The Future of Email: Exploring other communication models and what it could mean for email

It's time for another blog post from my good friend and deliverability expert, Jennifer Nespola Lantz. (Don't forget to read her ISKTBN blog and find her over at the Kickbox blog, too!) Take it away, Jen!

I love email, 🎶 I can't help myself 🎶. My love has only grown as I work with it more and more. I will fiercely defend it and not just because it provides my livelihood, but because of how vital it is to everyday life. How brilliant, simple, and flexible it is.

Email has been proclaimed dead many times. And it's definitely lost its relevance in some regions of the world and likely for some demographics. However, it is still a strong medium and one still relied on by so many globally. Heck, it's still evolving. In today's email, one can be interactive (via CSS or AMP) and experience visual communications that stun and surprise. Major email user agents have also evolved to help keep email organized and relevant for end users, sometimes to the chagrin of marketers (tabs, anyone?).

With that said, email has its weaknesses and is prone to being abused. There is more to do to keep email safe, reliable, and desirable.

I couldn't help but think about all of this as I was interacting with another communication application, WhatsApp. There were a number of things that suddenly popped up as a "Oh, wouldn't this be nice if we had it for email?" And so began my journey into another environment, pondering about how email could evolve and if it could include these different features that users all over enjoy.

The WhatsApp Channel Model

I received a notification on my phone from WhatsApp. I don't recall exactly what it was other than it was talking about some feature I didn't recognize. This lack of recall was mainly because I was too quickly "remove-swiping" all my other notifications on my phone. However, I remember thinking, "Wait, I thought I turned off notifications for WhatsApp. Or maybe I turned them back on when I was traveling? 🤷🏻‍♀️" So I ventured over to see what this notice was about because up to this point, I've only ever used WhatsApp to send direct messages.

To my surprise, I ended up going down a rabbit hole of exploration. As I mentioned, it got me thinking a lot about how email could evolve and how we can do better as well as what communications (in general) are still struggling with and what email does right. To be completely honest, I recently had a number of fascinating conversations with super smart email people, so, this exploration was watering the thought seeds they had already planted into my brain.

So what was this notification!? A notice about WhatsApp Channels.

"What in the heck are WhatsApp Channels?!" was the first question that came to mind. Obviously I must have been living under a rock since Channels were announced back on June 8th, 2023. But despite my ignorance about this feature, I was interested. Not because I wanted to use them myself, but there was something about it that felt familiar (like social media), but also had a hint of closing a need that is lacking in email.

A different approach to subscriptions

I decided to jump in and see what this experience was all about. What was cool was I could review a number of channels (essentially real-time feeds of content from a business, person, etc.) to see if I liked the content BEFORE I followed them.

That gives WhatsApp an edge over email. When you sign up for an email, you're hoping you get what you want, but what you want doesn't always align with what a sender thinks you want.

After perusing a little while longer, I started to follow a number of channels. It was very similar to social media and following influencers or businesses. Like email and social media it was nice having all the information that I was interested in one place. However, in this experience, unlike social media, I didn't get inundated with content algorithmically selected for me. This is what ONLY 🎶 me, myself, and I 🎶 selected.



In a way, that is similar to email subscriptions; however, if anyone has any familiarity with CAN-SPAM, you'll know that as soon as your email exists, you'll be getting emails from senders that you never asked to receive mail from. In this way, the WhatsApp model seemed superior to social and email.

It was also SO easy to follow (and unfollow.) A button is all it took (or two taps to get to the menu or sender profile to unfollow.) No need to confirm my subscription desire because I was subscribing with MY ACCOUNT.

Because email can be easily subscribed to and abuse is rampant, additional steps, like confirmed opt-in, are recommended to make sure only those that truly want to subscribe are. Edge goes to WhatsApp.

Closely related, I also couldn't help but take note that, at least at this time, my account wouldn't be flooded with a bunch of channels that someone else subscribed me to. Why? Because I can only subscribe (or consent) from MY device, MY account. Of course that could be hacked into, but let's put that on the back burner for now. And now we have another aspect that gives WhatsApp Channels a superior edge over email and social.

