Extra Gmail Invites

June 22, 2004 10:36 AM

Where can I get rid of extra Gmail invites? (More inside...)

I have a bunch of extra Gmail invites and it seems like nobody wants them anymore. Ebay is no longer fetching lots of cash for them and all my friends have Gmail already. Sites like Gmail swap suck and there doesn't seem to be a place to give these things away to deserving people. So, what are you guys all doing with your extra Gmail invites?

posted by crazy finger to computers & internet (48 comments total)

I'm ignoring mine. I assume google will stop caring about giving them to me soon.
posted by corpse at 10:38 AM on June 22, 2004

eBay is still good enough. Set it up for a $5 Buy it Now, one day auction, and most of them will be gone. Or send them to me. I have a couple of friends, and a sister, who could use them.
posted by BlueTrain at 10:41 AM on June 22, 2004

See also
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:44 AM on June 22, 2004

If you need any, BlueTrain (or anybody), drop me an e-mail (in profile).
posted by jmd82 at 10:46 AM on June 22, 2004

If you don't want to use Gmail Swap (and I do protest: there are still great little things to be had), look at the sites on our links page - particularly the philanthropic/troops pages, and the giving chains.
posted by Marquis at 10:48 AM on June 22, 2004

Ok, if anybody here at Mefi wants one, I'll give one Gmail invite to the best Barry-Lyndon themed fan-fiction paragraph. Also, if anybody possesses true skill, I'll give one Gmail invite to best Franklin-Pierce inspired poem. Be creative!
posted by crazy finger at 11:01 AM on June 22, 2004

well, i have one, but i know my girlfriend would like one and as yet i haven't been given an invite.

my address is in my profile, i'll pass it on. thanks!
posted by triv at 11:05 AM on June 22, 2004

there's also some gmail for troops page out there now.
posted by adampsyche at 11:09 AM on June 22, 2004

Marquis, I'm not sure if you once mentioned that you were the creator of the site, but if so, you were quoted (as a site) extensively in this article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which ran over the weekend. Did they contact you, or was this just a happy coincidence?
posted by BlueTrain at 11:09 AM on June 22, 2004

Thanks for the tip, BlueTrain - I spoke to Ms Johnson on the phone last week.
posted by Marquis at 11:21 AM on June 22, 2004

Marquis - I would like some opportunity to offer a Gmail account on Gmailswap with my own request. I would request the above mentioned items, or something along the lines of "a 5 pound bag of wheat." Something like that. Everything that is up there right now leads me to believe that most of those folks have little imagination. Perhaps I'm wrong.
posted by crazy finger at 11:26 AM on June 22, 2004

I gave away my 3 invites on my blog just yesterday. If you've got a blog, feel free to imitate. Spread the love for free, y'all.
posted by Asparagirl at 11:38 AM on June 22, 2004

You just need to have some patience, crazy finger - as a friend said, "not having gmail is the new gmail," and it's becoming harder (but not too hard, IMHO) to find a cool swap. The neatest things are snapped up pretty fast.

I don't plan to implement what you're suggesting, although some people have been asking for it since day one. Our rationale is linked to on the post page; see here.

Besides, where's the magnanimous fun in forcing other people to do the things that you insist that they do?
posted by Marquis at 11:44 AM on June 22, 2004

I've been giving mine away on my HR professional-association boards. There's a funny knowledge gap where those who don't know what it is don't want it and those who know what it is are desperate for it but have never heard of the gmail swap site or anything. But that's just HR folks. They're either technology savvy or they're really, really not.
posted by pomegranate at 11:47 AM on June 22, 2004

Marquis - do you have a 5 pound bag of grain or not?
posted by crazy finger at 11:50 AM on June 22, 2004

Send one to me!

Or send one to someone who could use it:
http://gmail4troops.com/
posted by Capn at 11:52 AM on June 22, 2004

If anyone else is looking for invites, I have several. Email's in profile. I ask for nothing but thanks in exchange, since I have an account only through the wooly works of AskMe though a postcard would be super cool.
posted by whatzit at 11:57 AM on June 22, 2004

Why the hell would troops want gmail? Seriously, it's a dumb idea.

Also, is it my imagination, or did gmail invites get much more common around the time we had the huge gmail-love-spreading thing here on mefi?

Anyway, I would suggest posting at anywhere relatively obscure you hang around with something like "email me for gmail invites" -- that usually does the job relatively quickly. Mentioning a gmail account in most places on the web will still result in people begging.

At this point, I'm quite confident in my conviction that gmail isn't going to go public for a long while yet. I think they're doing their best to spread it through this social networking type stuff instead.
posted by reklaw at 12:29 PM on June 22, 2004

I've found that when submitting bugs or asking questions to Google about Gmail, I get 3-6 invites. I guess they seem to like "active" users.
posted by jmd82 at 1:04 PM on June 22, 2004

Why the hell would troops want gmail? Seriously, it's a dumb idea.

Oh, I see, you're opposed to supporting the troops?

(That's a joke.)
posted by waldo at 1:07 PM on June 22, 2004

Interesting. eBay is indeed a bust. Sorry. I now have 12 invites (2 accounts receiving 6 each) and I've never even used either account yet. Craziness.
posted by BlueTrain at 1:58 PM on June 22, 2004

Why the hell would troops want gmail? Seriously, it's a dumb idea.

looks like they need something a little more vital than gmail, actually -- like, any spare windshields, helicopter rotor blades, power radios, computers, laser range finders, night-vision goggles. stuff like that
posted by matteo at 2:12 PM on June 22, 2004

Bluetrain, Crazy finger, anyone...
If anyone cares to give me a gmail account I would gladly take it. Please email to contact page email address. Thanks so much.
posted by BrodieShadeTree at 2:42 PM on June 22, 2004

Ebay has many pages of offers, some at .01 U.S. I wonder if the sellers will try to add shipping to make a profit? It looks like Google is expanding the beta group. I have a couple. MeFi username at gmail.

And check this thread and the wiki.
posted by theora55 at 2:46 PM on June 22, 2004

I had an interesting gmail-related experience today, actually ... attempted to get rid of my last three invites by posting a message to a non-computer-related mailing list that has a very high population of college-educated adults.

I did get rid of the three invites. I also got fourteen seperate emails sending me links to gmail-is-too-creepy.com.

I think we perhaps underestimate how much the whole privacy flap has damaged gmails rep 'out in the world'....
posted by anastasiav at 2:58 PM on June 22, 2004

Brodie, check yer hotmail account.
posted by theora55 at 2:59 PM on June 22, 2004

Marquis, I got my account through the swap. It was fun, thans.
posted by theora55 at 3:01 PM on June 22, 2004

I'll take an extra Gmail invite from anyone who wants to get rid of one. My email address is in my profile and you will have my everlasting gratitude. :-)
posted by rglasmann at 3:06 PM on June 22, 2004

I have extra gmail as well. Email's in the profile. Just make me laugh and it's yours.
posted by amandaudoff at 3:18 PM on June 22, 2004

Gotcha, rglassman. Check your email.
posted by Coffeemate at 3:20 PM on June 22, 2004

I just sent you one, rglasmann.
posted by timeistight at 3:21 PM on June 22, 2004

Shit! Send the spare to someone.
posted by timeistight at 3:22 PM on June 22, 2004

I have some spare helicopter rotors, if anybody's interested...
posted by undecided at 3:31 PM on June 22, 2004

I have a couple invites left. E-mail is in my profile.
posted by Grod at 3:51 PM on June 22, 2004

Thanks to you both Coffeemate and timeistight. I signed up using one of them. I'll check to see if I can forward the other to someone else who wants one. Thanks so much to you both!
posted by rglasmann at 3:52 PM on June 22, 2004

I want a gmail invitation, pleeeeeease.

[end shameless begging]

ahem. I mean, it'd be quite neat.
posted by blindcarboncopy at 5:05 PM on June 22, 2004

Hey all - I already sent an embarrassing plea for an invite to a few folks, but that was before I found out that Yahoo marks these as spam, which in turn was after I emptied my Yahoo bulk mail folder as a matter of routine. So, if anyone cares to send one to lowly me, I promise to never empty my bulk email folder again without checking first!
posted by Gortuk at 5:06 PM on June 22, 2004

I have four left, send an e-mail to the addy in my profile if you want one.
posted by carter at 5:56 PM on June 22, 2004

BCC and Gortuk, didja get the needful?
posted by theora55 at 6:34 PM on June 22, 2004

I have a bunch of invites, still. Email to my profile address for great justice.
posted by majcher at 8:28 PM on June 22, 2004

Another one of these threads? I have two left. Please hope me give them to you by writing me at the address in my profile.
posted by emelenjr at 8:54 PM on June 22, 2004

MeFi Lurker Joe sent me a link yesterday to Gmail4Troops.com, which is an alternative to GmailForTheTroops, I suppose. Of course, there's little point in my posting now because a) this has turned into an I-want-a-Gmail-account thread, and b) somebody posted Gmail4Troops.com on the MeFi front page.

Sorry, Joe! I was a little late checking my email.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 6:07 AM on June 23, 2004

On the offchance that anyone out there still hasn't got one. I've got two more spare. email me
posted by devon at 9:36 AM on June 23, 2004

I could use one ... [e-mail] .

(27 pages of procmail recipes allow me to post my addy freely).
posted by RavinDave at 10:27 AM on June 23, 2004

This has just been a wizard way for Google to make sure they didn't saturate their sign up servers. By they time the go completely open all the "got to have it the first day" types will already have their accounts.
posted by Mitheral at 1:53 PM on June 23, 2004

Three of my friends are lame, and never used the invites I sent them.

Here are the links from their invites, if anyone wants them: [1], [2], [3]
posted by dogmatic at 9:22 PM on June 23, 2004

*sigh* Always a bridesmaid ...

;)
posted by RavinDave at 4:30 AM on June 24, 2004

Blindcarboncopy - I need some contact information for you, if you still read this thread. You are listed at the MeFi Wiki as needing a Gmail account but I can't get it to you.

Post some method of communication or email me.
posted by ajpresto at 5:42 PM on June 27, 2004