business 2.0

AOL Tries to Challenge Gmail

AOL has always been an easy target for ridicule. So, when I found out today that AOL was trying to take on gmail with a new public beta mail service, I jumped at the opprotunity to test it out.

I was disappointed to find out that AOL did a number of things right with their new service; in many ways, I'd say its superior to gmail. Namely, AOL's webmail wins hands down in terms of:

  • Overall user experience
  • Overall design

However, even by the most charitable measures, AOL's webmail still loses to google. The first reason being:

Why I Love Site5.com

Not long ago, a combination of too much coffee, persistant stress, and my uppity temperment led me to write a fiesty post about my frustrations with Site5.com's suite of account and website management tools. In retrospect, I was not warrented to have made the critiques that I did; especially considering that the problems I had resulted from the account's owner forgetting to send me all of the necessary passwords, and account info I needed.

Regardless, Adam Greenfield, Site5.com's Chief Technology Officer ,took what I wrote to heart, and posted a very comprehensive reply on site5's engineering blog. He addresses every concern I raised; but much more importantly, he describes a number of new features, and components that are designed to prevent future users from having the troubles I describe. Back in a former lifetime, I used to train teenyboppers and potheads on the art of good customer service in the service industry. In otherwords, I have an eye for stellar service.

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