Vacation messages and what it means to be unimpressed

GMail unveiled a new feature: vacation messages.

I used to have this feature back in my university days and I might have even used it a few times. I certainly helped a whole bunch of folks use it when I worked at the help desk, so I know some people like it. While Google did add the feature of only letting current contacts know you’re away, it mostly left me unimpressed.

Is this because I’ve caught onto the Google backlash? Maybe a little. Most likely, it’s because I rarely am away from email. In 2005, there were only eight non-weekend days that I didn’t send an email. And two of those days I was in Phoenix within typing distance of my laptop.

Then again, many have such constant access to email. Perhaps as internet ubiquity becomes expected, features like this will befome more useful for those rare occasions when we’re disconnected?