Ben Wilson

February 5, 2022

My Hey Experience

I've been going for several months about various topics relating to technology management. I am taking a slight pivot to discuss what I have experienced going to Hey for my email.

Without getting into its marketing spiel, Hey is yet-another email platform. It is pro-privacy, and low-noise. You are required to intentionally screen in senders, and to route them either to the "Imbox," "The Feed," or "Papertrail." The first bucket is the default view the "Important box." The second bucket displays the emails as one might view a blog or social media wall; with a short preview and the ability to expand to read the whole email. The third is where you route the important documents (e.g. receipts, tax documents, etc.) Regardless of which bucket you route the email, you can "set aside" or "reply later," which lists the emails in a different view so you don't lose them. They also "recycle" email either when you tell it to based on a sender, or if it's in The Feed after 30 days. No need to trash it.

I have maintained the Zero Email doctrine for 12 years at work. Most of what Hey does mimics what I've done at work. Having recently taken a break, when I came back, half my emails were in "The Feed." I scanned them, pulled out the couple I wanted to look at, and ignored the rest. And, most of what Hey does I had done in Gmail for most of my experience with Gmail (I was an early Beta user in 2004).

After a year of Hey, I'm slowly changing my relationship to email. I used to have a lot of email route to the Imbox, which demands attention and deletion. I thought of it as my Inbox. I've slowly redesignated those senders to The Feed. All three buckets are inboxes. They just have different demands on my attention. I can now process all the emails I care about, and it takes a lot less time.

-- 
Ben 
In tenebra solus sto

About Ben Wilson

Ben Wilson, the brains behind the Postal Marines sci-fi saga, is a history buff with a soft spot for human nature and religion. After serving in the US Army, he's now stuck in the exciting world of IT project management, where he feeds off his customers' frustrations. Ben shares his Northern Virginia home with his wife, three kids, and two vicious attack cats. Don't worry, he didn't sell his oldest to the Core (although he may have considered it). His eldest has flown the nest and started a family of his own.