Now that Web 3 emails have become a thing, it has become necessary to consider the various add-ons that come with these ecosystems.
One such feature is the spam filter.
We all hate those pesky and annoying messages that creep into our inboxes to advertise whatever it is.
Can Web 3 emails change spam into a force for good?
Shant Kevonian, Founder and CEO of EtherMail explains.
Shant Kevonian, Founder and CEO of EtherMail
E-Crypto News:
How can Web 3.0 email service providers help prevent spam?
I think it’s fair to say email has a spam problem that has gotten out of control – facilitating an advertising free for all, at great cost to users’ privacy. This impacts everyone. At EtherMail, we want to address this long standing imbalance and introduce an entire new framework for email economics – one that rewards users for their time spent reading inbound marketing emails. Lofty ambitions, I hear you say! But we are well on our way to making this vision a reality. By leveraging the latest innovations in blockchain technology, we are establishing a mutually-beneficial ecosystem that prioritises user privacy and helps them unlock a new source of passive income, while also empowering brands to execute more effective outreach to potential customers.
E-Crypto News:
Is a spam-free environment possible with Web 3.0 email providers?
Absolutely it’s possible. By greatly enhancing security and privacy while enabling new levels of customisation, Web3 email solutions can address many of the issues associated with legacy Web2 email platforms. For example, every day it is estimated that somewhere in the ballpark of 320 billion emails are sent, with roughly 30% of these being characterised as unsolicited spam. Very often, these types of emails are sent in bulk to a vast selection of recipients without their consent, resulting in a landslide of unwanted emails that clog up users’ inboxes. This leads to a frustrating email experience for end users, who waste a huge amount of time sifting through and deleting these inbounds. These spam emails can also include links or attachments designed to undermine the security of user devices. Then we have the issue of users unknowingly signing up to promotional emails due to purposely vague prompts and checkboxes that come with online purchasing. In the Web3 email arena, these malpractices would be ironed out.
E-Crypto News:
What is Ethermail’s Paywall?
The Paywall is the key to unlocking this new advertising paradigm I mentioned previously. Our Paywall solution – which can be used by both Web2 and Web3 users – represents a personalized protective layer for email users to filter spam and earn rewards for receiving inbound advertising emails.
E-Crypto News:
How does it work?
We are providing a platform that allows advertisers to engage with users in a much more transparent and incentivized manner, creating a mutually beneficial and clear-cut exchange of value. We want to foster a landscape of user autonomy and empowerment, while leveling the playing field between advertisers and users, providing fair compensation for the routine and longstanding invasion and bombardment of the personal inbox.
E-Crypto News:
How do Ethermail users earn rewards for inbound advertising emails?
Think of the Paywall as a type of virtual toll configured by a user for their inbox, allowing them to set a range of custom preferences to define what kind of content they are willing to receive in exchange for rewards in token form.
E-Crypto News:
What kinds of flexibilities does the Paywall offer?
Verified content sources are a key part of the Paywall, which users have full oversight over by designating verified senders. Users will have the ability to control their paywall based on a range of custom preferences. These include ‘Unsolicited’ whereby users configure the Paywall of $EMT per unsolicited email of third parties; ‘Relevant’, in which users receive information from the companies whose assets they’re holding; ‘P2P’, allowing users to choose a bespoke policy for P2P communication; and finally ‘Subscriptions’, whereby users can manage their subscription preferences seamlessly.
E-Crypto News:
What roles do decentralized technologies play in Paywall’s deployment?
Smart contracts automatically trigger rewards being allocated, such as tokens being sent to users’ wallets as soon as they engage with inbound emails, as per the terms of the Paywall. This creates a transparent and efficient incentive mechanism for user participation.
E-Crypto News:
What are the benefits for advertisers?
