February 3, 2009

BigString

Have you ever wished your e-mail would do certain things for you? Well, today, I want to introduce you to a new e-mail service you might like. It's called BigString, but before I go into any detail about it, I have to ask you a couple questions. Have you ever wanted to erase an e-mail that was already sent? Or, how about ensuring a private e-mail wasn't forwarded, saved or printed? Would you like to record a video right in an e-mail? Luckily, all of those things are just a few of the features BigString boasts. So, let’s check it out!

To get started with BigString, you first need to create an account. Here's how:

1.) Head on over to http://www.bigstring.com/ and click on the Sign Up link.

2.) Now, you’ll need to set up a username. Type in your choice and click on Check Username. BigString is relatively new, so there are plenty of choices for usernames. If your choice is available, click Continue.

3.) You’ll then have to fill out the usual information: your name, password, set up a security question, etc. Once you're finished, click Continue.

4.) Next, click on Take Me to My Inbox and you'll see this screen:

5.) To begin typing an e-mail, click on Compose.

Now, here’s where the magic begins! You can select from all different types of e-mails. Let’s check them out!

Recallable Messages – These are messages that expire after a certain number of views, an exact time or a time after it was opened. They can also be edited. For example, if the wrong information was sent to the wrong person.
Quick Destruct – Messages that destruct after either 15 to 30 seconds or one to two minutes after being opened.
Regular with Tracking – These are messages that can be tracked by how many views they've had.
Video Mail – This one allows you to record a video using a Webcam. The video can be set to self-destruct after a certain number of views.
Secure Mail – This uses encryption to keep your e-mails private.
Regular – Of course, you have the option of sending a normal e-mail as well.

6.) You can experiment with sending e-mails to yourself with those different options. I’m sure you’ll notice that it's rich-text formatting, which is similar to MS Word. You can also embed an image if you wish. To send an e-mail, simply click on the green Send button.

Now, I’d like to show you how to recall and self-destruct messages!

7.) First, click on .

8.) Here you can see that an e-mail I sent to myself hasn’t been read yet. To self-destruct it, just click on the checkbox and then click on Self-Destruct.

9.) Now, let’s say I wanted to edit the following message:

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10.) Just double click it and type in your corrections. Then click on Update. It’s as easy as that!

11.) As for the video e-mail, I have a Webcam and I've recorded a short clip. When the recipient gets the video, they'll have to click on a link to be directed to a video player similar to this: