Gmail turns 20 years old today, on April Fool's Day. It is one of the oldest and longest-living Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL products. Google famously launched it on April Fool's Day and in its announcement, the search giant said this was in response to a user complaint.
“If a Google user has a problem with email, well, so do we,” said Google co-founder and then the president of technology, Sergey Brin.
Picture that – Google launched one of the most used services in the world based on a user complaint. Gmail is used by over 1.5 billion users in the world –nearly 1 in every 4 people has a Google account and uses Gmail.
The Origins Of Gmail
Gmail was a product of Google's famous "20% Project" time, where employees are required to spend one day a week on projects that interest them – this is unrelated to their actual job at the company.
The idea behind Gmail was simple – back then, users were forced to file emails in folders to go back to them at a later date. This broke conversations and made it difficult to follow them.
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Gmail offered what now looks like a simple fix – it threaded replies in a single conversation, making it easier than ever to follow a chain of emails.
It also promised to deal with spam emails by turning them into "canned meat."
When it launched, Gmail offered a staggering (at the time) 1GB of storage. It was fast and free, and the search feature worked quite well, compared to what was on offer.
Deleting mails because of storage constraints was no longer as much of a problem, and Google's game of exclusivity augured well for Gmail. Scoring an invite was a big deal back then, especially with limited connectivity options compared to what we have now.
See Also: Happy 48, Apple: If You Invested $1000 In Apple When It Went Public, Here’s How Much You’d Have
A few months after launching Gmail, Google went public. Here's how Google's stock has performed since then.
Google stock price from Aug. 19, 2004, till today
Google’s stock, adjusted for stock splits and other corporate actions, was $2.511 on Aug. 19, 2004.
Its stock price today is $150.93, which is an increase of 5,911% during this period.
Value of a $1,000 investment in Google stock, and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices, respectively, from Aug. 19, 2004, till today
If you had invested $1,000 in Google stock on Aug. 19, 2004, today, you would have $60,107.
Likewise, if you had invested $1,000 in an index fund replicating Nasdaq, you would have $9,000.
A similar $1,000 investment in an index fund that replicates the S&P 500 would be worth $4,815.
The Digital Key To The Internet
Gmail has become the digital key to the internet. Whether it's your social media accounts, bank accounts, or anything else that requires an email address, chances are it is linked to a Gmail account.
Newer options like "Sign in with Google" take the hassle of passwords out of the way as well, making it easier than ever before to link a new service to your Gmail.
Email might not be that much of hot property today thanks to social media services and messaging apps, but it is the one password many of us have likely memorized.
Perhaps Gmail today is what it needs to be, nothing more, nothing less. It might not be the most exciting app to open on our phones, but it is still one of the most important ones to have.
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Photo courtesy: Google
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