Outlook is the Open Email Platform (and Xobni is cool)

Soon I’ll post my long-awaited list of why Outlook sucks.

But before ripping into it for sucking in so many ways, I must admit that it is the only open email platform in use today.

We realized that email is the real social network, but only Outlook offers a platform where 3rd parties can innovate. I’ve learned to depend on Xobni for quickly seeing conversations and shared files. (See screenshot at right, or Fred’s post.) The LinkedIn Outlook plugin is cool too–I hope it soon integrates photos.

Yahoo may offer a platform around their webmail, which would be a huge step in the right direction, but I’m doubtful that they could pull it off.

So as much as I really hate Outlook, it is the only place where someone with a good idea for improving email can actually do anything.

Related: Outlook sucks more than I even imagined