Email Thoughts

With that "onboarding" done, I started with two questions that then morphed into more (and, yes, now I'm singing the Power Rangers song.)

• How can email be updated to truly only communicating with users that asked for it?
• Is there another way we can get consent without confirmed opt-in, but also not relying on forms that can be abused?

Would the WhatsApp subscription model fit this so messaging is truly only communicating with users that asked for it? In other words, is there a way we can standardize subscription feeds to any mailbox provider that wants to host them?

I'm not suggesting a full blown feed, but would that be so bad as a start or a way to think about it so we can come up with something better? In a way, email is already a customized feed of offers, this may be a more generic way to start.

Could a different subscription model based on technology help us enrich the exploration and onboarding stage? Perhaps provide a way to see what will be forthcoming in messages? Sneak peeks so to speak!

Simplifying Organization with Groups

I started following a number of channels. Now what? Notifications! At first I didn't turn on any notifications. I quickly found I had to continually check to see if anything was posted because I wanted to make sure I understood the process and flow and didn't miss anything. It became tedious, like waiting for a phone call or text. You keep checking your phone, but nobody calls. Disappointing and a waste of time.

So, on notifications go. I don't know if I really wanted the notifications, but because I was officially in "trial" mode I needed them on so I could make sure I was doing it right and I could see what would happen when an update was posted.

The process was interesting as you not only have to turn them on for WhatsApp in general (not unlike other applications), but you have to select notifications for each channel you want notifications from as, I believe, they were turned off by default. Since I wanted to fully submerge myself in it, I did the whole shebang: Notifications from EVERYONE!

I quickly realized I did too much. Not only was my phone beeping constantly, but my watch was vibrating and the battery draining. It became too distracting between ignoring them and wondering if it was actually a text or other notification that I didn't want to miss. Henceforth, off all notifications go. You've RUINED it for me.

And with that, it was a stark reminder of how abusive communications can get (regardless of channel and if they were truly wanted.) Even if one sender sending only one email a day is manageable, as soon as there is a multiplier, that quickly dissipates. Definitely an area all communication channels need to get better at.

I will say WhatsApp did note in their guidelines that channel admins should "avoid sending too many or low-quality updates", which is of the same mentality and sending best practices that email has been touting for years (specifically, send what people want - a.k.a. high-quality.) Edge to email for laying the groundwork for best practices!

To me, the easier it is to subscribe, the more subscriptions you'll likely have (this is not a fact or thought based on data, but an assumption.) And even without the superior ease of one button, if there is an alluring offer or even a smidge of interest, overall, it's pretty easy to subscribe. It's like humans are impulsive and can't help but want more, more, more because "I just might need this offer, information, etc. some day." There is an abundance of choice. TAKE THEM ALL. But the reality is, we can't manage it all.

But if notifications are too much, how do you manage it all?

This is where the user agents, often managed by the big mailbox providers, come in to help. I know I mentioned tabs before, but they do help give some semblance of inbox control back to the end-user where a once flooded and unusable inbox is now restored.

I want to give email the edge here, but I have to say it's on par with WhatsApp. Why? Because you can mute channels (all or none or leave a select few available for notifications), you are essentially doing the same thing. You are leaving the information there to be consumed at a later time, when you have the time or want to look for that content. And WhatsApp easily lets you know when new content has been broadcasted. I mean, look at those pretty green circles! 

(If you are unable to see the image, WhatsApp add a green circle next to the channel with a number denoting the number of new notifications available.)

When thinking about tabs in email, will you miss some fun marketing? Yes. Will you survive? Yes, you and 🎶 I WILL SURVIVE! 🎶 These sorting/grouping features help to surface crucial information from being buried amongst the leaves pulling out what you need now versus what you want later. Missing a stellar coupon may create some FOMO, but there's always a next time. BUT, missing a crucial notice could end up destroying you financially (a password change for your bank account you didn't authorize, perhaps.) And those are the communications that need to be in the forefront.

Email Thoughts

With notifications "done," I continue my ponderings on how this could help evolve email with more questions. YAY!

