We seriously have the coolest Twitter community out there!

OtherInbox RAP

You got bizzee exec here on the mic

With a rhyme about how a brother got right

I was so disorganized with an inbox from hell

So much important stuff, junk and personal

My inbox said it was too full

It was ready to jump, the plug to pull

Then I got an inbox detox

When I got hooked up with my OtherInbox

OtherInbox, my e-mail is on autopilot

OtherInbox, Dats right, high-five it

Now I chill cuz my e-mail is organized

Now I rock it cuz my e-mail is prioritized

I was a freakaholic cuz my inbox was whack

Now I’m a-right cuz OtherInbox got my back

I got right with OtherInbox

OtherInbox, it so rocks

OIB. OIB. OIB. You feel me?

OIB is in the house – check it! Peace. A

–beth G

Thanks to MarketerAustin!

Being fearless with my email has shown me how different companies handle their newsletters. There are many areas of improvement needed. For example, do not send a confirmation message that does not state where it is coming from. That seems obvious, right?

Another issue in particular caught my eye today.

I signed up for a newsletter from 4inkjets.com hoping to get a heads up on coupons or great deals on printer ink. I have never heard of the site before, but I have no worries: 4inkjets gets its own OIB email address.

A few days later, I see that my 4inkjets mailbox has a new message. I am in need of some ink, so I take a look. Here’s what I see:

It’s a newsletter about printer ink, but what is LD Products?

It turns out that LD Products has been doing business as 4inkjets.com since 1999 (according to their About Us page). It has been 10 years! How many people have deleted these messages during that time, since they had never heard of the company before?

If I saw it in my regular inbox (and not my OtherInbox), I would have never made the connection. Maybe I would have checked them out. Most likely, I would have marked it as spam and waited for my 4inkjets newsletter that would never come.

It’s a big world out there. I am certain there are other oddities to find.

Who Are The Email Innovators?

By Pete Warden

During this economy downturn, all of us have been affected in one way or another. Stores are closing, unemployment rates are soaring, and the stock market is dropping fast. Through these rough times, we would like to provide you with some helpful tips for using your OtherInbox.

Job Search

Looking for a job? There are several ways your OtherInbox can help your job search.

Since knowledge is essential in getting ahead within an industry, you can become an industry expert by signing up for blogs, newsletters, and news reports. Send them all to your OtherInbox.

More importantly, you can also sign up for the blogs of the companies you are seeking employment with. If an opportunity for an interview arises, gaining insight about the industry and company is crucial. The organized mailboxes OtherInbox provides allow you to find that information quickly.

You can also use your OtherInbox to sign up at job sites such as craigslist, Monster, LinkedIn, and every other possible job site out there. Not only does this give you organized mailboxes to read
through and pick the right job, but it also clears your real inbox. Never miss out on someone trying to reach you for an interview!

Starting Your Own Business

Ready to start your own company? Looking to make some extra cash with a current hobby? OtherInbox will be your personal assistant.

For example, if you are selling paintings online, you usually post your email address as a point of contact. However, who wants to expose their personal email address to strangers? This is where OtherInbox steps in.

Post your OtherInbox email address instead: Buy my painting[at]yourname.oib.com. Use OtherInbox to sell a car, advertise on craigslist, or for any other situation you can think of!

Shopping Online

When every dollar counts, don’t you want to get the best deals out there? With OtherInbox, you can sign up for newsletters from all your favorite online stores.

You can receive exclusive coupons, notifications of special sales events, and more, right to an organized mailbox. Those emails are a nightmare when they are piling up in your real inbox. With OtherInbox, read them only when you need them.

If you are looking to buy a coffee maker or a new home, OtherInbox can help you save and compare to make sure you are getting the most bang for your buck. You can also sign up for online consumer reviews right to your OtherInbox, so you can make sure you are getting quality product at a great deal.

OtherInbox cares about our community of users and hopes that you will find ways to use your OtherInbox to make life a little easier.  If you have an idea or would like to share an interesting way in which you use your OIB, please comment below.

OtherInbox for Gmail

By: Faycal Chraibi

January 21, 2009

Recently, I was informed of a situation in which a company accidentally gave out email addresses of people who used their product. It was a simple mistake that was quickly addressed by the president of the company, but much like toothpaste, once it’s out of the tube, it’s out there. Below is the email sent out to the list of people with exposed email addresses:

Subject: Sorry_for_using_CC

Sorry for not using BCC in the previous email. This has been fixed.

