Hotmail has been the de facto choice for email accounts since… god knows when. While my first email address wasn’t through Hotmail (it was through go.com YEARS ago) many of my friends had an email address through hotmail to use the infamously infused IM client MSN Messenger. It seems as if the goliath of web based email is severely losing traction and losing it fast. With such a strong brand name how could this of possibly happened?

Identity Crisis

I don’t know a single person outside of the tech world who knows what the hell Windows Live IS, and honestly I had no idea for a while there also. It is basically an umbrella name for multiple products and while this is great in theory (you’re creating constant brand recgonition) the way Microsoft went about this was horrid.

When people signed up for a new account via hotmail.com they thought they were getting a hotmail address, rather they were getting a live address which I have first hand experience confused people beyond belief.  Redirecting people to a Live web address and simply stating they were signing up for a Live email instead of Hotmail email would’ve significantly improved the confusion created. This was a horrible mistake on Microsoft’s part, they were giving users a bad thought before they even used their product. And in true Microsoft spirit it is rumored they might change their name yet again adding yet another lovely level of complication for users..

SPAM

One of the features that defined Hotmail was their infamous ability not to filter out SPAM. People have complained about this issue for YEARS and while it has gotten SLIGHTLY better it doesn’t nearly match up to Gmail or even Yahoo! Mail. It is no wonder people are jumping ship.

Design

Gmail has a quick, simple and intuitive interface for composing, viewing and working with emails.  Hotmail though was stuck in between their old UI and a brand spankin new design that was very comparable to Gmail, even if it was a bit slower. They never pushed their users to upgrade and instead made it difficult to do. While people may not like significant change right away, if it is a good change people will eventually warm up to the idea or eventually move on. Microsoft once again failed to realize this and instead half assed around with implementing a new UI.

These three things are certainly not the only reasons Hotmail or rather Windows Live is failing, but it is some of the key reasons why they are. Gmail is definitely replacing Hotmail/Windows Live Mail as the new email web client of choice and there seems to be no signs of that changing.

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