Facebook e-mail could be a game-changer, say netizens

Why is everyone talking about Facebook e-mail?
TechCrunch.com reported a few days ago that Facebook (FB) was gearing up to launch its own e-mail service, code-named Titan and touted to be a ‘Gmail killer’. Then there was all the buzz about Facebook buying out the FB.com domain from an obscure non-social-media company. On Monday, social media outlets were flooded with comments on FB’s imminent announcement of the launch at a Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco.

Why are people excited about FB e-mail? Is it really a Gmail killer?
E-mail was always an ad-hoc social-messaging tool and now Facebook will be making it completely social by mixing it with social graphs, news feed, and Facebook page integrations. Yes, I’m very excited about this.
—Brij Singh, founder and CEO, Apptility

I wouldn’t switch from Gmail to FB mail outright — no way — but I’m excited about it. I’d definitely sign in but would need the following to even consider a complete switch: Unlimited space (really unlimited — no 7GB cap as in Gmail), phenomenal freedom and ease in aiding a switch (import mails/contacts from Gmail seamlessly, use multiple IDs with aliases, etc) and a user interface that is better than Gmail.
—Karthik S, head of digital strategy, Edelman India

I’m a bit curious about the product, but not excited. There's too much hype, and that sometimes can mean the product isn't all that great. FB would need to have some really good features for me to stop using Gmail as my primary id. Most of us moved from Yahoo mail only because Gmail was in a sense a “quantum leap”.
—Aditya Sanjit, creative analyst with a multinational internet company

A comprehensive e-mail system that integrates messaging with contacts would be a huge feature as one does not have to move from a social-networking application to another email system. I would keep both. If I were to quit Gmail I would miss its superb search facility.
—Tarun Hukku, founder, Chotagolf.com, social media expert

Why should you be excited?
This is a potential game-changing development, possibly at a par with Gmail’s launch. Gmail, apart from its matchless usability, is after all just another web-based e-mail service. If Facebook (FB) e-mail lets me import contacts from FB — keeping the hierarchy of contacts intact — it is a huge thing. People could use FB e-mail exclusively for their social network.
—Gautam Ghosh, blogger on workplace and social media issues

Though Google doesn’t have any success in creating social properties online (Buzz and Wave flopped), I still spend a lot of time on Google domains thanks to two products — search and Gmail. To me, Gmail is now irreplaceable and if anyone had the audacity and might to rival it, I think Facebook is the best bet. So, I’d love to see what kind of Gmail-killer they have in mind!
—Karthik S

This will open up a new world of e-mail habits. Facebook is a platform company now; they are building tools for developers and will be inviting developers to add on top of this new social email experience.
—Brij Singh

Facebook has a rich social graph and hence a deep understanding of who is important to me and who is not. For the first time, FB can truly make e-mail a social experience. Yahoo!’s ‘Inbox 2.0’ and Gmail’s ‘priority Inbox’ were initiatives in that direction, but they could only scratch the surface.
—Shivakumar Ganesan, founder, Roopit.com

Yet another email service wouldn’t be interesting. What would be of interest is to see how FB integrates its extant services (events, games, deals, photos, friends etc) into email.
—Sanjay Anandram, founding partner, JumpStartUp Venture Fund

What are the main misgivings about FB e-mail?
The main fear is that FB mail could end up becoming another privacy violation opportunity. I am ignorant about what data they have about me and who they are sharing it with and how. E-mail will add to that confusion. FB has become too many things too quickly. The service isn’t close to as reliable as Gmail/Gtalk. FB is risking its reliability by adding too many features. But if I were running FB, I would probably ride on the success and take on the biggies just as quickly.
—Shivakumar Ganesan