# Email

Standing (still-up). Founded 1971-10-01.

Ray Tomlinson sent the first networked email in 1971. The @ is still the login.

## Why it lasted
- It is the only identity layer the internet agreed on.
- Every 'email killer' became another inbox that still forwards to email.
- SMTP is ugly, federated, and older than the web. That is the moat.

## Near deaths
- Lotus Notes, Exchange-as-the-world, Wave, Inbox, Slack, ChatGPT: all tried to be the new email. Email kept the receipt.

## What would finish it
- A universal identity that is not an address. Phone numbers tried. They became 2FA for email.

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