More targeted and value-generating outreach to prospective customers. As you read this, you probably have several thousand unread marketing emails – many of which are totally outside your scope of interests and quite irrelevant – taking up space in your inbox, with zero incentive for you to read them. From a KPI sense, this is a really ineffective strategy for advertisers who are just being ignored, or worse yet, driving frustration among potential customers with outreach that just doesn’t connect with them. Given these issues, it’s clear that the existing email infrastructure is unfit for purpose, both for end users and advertisers.
E-Crypto News:
Why choose an Ethereum-based environment?
It’s a case of going where the users are. The majority of companies and communities use the Ethereum network – not just Ethereum but EVM as well – and we have a solution that solves the most prominent communications challenges for these users.
Related: The Unconventional Guide to Ethereum
E-Crypto News:
How do email account holders get their rewards?
When this service launches, smart contracts will be leveraged as part of the rewards mechanism, and for the time being, early adopters can receive rewards in the form of EMC tokens.
E-Crypto News:
What is the difference between EMC and $EMT tokens?
Before our EMT utility token is launched, early adopters can earn rewards in EMC. Eventually, these EMC rewards will be converted to EMT, and the EMC : EMT conversion rate will be defined at the time of token launch. Just like with gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain, a balance of EMC / $EMT will be needed for advertisers to target users within the ecosystem.
E-Crypto News:
How are regular spam messages detected and deleted within the EtherMail ecosystem?
In 1997 British cryptographer Adam Back proposed the proof-of-work concept, as a mechanism to combat email spam, by making it computationally expensive for spammers to send large volumes of messages. By leveraging blockchain technology and its inherent security features, EtherMail is implementing a concept similar to the one proposed by Adam Back, to address email spam and scams, while providing a secure and private messaging platform for users. The decentralized nature of EtherMail will not only protect users from scams but also contribute to a more equitable distribution of value generated by the email industry.
E-Crypto News:
How does EtherMail ensure anonymity and privacy?
EtherMail keeps your activity as anonymous as your behavior does. For example, if you send an email revealing your identity, or if you interact with smart contracts and dox yourself, EtherMail can’t help you in these circumstances.
E-Crypto News:
How can regular email applications interact with EtherMail addresses?
EtherMail supports normal email, allowing for a truly seamless integration, so users can write from Gmail or Hotmail and vice versa.
E-Crypto News:
What kinds of technologies back these interactions?
The underlying technologies behind these integrations comprise blockchain, encryption, email protocols IMAP / SMTP.
E-Crypto News:
How does building a mailing list based on user activity work?
Companies that are onboarded monitor their smart contracts which allows them to contact their shareholders. Otherwise, there are embeddable widgets that enable users to sign up from their newsletters from their website or via the community’s designated EtherMail page.
E-Crypto News:
What Web3 segmentations does EtherMail have?
At the moment projects can be segmented based on tokens and NFTs that have interacted with their company, for example, last transaction, the amounts being transacted, and also specific events such as buying or dumping.
E-Crypto News:
How does your affiliate program work?
Currently, users get 250 EMC for inviting a verified user, ie: someone who has completed a transaction on mainnet.
E-Crypto News:
What is the EtherMail campaign builder and what are its benefits?
The EtherMail campaign builder allows journeys to be pre-programed based on conditions and behaviors that others have done, very similar to MailChimp with the exception that we welcome Web3 users. When MailChimp took the decision to suspend newsletter services for crypto businesses last year, a vast array of highly legitimate companies were suddenly left without a direct line of communication to holders of their assets. We were happy to step up to the plate and provide Web3 projects with a robust and reliable service to address their bespoke communications needs.
E-Crypto News:
Any plans for 2024?
2024 is shaping up to be a landmark year in the EtherMial journey, particularly in terms of advancing our roadmap and launching our native EMT token, in accordance and compliance with relevant regulations. In the meantime we’ll be introducing exciting new product features and creating more value-driven partnerships with industry leaders.
Related: Shant Kevonian of Ethermail Explores Web3 Anonymous Email Solutions and More
