But did they get it?

According to this NYTimes item, somebody's developed a little app that can tell if the recipient of an email has been read (Who Got the Message? There's a Way to Know). The lead:

A NEW service promises to pull back the curtain on anyone hiding behind the common white lie "I never got your e-mail." Users of the service, DidTheyReadIt (didtheyreadit.com), can clandestinely track when and where their e-mail is read.

The service, which has already drawn complaints from privacy advocates, offers a new and quiet way to harvest behavioral information about friends, colleagues and potential consumers.

I find this interesting for two reasons. First, my Outlook has a setting that allow me to get a ping when somebody (a) receives, or (b) opens an email I've sent. Second, just because they've done either what proof is there that they've read or understood the content? The fact that it's kept secret from the recipient is significant: no wonder the privacy folks are up in arms.

Sometimes too much knowledge is just too much.

Posted by Grayson at June 4, 2004 06:59 AM