Gmailswap

Giggled at on April fools day when announced, many users are giggling at the lengths to which people are willing to go to get an account. So much so, that a dedicated site (gmailswap.com) has been setup to help people get an account! The idea of the site is to get existing gmail members (or beta testers) to give their invites to other people; in return prospective 'gmailers' offer services, ranging from "free entry to a Winnipeg concert event" to "all expenses paid camping trip in the southwestern USA".

The site offers users to get a head-start on the rush for popular names and has clearly been setup with good intentions. However, the site does fail to make clear that fact that within months, the service will be offered for free! Eitherway, stories like this and the "accident" of giving some members a terabyte of space this week, continue to keep gmail popular and on the front page of many news sites. Excitement around issues like this however does distract public attention from clear privacy issues, which have yet to be solidly clarified.

News source: Forum Post