Using a multipart online platform that will assist with email information overload, this paper describes a “vision of the future.” This platform provides five context- and task-based features that can be tailored by the user and generated based on the context of the email. The goal is to explain the conceptual background; an experiment with actual users is not described here. Some of these features already exist in other systems, but not all in one package.

The platform provides several features. The first feature is the organization of material in clusters of information. Each cluster provides an overview of one specific task and allows more focused use. The second feature is a timeline view using color coding. This can make recognition of patterns more obvious and keep track of long-term communications. Eye tracking can be used to mark where the user stopped reading an email, enabling the reader to easily pick up where he or she left off. In addition, there is a speech-to-text translation feature that uses technology similar to that in Apple’s Siri. A proximity-based method of exchanging information provides support so that when a group of users enters a meeting place, each participant’s device is updated and then updated again at the meeting’s conclusion.

This is a very short paper. The innovation is the way the five features, which include eye tracking, are packaged together. Of course, testing with users is needed to see how they respond and if these features truly enhance the user email experience.