Gmail Gets Free Analytics

Google has launched yet another free service for its Gmail and G+ subscribers.

Gmail Meter, activated for general use on 19 April, enables Gmail users to become more aware of their email habits and tendencies. It analyses email writing and filing patterns to present an overall sense of how email is being used.

Long view

For example, most people probably don’t think about whether they tend to write long or short messages; chances are they write as much as they need to write to get the job done. Gmail Meter takes a long-view look at email histories and gives users some metrics about this and other habits.

Same thing with how much time email users take to reply to their friends, family members, and business associates. Do you tend to wait longer than you should to answer people back, or do you like to get an answer back to the questioner as soon as possible?

Realistically, any number of human emotions can get mixed into all of this to slow the process down. And sometimes you just overlook an email, especially in high-volume Inboxes. The answers to these questions are going to be as different as people’s personalities. Nonetheless, Gmail Meter does the qualifying research, doesn’t make any assumptions, and lets you mull it over. Perhaps you learn something new about yourself in the process.

Gmail Meter doesn’t work on a 24/7 basis. It comes on the first day of every month and sends users an email containing various statistics about your Inbox.

Monthly analysis

An example of one of those metrics would be the percentage of email threads (conversations) you have started, and the percentage of replies within those conversations you have had.

The analytics tool also will look at an entire month and give you estimates of what times of day – also, what days of the week – you are most active in answering or creating email. It also can point out whether you’re sending email to mostly the same people, or to a lot of new people.

Another category – probably the most embarrassing one for most people – is type of email you have in your boxes. Namely, this is a readout percentage of unread, archived, and trashed emails you may have.

Most people have large number of unread emails just sitting there taking up storage space. It can be difficult for people to find the time to go in, read them and act on them. Gmail Meter reminds us of all this.

Here’s what you need to do to get this free app up and running:

• Go to Google Docs and create a new spreadsheet, then save it.
• Click on Tools, followed by Script Gallery, then search for “Gmail Meter” and click Install.
• An authorisation prompt then will ask for you to okay access to the tool.
• A new menu item called Gmail Meter will appear on the spreadsheet. Select Gmail Meter and then Get a Report. You will get an email once the report is ready.

Gmail Meter was developed by a third-party developer, Romain Vialard, a Google Apps Script Top Contributor.

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