Some people live to eat. I live for e-mail, or at least, I used to. That was before I got a bit older and my life got significantly busier. It did help that I decided to go back for a second degree and embark on a research project.

Some days I barely read my e-mail at all (BlackBerry doesn’t count)! Friends used to joke that if they sent me an e-mail and went for a glass of water, they’d have a reply by the time they returned to their screen. Recently, they’ve actually had to pick up the phone, and have questioned the state of my health. Even with my Outlook inbox neatly organized into multiple folders, and hundreds of rules, my inbox runs at around 1000 e-mails a day, and my junk folder is currently in the 5,000 range. Let’s face it, my e-mail is out of control and I am woefully behind. Imagine my joy when I stumbled on Xobni.

Normally, I hate any e-mail add-on programs; I find they slow things down and mess things up. I was reluctant to install any add-on programs to Outlook, but Xobni sounded too good to pass up. Xobni focuses on four issues that make Outlook seem outdated: Fast Search, Finding Attachments Easily, Navigating Outlook by People, and creating Threaded Conversations.

The download and installation of the Xobni application was quick and relatively seamless. Xobni does need to perform an initial synchronization with your e-mail and on my machine with tens of thousands of pieces of e-mail, took about 10 minutes. Once the initial set-up is done, the program is lightening fast. I had a new, “minimizable” window attached to my Outlook that was providing me with absolutely amazing analytical data about the e-mailer and other “associations” that are tied to the piece of e-mail.

First, you get all kinds of information about the person whose e-mail you are reading: their phone number, the time of day they are most likely to respond to your e-mail, a list of files you have exchanged with them, other people who exchange e-mail with the e-mailer (eg, their “social network”), conversations being held with the e-mailer… the list goes on. This tab really helps see what is going on with the contact. Then, there is a link to click on “schedule time with this person,” and if you click it, a new e-mail to them is generated and sends you free times for the week based on your Outlook calendar. Brilliant.
 
The “Organize” tab in Xobni is a summary of what is going for you in Outlook. You will see on this tab section your “Upcoming Appointments” and “Tasks.” There is also a section at the bottom of the tab showing people that you haven’t e-mailed with recently, so you can keep in touch. It’s a great way to avoid hurt feelings, or keep a business connection going.
 
The more I use the program, the more I discover. It’s a bit like peeling an onion. However, even if you just look at the panel presented and don’t click a single thing within the Xobni Insight panel, you will love the program. By giving you so much information for all the contacts you have in your e-mail, you finally get fantastic context to all your e-mails extremely easily. Xobni is full of so many features it is impossible to cover them here.

If you want a fast search or awesome data mining capabilities for your e-mail, Xobni is the tool for you. I can't remember the last time I used a tool and within minutes not only did not uninstall it, but I sent out a mass e-mail with a link for others to download the file. It definitely lives up to its branding of effortless e-mail management!

Xobni was founded in 2006 in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Adam Smith and Matt Brezina. My understanding is that they plan on developing versions for Yahoo! mail, and Gmail, as well as other e-mail clients.

Xobni –(“Zob Nee”): It's Inbox Backwards.