Towards a digital lifestyle: Postal mail
I love having information available. Preferably in electronic format, nicely tagged and searchable. Conversely, I hate paper, not just junk mail. Paper mail is a resource drain in terms of pulp, plastics, my time and space. That is why I typically sign up for email alternatives with my "suppliers" such as phone companies, banks, utilities etc. (although with some exceptions).
Consequently, I was excited to learn about Remote Control Mail (spotted on TechCrunch). You redirect your mail to the service, they image your mail and make it available to you via a secure web interface. If you need the physical piece of paper (their data suggests that this happens about 4% of the time), you check a box and they will forward it to you. With time, I would expect the service to develop rule-based procedures for dealing with your mail.
That's a service I would pay for. I wonder if anything like it is available in the UK?
This sounds very interesting. But the paper is still used up even if you no longer have to deal with it. It is still better to try to stop the mail you don't want and then image the rest. This is why GreenDimes is so handy - it is a service that helps you get off junk mail lists and selectively unsubscribe from catalogs you no longer want. And plants a tree for you each month. Please take a look and see what you think - www.greendimes.com.
Jill
Posted by: Jill Finlayson | 27 November 2006 at 01:19