We’ve been using the same process for sending email announcements for the past 6 years. A recent ‘enhancement’ has caused the announcement software to use CC instead of BCC.

This wasn’t intentional.

It won’t happen again.

Again, it’s been fixed.

I’ve responded personally to each and every person that has complained, and will continue to do so.

I personally accept the blame for this. You can direct whatever lumps you feel necessary my way by responding to this email.

Also, if you no longer wish to receive email announcements from S______ simply respond to this email and let us know.

–Mark S______, President

We have a test email account at OtherInbox where we sign up for every possible email and newsletter we come across. It is amazing to see how many companies sell your email address to other companies.

With OtherInbox, you have organized mailboxes for everything you sign up for. For example, when you sign up for company ABC’s newsletter you give them the email address ABC[at]yourname.oib.com. When you go to your OtherInbox, there will be a mailbox named ABC. One day, if you notice there is an email from DEF in your ABC mailbox, you know that somehow DEF got your email from ABC. You can fight back by blocking the mailbox.

Whether by accident or on purpose, your email is vulnerable. There is nothing more annoying to me than opening up my email client to find repulsive spam and unwanted messages piled over important email from family and friends. That is why OtherInbox is so powerful.

Now you can be in control of your email and the security of something that many of us view as personal as our social security or driver’s license numbers. Your primary email address can now be used for what it was meant for — communicating with important people.

With OtherInbox, you don’t have to be afraid to sign up for anything. If someone accidentally gives out the email address you made up for that site, just block it, and no one can send anything to that mailbox again. The same applies for companies that sell your email address without your permission. Not only can you block those emails, but you can also see which companies are betraying your trust.

Be fearless with your OtherInbox. Be free of spam. If you have questions or concerns, email me at nofear[at]lc.oib.com!

Using OtherInbox – An Early Review

By: Michael Cote

January 13, 2009

With our brand new website comes one of our most requested features: shorter OtherInbox email addresses. We are very happy to announce that everyone’s email addresses just got a lot smaller!

You can now feel free to use

• anything@yourname.otherinbox.com
• anything@yourname.oinbox.com
• anything@yourname.oib.com

Our domains otherinbox, oinbox, and oib are completely interchangeable, so there is no need to go back and change any of your email addresses.

In case you were wondering, all our 1-character subdomains have already been claimed. Better snap up a 2-character subdomain quick! You may want to visit the Domains page in Settings and add a new domain today!

Well, maybe not for everything, but it sure is making a difference in the lives of thousands of our users. OtherInbox uses social media to not only educate people on the benefits of getting control of their email again, but also to listen to what people have done with OtherInbox on their own. We have an active Twitter community that you can follow @otherinbox. We also use Facebook to connect to users, communicate tips and new features, and gather suggestions and ideas. Some OtherInbox beta testers have found ways to market their talents, organize their small business email, search for wedding gowns, and even assist in developing websites like in this comment from @hadees: “@otherinbox I use it when I’m developing websites so I can sign up lots of test users each with their own unique email address.”

Even the community on our support site is encouraged and active in giving advice on new uses or product enhancements. We develop our product roadmap based on user feedback as much as possible. OtherInbox is a startup with two employees who serve as full time community specialists. We work with our community on a daily basis to find what they find useful in our product and how they are using OIB. We will even be posting t-shirt ideas that were provided by our users for our SXSW launch in March. Some companies pretend to listen to what their communities say. Others, like OtherInbox, rely on the input of the community to make the best product possible.

Although OtherInbox is currently freezing beta invites while we make some improvements, we have had many people reach out and ask for a beta invite. We are working to complete these improvements as quickly as possible to ensure that everyone is cured of email overload. We might not have the answers to solving the economic crisis (although Washington should consider opening an OtherInbox for suggestions), but according to our users, we have found the answer to fighting spam and gaining control of your inbox again.

We give a special thanks to our active community for your constant feedback and support. Ideas, comments, questions, tips, and concerns are always encouraged!

OtherInbox ready for revenue

By: Christopher Calnan from Austin Business Journal

January 2, 2009

An article from the Austin Business Journal written by Christopher Calnan depicts OtherInbox in a different light; "generating revenue for the first time since it was founded a year ago."

*The full article can be found at: http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/01/05/story1.html