Zapmail history
Zapmail!
Zapmail was a revolutionary email service that was launched in 1981 by John Sculley, who later became the CEO of Apple. Zapmail was one of the first commercial email services, allowing users to send and receive electronic mail over the internet.
Here's a brief history of Zapmail:
Early Days: Zapmail was founded in 1981 by John Sculley, who was then the CEO of Pepsi-Cola. Sculley saw the potential of email and decided to create a service that would allow people to send and receive electronic mail. The company was initially called "ZapMail Corporation" and was headquartered in Los Angeles.
First Commercial Email Service: Zapmail launched its service in 1981, making it one of the first commercial email services in the world. The service allowed users to send and receive email using a terminal or a personal computer connected to a modem.
How it Worked: Zapmail used a proprietary protocol called "Zapmail Protocol" to transmit email messages between users. The service used a hub-and-spoke architecture, where messages were stored on a central server and then transmitted to the recipient's terminal or computer.
Features: Zapmail offered several features that were innovative for its time, including:
- Email forwarding: Users could forward email messages to other Zapmail users.
- Email attachments: Users could attach files to their email messages.
- Email filtering: Zapmail offered basic filtering capabilities, allowing users to sort and prioritize their email messages.
Impact: Zapmail played a significant role in popularizing email and making it accessible to a wider audience. The service was used by businesses, organizations, and individuals, and it helped to establish email as a mainstream form of communication.
Decline: Despite its innovative features and early mover advantage, Zapmail struggled to compete with other email services that emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The service was eventually discontinued in the mid-1990s.
Legacy: Zapmail's legacy can be seen in the many email services that followed, including AOL, Hotmail, and Gmail. The service's innovative features and early adoption of email technology paved the way for the modern email services we use today.