• How can we not only support subscriptions, but also better group emails to more easily find what we want and better surface what we need? There is no standard and <insert personal feels> it's annoying when you can't easily sort the same way across multiple applications.
• Similarly, how can we better help a sender distinguish between the want and the need?

Could we standardize grouping senders into "channels" in email? It still gives the freedom to display it however you want, but provides a consistent experience with the same verbiage. These email channels could be specific so that transactional mail is more easily and accurately separated and highlighted, perhaps in the traditional email format it uses today, with marketing messages grouped? Or would that interfere with user choice? If so, can users make their own "channels"?

The idea of a grouping mechanism like how it's used in WhatsApp is alluring to me because it is another level of email management that I know I desperately need. Can you imagine sorting through a list of senders instead of a list of all emails jumbled together, especially when you are searching for a brand? When new content arrives, the list doesn't get longer, that sender just has a happy "new" flag/icon/what-have-you. OR will that create more tedium if you are just searching for recent offers or news updates beyond the most recent?

In some ways, Yahoo does this ease of sender identification and filtering with their subscription center. The purpose is to easily unsubscribe, but I find that I use it to pull up all emails from a sender that I can then engage with or quickly delete. The problem today is that it is hard to determine how to group a sender because they may use a billion addresses. So should you group by address, domain, type of communication? If we use an email channel that has a feed, it's pretty clear that all the messages are grouped.

If it's easier to identify a stream, it's easier to remove yourself and know you are truly only removing that sender/stream. I don't know if this would completely get rid of the "oh I didn't know I would unsubscribe from THOSE emails" but maybe it would reduce it. If a sender wants to add a new stream, they would have to create a new "channel" that a user needs to subscribe to. Could that help reduce the explosion of 100 streams from one sender? I'm not exaggerating, that does exist and I saw it in my email preferences for Amazon. Until I went to their preferences, I had no idea they had so many or that I was subscribed to them ALL.

Privacy and Storage

Channels allow an owner to keep their information private. They also limit how much information is retained in the feed (I believe 30 days). There are internet drafts out there for expiring an email to save on storage space and help reduce the environmental impact. For both of these though, WhatsApp is ahead.

Followers too remain unknown. What an incredible way to connect and NOT have to worry about the data! WhatsApp win right there!

Email Thoughts

If we were to put this into email, there would have to be discussion around if an email address should be shared to provide communications or if an identifier would be used instead. Or maybe the message is sent to the channel feed and then disseminated individually to the subscribers by the receiver. I obviously haven't dug that deep in on this topic as we're really venturing into the technical space and interoperability and that needs much more brain power.

When it comes time to communicate directly, I imagine there could be a different flow and consent of information sharing, but up until that point, having ways to reach out with messaging without the need of a recipient's information is fascinating.

This layout of easily accessing content with privacy first mentality and also being able to put aside content when you're not ready lends itself to more communication without the annoyance and more privacy without the need of more secondary emails. Dare I say it? Do more with less.

Final Musings

Although email does have some of these features already written into its fabric, there are enough gaps that one can't help but explore (in dream-like ways or not) how to evolve email technology and its surrounding structures to support a more privacy-centric way to communicate. The tests I did with WhatsApp were very news focused, but I don't see why we can't consider this model for product updates and sales.

I know the WhatsApp model is different, but I think there are pieces that could be transported with some creative thought and engineering.

If we could get to a point where consent is concrete and it's easier to turn communications on and off, wouldn't that make email more manageable?

Could it lead to a world where the spam folder isn't needed? Doubtful. I can't yet imagine this format to be a good use case for all communications, leaving the traditional way to collect and send emails in place. And if this were to ever gain traction, it's best designed for bulk mail. 1:1 will still exist and if there is even a smidge of a crack, bad actors will weasel their way in. And when they do, they need a comfy home to be filtered to.

Would we have to worry as much about personalization or cadence or sunsetting? I imagine, yes to some extent, but it really depends on the design and purpose.

Could email share this model? Could there be a way to feed subscriptions that are standardized? Sender registration is already done for AMP, could it be utilized to create subscription hubs?

Can you 🎶 Imagine 🎶 how we can evolve email? It's not dead yet, but it doesn't mean we can't give it a tune up!