

Bill

17 posted on 12/19/2005 2:04:06 PM PST by quark
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BigSkyFreeper


From Redcitizen, circa the future:
The requested person cannot be displayed or reached.
The person you are trying to reach either was not found or the URL is incorrect. Try the following site for further information. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18




This information is being forwarded to the webmaster for review.

If you used a bookmark and received this error your bookmark may be out of date.
We do not recommend creating bookmarks to pages other than the main front page.
We do not recommend typing in URLs manually or trying to "figure out" a link.
Click here to view the front page.


18 posted on 12/19/2005 2:31:35 PM PST by Redcitizen (My tagline can beat up your honor tagline)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Redcitizen

during his education he had been given assignments to write letters to himself.


Another liberal has been educated............


19 posted on 12/19/2005 2:32:16 PM PST by PeterPrinciple (Seeking the truth here folks.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Redcitizen

But what will my future e-mail address be???


20 posted on 12/19/2005 2:37:41 PM PST by scott7278 (Before I give you the benefit of my reply, I'd like to know what we're talking about.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-26 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson