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Final Analysis
HTML email will not change your life. It's a communications gimmick, a remora clinging to the belly of the Internet. Spun from the success of Web-based email, HTML email brings designer layouts, graphics, animation, sound, and <blink>interactivity</blink> to the genre. What's more - it caters to laziness. The not-so-savvy Web enthusiast can passively receive updated content from a growing list of Web publishers. In commercial corridors, HTML email is used to ping an ambivalent user base while providing useful information in a sexy format. It's non-invasive push media. This fosters habit-forming behavior in the user and encourages clickthroughs to a site.
In all fairness, my biggest gripe with HTML email is download time. It's email at the speed of a Web page, and it will make you wait. There's some appeal to downloading personalized daily news while you're brushing your teeth, but is it worth it? Be your own guide.
