Back And Forth On The Foolishness Of Gmail

from the is-it-or-isn't-it? dept

The story of the day seems to be the speculation of whether or not Google's Gmail email system announcement is an April Fool's joke. It's been amusing (at the very least) to watch the collective thought process of the internet. At first people looked at the details, and how it would compare with other email services out there. Then, everyone started pointing to the silly press release about the service and suggesting that it was all a big April Fool's joke. Still, it seemed realistic enough (and so detailed) that people have now been shifting back in their opinion. The more I think about it, I'd bet that the service is real (in some sense), but the press release was the joke - and they expected that this speculation would help get them more attention. It appears to have worked. Google is now denying that it's an April Fool's joke and insisting that the service is real. Business Week weighs in on the story pointing out that if it were an April Fool's joke, it could get them in trouble with the SEC. Honestly, though, my guess is that the folks at Google wanted to do an April Fool's joke about a potential IPO - but realized that would definitely get them into some serious trouble. The Business Week piece also looks more seriously at what this means for the rest of the industry.

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