Email Is Still the Best Thing on the Internet

Hey everyone—

I’m Jason, CEO here at 37signals.

Email gets a bad rap, but it shouldn’t. Email’s a treasure.

It feels great to get an email from someone you care about. Or a newsletter you enjoy. Or an update from a service you like. That’s how email used to feel all the time.

But things changed.

You started getting stuff you didn’t want from people you ... See more

Even if you don’t have anything to sell right now, you should always be collecting email addresses from people who come across your work and want to stay in touch. Why email? You’ll notice a pattern with technology - often the most boring and utilitarian technologies are the ones that stick around the longest. Email is decades and decades old, but ... See more

Email is good for maintaining a direct relationship between readers and writers, but it kinda sucks as a place to read. When I’m checking my inbox I’m in a mode where I want to bat away everything as quickly as possible in order to get to inbox zero. I’m psychologically in a state where everything feels like a chore. Putting great writing there fro... See more