Google has pretty much taken over as the most used email service, but back in the day, Hotmail was the king of free email service
While browsing the MSN.com homepage a few days ago, I saw a prominent ad that looked a little something like this:
I began to have memories of my old Hotmail account—it was 1996 when I set it up and it was a pretty big deal. I didn’t have the Internet in my home then, and only used it at work, so I was ineligible for an email account with AOL or Prodigy because I didn’t have an account. Hotmail was cool because it was free and I didn’t have to be one of the cool kids with a computer or dial up account to have it, and I remember giving it to everyone and checking it often to see if I had any messages. More often than not, I didn’t have many new messages because this was pre-spam and not many of my friends or family had Internet access back then. When I did receive an email, it was always a joyful occasion.
Hotmail was a pretty reliable email service and I used it for years—until Gmail came on the scene. In 2005, I got my first Gmail account and in 2007, I pretty much abandoned by Hotmail account. I no longer had use for it.
When exchanging emails, I hardly ever see anyone utilize a Hotmail account anymore. I wonder why that is? Hotmail always allowed for maximum space and had some cool features—what is it that make most of us laugh and giggle now when a Hotmail address is used?
All of this talk of nostalgia is making me want to re-up my Hotmail account and utilize it again, even if it’s just for fun.
Do you remember when it was cool to have a Hotmail account? Do you still use a Hotmail account, and if you do, do you get snickers or giggles?
What’s say you, Cubes?
RT @TheCubicleChick Do you remember when it was cool to have a Hotmail account? http://bit.ly/eto0Xu
Yep! I still have mine. I use it for msn messenger 😀
Kizzy, LOL. MSN Messenger? That used to be my fave messaging system. I haven’t logged onto it in years! Thanks for commenting.
Hey thats true for me too. My first personal account was Hotmail. I used it when out of work and surfing for jobs online. I’ve used numerous others for brief periods such as Yahoo and Lycos. I’m now with googlemail and like it just fine. My old hotmail account is now dead.
Marty, Lycos? Wow, that brings back so many memories. The Internet hasn’t been around for eons but it seems as though things come and go so fast. I remember making my first website with Angelfire.
I still have my Hotmail and my MSN accounts. Ever since 1993. I use the MSN account for eMail that is absolutely personal; where my affiliation needs to be couched from view. I use my Hotmail account for any purpose where the recipient is not known to be trustworthy or is clearly untrustworthy (but requires some sort of registration to obtain a potentially vital piece of information.
Every hook has a hanger.
Roy, separating business from personal is always a good thing, especially with email. I even have a separate account for when I buy things online—the spam mail goes to that account only. None of them are Hotmail though—I have nothing against Hotmail, per se, but it is a prime example of how things change on relevancy in the Internet.
I still use my hotmail account and I have gmail as well. I like the both.
Sandra, I am thinking of re-establishing my Hotmail account for kicks. Why not? It is still active, so using it as another source for email may not be such a bad idea.
New Blog Post-: Do you remember when it was cool to have a Hotmail account? http://bit.ly/eucG8V
RT @dannigyrl: New Blog Post-: Do you remember when it was cool to have a Hotmail account? http://bit.ly/eucG8V
I never stopped using hot mail and I still think is pretty popular. It’s part of WindowsLive now, with Bing search engine, msn messenger and a lot of other features too.
Joseph, I must admit that I am falling in love with Bing. I am working on a project w/ #BingTravel and I’ve been using their search engine more. Maybe using Bing will make me re-establish my old old hotmail acct. Thanks for commenting.
Girl, I am shocked when (every blue moon) somebody gives me a hotmail addy. Not until last year when someone shared their Live photos with me that I had to reactivate my hotmail account. It was my first email address as well and I used to love it and yes thought I was hot/cool with it 🙂
Kesha, by the looks of the comments, Hotmail still may be relevant. I am shocked too when I see people using Hotmail. But maybe it’s on the come-up. 🙂
I still have my original hotmail account that I created in 1997. I use it mostly for registering for websites and bill payment now but there are a few “humans” that still send me email to that account. I have a gmail account as well but the joy is that I have my gmail account linked to my hotmail account so I can do everything through GMail. Technology is a wonderful thing
Derrick, wow—I didn’t know you could link your Gmail and Hotmail (or other services). You learn something new everyday.
I still have mine but I never use it!
Hi, my name is Brandi & I never had a hotmail account :).. My first account was aol because we used it for dial up service ages ago & believe it or not I still have two active aol accounts paired with yahoo, gmail, & my thechicfactory email (I think I need to start consolidating :/) haha. Now if you mention commodore 64’s I might pass out, that was my first computer, hahaha.
Brandi: LOL. You may be too young to “appreciate” Hotmail. I may not mention Commodore 64 but I do appreciate a game of Oregon Trail 🙂
I noticed a problem with hotmail when I had a conflict with Yahoo mail. Apparently they had an issue with each other and Yahoo would mark most hotmail that was received as spam or at times, delete it before it reached the inbox. But you are right, I rarely see people with a hotmail addy nowadays.
Stephanie, I think most people agree that Hotmail is a relic when it comes to email but it looks like their Windows Live Hotmail version is trying to up the ante. We will see. Thanks for commenting.