Earlier this year, we introduced a change to the way Organizer labels emails in Gmail accounts. Instead of using a single “OtherInbox” label, Gmail Organizer now uses new OIB labels that help categorize emails as they are organized.

Based on the feedback we received, the majority of our users liked these new labels. However, some missed the ability to select a single label or folder in Gmail to view all organized emails at once.

We listened and have added a new “OIB” label for all organized emails. Because Gmail allows multiple labels, every organized email now has its category label and the OIB label. The benefit is you can now see your organized emails by category or all at once.

Nested labels

When you combine this “OIB” label with Gmail’s Nested Labels (a Gmail lab), the result is nested labels right inside of Gmail that can be collapsed and expanded. This is a great way to keep your labels nice and neat. We recommend that you give it a try. Just follow these instructions to turn it on:

• In Gmail, go to Settings, then Labs (or click the green flask icon next to Settings)
• Find the lab Nested Labels and click Enable
• Scroll to the top or bottom of the list and click Save Changes

As we continue to enhance Organizer, we are also investing in new ways to integrate with the top email platforms and environments, making it as easy as possible for users to enjoy the benefits of a clean Inbox.

Today we are happy to announce our release of Organizer for Google Apps! Get it here.

Working closely with the Google Apps marketplace team we have developed a
version of Organizer that can be installed by any Google Apps domain
administrator for all their users with a single push of a button.

Individual users in that domain can then activate Organizer with a
single click from within the Google Universal Navigation menu or from
their “more” tab within Google Apps.

Once activated, Organizer goes to work, labeling commercial emails and
archiving the messages in easy-to-access folders while leaving
prioritized emails from real people in the primary Inbox.  A daily
digest ensures that users see a full inventory of the emails that were
received and then filed – ensuring nothing is lost.

If you are a Google Apps domain administrator why not give it a try, and help all your users get the benefits of a clutter free, organized Inbox.

We launched Sender Reviews  a couple of weeks ago so that you could voice your opinions about the companies that send you email. We have been delighted with your feedback and of course your reviews like this one from Ben about Mint.com

 

"Unusual Spending in X. I love getting these emails. Helps me make sure that no one else is spending my money, but also keep tabs on my own spending habits."

or this from Luke about Amazon.com

"As much as Amazon can be overbearing, they must have a very good success rate with these emails, because I catch myself clicking through way more than other advertisers, due to their "smart" suggestions…"

But it hasn't all been praise that you have dealt out, as you can see Keith is not impressed with eBay.

"Lots of junk mail from them. Goes straight into the spam folder."

and Chuck thinks Overstock.com could do a better job.

"I do NOT like how their emails are "jam packed". It makes me not want to open them. I would rather settle for a few deals than have as many as they send."

But our first Sender Review winner of a $25 Amazon Gift Card is Ken Yagelski with some great reviews of the emails sent by American Airlines, Overstock.com, LinkedIn and Wells Fargo.

"Account alerts are usually welcome, but many of the marketing materials are repetitive and are generally ignored."

These reviews help your friends and family make the most of their email subscriptions, by highlighting the good and letting them avoid the bad.

Keep writing your reviews, and you too could win a $25 gift card.

Last year when we developed Automatic Organizer, our Yahoo! Mail application, we used Browser-Based Authentication (BBAuth) to connect OtherInbox to Yahoo! Mail accounts. BBAuth allowed Yahoo! Mail users to authorize OtherInbox to connect to their email accounts without needing to give up their Yahoo! passwords.

This was great! It allowed us to connect to Yahoo! Mail accounts and still provide our users the safety and protection of never giving out their Yahoo! passwords. In addition, our users could disconnect from OtherInbox from their Yahoo! Mail settings if they desired.

However, using BBAuth to access Yahoo! Mail accounts proved to have a couple limitations:

• If the user changed his or her Yahoo! password, the OtherInbox connection was broken.
• We had to create an OtherInbox account for each user. This meant each user had another username and password to keep track of.

Two things happened after our application was created that allowed us to improve the user experience immensely. Last September, Yahoo! announced support for the OpenID OAuth Hybrid Protocol. This powerful protocol allows Yahoo! users to sign in to external sites and allow for two-way data sharing all in one step. This potentially meant our users would no longer need an OtherInbox login.

Second, earlier this year Yahoo! introduced an OAuth API for Yahoo! Mail for all Yahoo! Mail accounts. Now, we could take advantage of the Hybrid Protocol to offer our Yahoo! Mail Organizer users a greatly enhanced experience.

The advantages?

• A user changing his or her Yahoo! password no longer breaks the OtherInbox connection
• Users can sign in to OtherInbox with their Yahoo! username and password

For our users, this meant no longer needing to remember another username and password. Because of the Hybrid Protocol, the signup process (and setting up OAuth and OpenID) is completed in just one step.

We also experienced some positive changes. When we used BBAuth, we received many inquiries from our users about how to access their OtherInbox account. We had to create an OtherInbox account for every new user with a unique username and password.

Despite our best efforts, many users would still be confused. Some would try their Yahoo! credentials to sign in to OtherInbox and subsequently get locked out. We would receive 100-200 inquiries like this every month.

After taking advantage of the Hybrid Protocol, these inquiries have dropped to effectively zero. We have also seen some evidence that our deactivation rate has dropped, especially amongst new users who have had Organizer installed for less than 30 days.

Overall, we believe switching to OAuth and OpenID allows us to provide our users a far superior experience and provides us with a product that will have higher conversion and retention rates.

Hiawatha Bray, in his Boston Globe Tech Lab article "Powerful tools for managing your online life" reports on how webmail has come of age. Recent innovations at Gmail, and Yahoo! Mail have not only come from their own development teams, but from a growing number of partners like OtherInbox as well.

"Where Microsoft built its own software for sorting incoming messages, Yahoo Mail offers an optional link to a service called OtherInbox. Once installed, OtherInbox sets aside mail from financial companies like banks and credit card issuers, as well as social networking sites. You can also add new sorting categories of your own." 

"Google’s Gmail service is also swarming with innovation. Some comes from OtherInbox, which has created versions for Gmail as well as Hotmail."

Watch Hiawatha's full review here:

Sign up and start using one of the most "Powerful tools for managing your online life" today.

Our new Senders Review Pages give you the opportunity to help your friends and family get the most out of their email subscriptions.

Do you get emails from a Sender that feels more like spam? or a Sender that really makes your day? Don't keep it a secret, let your friends and family know about it!

This week comment on 3 Senders and not only can you help your friends
but you will be automatically entered for a chance to win a $25 Amazon
Gift Card!

Simply visit the Sender
Review Index page, select a Sender from the list and write a comment
and then share it on Facebook.

So, go on and get commenting !

Google recently announced a new Gmail platform called Gmail Contextual gadgets. These useful gadgets expand Gmail functions and allow developers like OtherInbox to build web gadgets that display alongside your email messages.

They are triggered by contextual clues, such as the contents of subject lines, sender and recipient email addresses, etc. These apps give users the ability to interact with the data conveniently within their Gmail account. 

We have been busy brainstorming, and are considering building a gadget that would display the profile & reviews of the Sender of the email you are reading. For example, you receive an email from Best Buy. The gadget would provide information about Best Buy, such as the number of emails and coupons they typically send, reviews and which of your Facebook friends also get email from Best Buy. Like our Sender review pages. 

In addition, if you were already using Organizer, you could choose how you want Best Buy emails organized, and any easy way to unsubscribe from Best Buy’s newsletters.  All of this could be done without leaving Gmail. Sound interesting? 

The possibilities are endless. What do you think? Do you have any other suggestions on what you would like to see in a GMail gadget? We would love to hear from you.

Two weeks ago we were excited about introducing multiple OIB labels for Gmail Organizer users. 

From the feedback we are getting, it seems you are loving it! 

We got a lot of great tweets about this change and wanted to share some of them:

Thanks to everybody for reaching out to us with your feedback, keep it coming!

Do you get emails from a mailing list that feel more like spam? 

Do you get a cool freebie coupon emailed to you from a restaurant on your birthday?

Is there a mailing list that is impossible to unsubscribe from?

Who better to answer these questions than you? Aren’t you the real expert on how useful mailing lists and email newsletters are? Be outspoken with Sender
pages, an easy way to publicly share your experiences about those who send you email. Warn others about a Sender who sends too much. Or shout about a Sender who makes your day! Why keep that valuable information to yourself?

Let's take Amazon for example:

Amazon uses email to keep its customers informed. Since Amazon is one of the top 10 Senders to OtherInbox users, we created a public Sender page on OIB.me for it. On this page, we provide you with some cool facts about Amazon emails that we have learned: the average number of emails they send per month, and how many coupons they send per month.

But better than that, you can also read reviews written by real people who receive email from Amazon. Do they spam you like crazy? Do they send you useless coupons? Get the real insight you are looking for from your peers.

Do you know something about Amazon’s emails you want to share? Leave your own review on what you like or dislike about their newsletters. Tell the world!

Sharing your praise or frustrations with friends and family on Facebook is quick, easy, and done with a single click of a button. If you are a Facebook user enjoy the added feature, Recommendations. This will show you which Senders your friends like.

Already an Organizer user?

If you’re already using Organizer, you will start to notice links inside your Daily Digest to these new review pages.

Get. Started. Now.

We know there are newsletters and coupons from Senders you love. We also know there are Senders who send email you despise. Do your friends a favor and let them know! Here are some  Sender pages for you to get started. Let the commenting begin!

• Amazon
• Apple
• HP
• Walmart
• Kohl's
• Target
  
• Best Buy
• JcPenney
• Barnes & Noble 
• Southwest Airlines
  

And the best thing about it? It's live RIGHT NOW. So go on, try it, it's ready!

We would love to hear your thoughts on these new pages. Please leave a comment with what you think. What other Sender pages should we create? We love feedback, seriously.