

Tell HN: I can't find a fix. If you build it, I will be a paying customer. - vrikhter

I want a better way to manage lists of contacts within gmail.<p>Problem: I have different groups of friends (as do you) based on what they do, how we're related, where we've met, etc.  I enjoy sending articles to these people based on their interest.  I reach out to them to get advice relative to their domain expertise.  I get in contact with them when traveling to their city to get to together.  Lists of these people may look like this:<p>Atlanta natives,
Georgia Tech alums,
Consulting folks,
Entrepreneurs,
Budding Entrepreneurs,
BD Guys/Gals,
CTO/VP of Engr,
SXSW (Meet at SXSW),
VCs/Angels,
Customers,
etc..<p>Managing this through Gmail Contacts is a pain and I have given up.  Generally I remember some of these lists of people (note: they don't usually include that many - maybe 10-15 each).  But a lot of times I end up going through a chunk of my list to jolt my memory on whom I need to ping about something.<p>Solution: I want a simple chrome/gmail extension that allows me to enter an individuals email address and quickly tag them into a couple lists.  Then as a MVP, let me quickly bring up the tag, see the people in it and copy their email addresses into the To/CC/BCC box.<p>Want to look at an app that did a kick ass job of bringing in a simple solution to Gmail: Taskforceapp.com.  Something like that would make me happy.<p>Bonus: reminding me to ping people every x months.  Etacts did this and I loved it...but that's gone.<p>How much would I pay?  Definitely $20/month to start.
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gte910h
You're looking for a Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) with a Gmail
extention (or a mailing list tool that's almost a CRM)

Something like
[https://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/viewListing?pr...](https://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/viewListing?productListingId=2533+17854168373705313802)

or
[https://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/viewListing?pr...](https://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/viewListing?productListingId=3956+15797827514936543044&pli=1)

or
[https://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/viewListing?pr...](https://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/viewListing?productListingId=3525+5361236203077141107)

~~~
zdw
You forgot to include information so the OP could pay you for your research
time.

~~~
gte910h
I'm actually researching CRM's right now. I copy pasted 4 links out of some
searches I'd been doing.

My particular requirements:

    
    
      Works well on iOS (ipad and iPhone)
    
      Works well with GoogleApps for your domain
    
      If it integrates with Highrise, it supports multiple highrise accounts.
    
      Does not have history of f-ing up calendars
    

Let me know if you know of something that fits these mr snark

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triviatise
Hmm maybe Im not understanding what you are asking for, but doesn't gmail do
this via contact groups? I checked my account and it really does exist

<http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=30970>

This is a pain and not really within gmail. I create google groups for each
group and add the emails from my contact list to the google group. Sending an
email to the group sends to all. This is hacky and not very scalable, but if
you just have a few groups it works ok.

This is also not within gmail, but let's you send via gmail. If you sync your
gmail contacts to outlook you can then create groups, outbound emails will
obviously go through gmail

------
Britton
Hi there.

Xobni for Gmail is in Beta right now and although it does not do exactly what
you are asking, Xobni does have a recommendation engine that does help to
solve this pain point. Once you start an email to someone, Xobni will identify
and recommend the people you often email with that person - so, although there
is no specific list you can select, Xobni takes a lot of the guesswork out for
you.

If you are interested in getting into the Xobni for Gmail beta, go here -
<http://www.xobni.com/waitinglist/gmailbeta/> and enter the following media
code for priority access: XOBNI-BRITTON

~~~
vrikhter
Britton, thanks for the offer. I tried using the code, but because I signed up
for the beta a couple weeks ago it won't let me use your access code. Can you
help you?

------
edash
I think the new startup Tout (toutapp.com) is working to develop something
like this.

HN discussion here: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2361409>

In the current iteration, it seeks to fill the middle ground between an email
client and a full-blown email marketing application.

I'm sure Gmail integration is a natural addition to the product over the next
few months...

~~~
vrikhter
Interesting product...I've actually regularly had this problem as well. Gmail
integration for me is a must. It doesn't solve my problem above, which is
tagging people into groups/lists. I'll keep my eye on it and maybe it'll
develop over time.

------
jsb
Hi Vladik - I'm working on a product that is somewhat related to this. Could I
email you about it? Or shoot me an email: justin.burdett AT gmail.com

Not sure if we're going to directly solve your problem at the start, but I'd
love your input.

~~~
vrikhter
absolutely. vladik dot rikhter at gmail

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rpsubhub
You may want to take a look at "Don't forget Bob" in gmail labs. Once you pick
some email recipients, Gmail suggests more people you might want to include
based on the groups of people you email most often.

------
sidvis
I like nudgemail.com for the contact reminders/nudges and a new service called
Receivd for managing lists of people and sharing files/content with those
lists.

~~~
vrikhter
I've been using Boomerang for Gmail instead of Nudge (didn't hear of Nudge
until recently). Receivd seems to have a high focus on sharing files/content,
which I don't particularly need.

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steveplace
I bet rapportive could easily find a way to implement this.

~~~
vrikhter
That would be _awesome_! I love rapportive and have already wrapped it around
my Google contacts.

------
scrrr
I'd also like such a plugin / browser extension. For the time being I use
contact groups. When I type the name of a group gmail expands the email
addresses.

~~~
vrikhter
That's what I've been using as well...just too cumbersome.

------
JCB_K
Highrise by 37signals? Bit higher price, but definitely a quality product.

EDIT: It doesn't work inside gmail obviously.

~~~
vrikhter
I like Highrise, but like you said it doesn't work in Gmail. It's also an
entire CRM, which I don't really need. Just want a better way to manage lists.

------
Stronico
I'm working on something vaugely similar at <http://Stronico.com>

~~~
vrikhter
The tagging part is what I'm looking for. Everything else in the application
doesn't fill any immediate needs for me.

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mindfulbee
I'm not quite sure, but does plaxo not do some of there things? I know they
made some updates recently.

~~~
vrikhter
Maybe? I stopped Plaxo a couple years ago after not really understanding the
purpose of the product.

------
ljlolel
www.fiesta.cc , my buddy's startup. It's not quite the solution you describe,
but it mostly solves the problem.

~~~
vrikhter
That's actually pretty good. Anyway to get rid of the group@fiesta.cc email
address?

~~~
ljlolel
he's offering any subdomain if you pay (e.g. lists.vrikhter.com), tweet
@fiestacc

~~~
mdirolf
still fleshing that out, but will probably be free for smaller use cases.
also, it's @fiesta :)

