An email address for humans
My primary email address is hosted on Gmail, and I have used it for basically everything since Gmail was first launched in 2004. I access my email via IMAP and Gmail’s spam filter is great, so I haven’t ever had issues with the service. At the same time I do also want a more curated space for email that I control, which is what led to me setting up a new email account, exclusively for communication with people.
My Gmail address will continue to be used for communicating with machines. Any time I sign up for something, I’ll use the Gmail account. I also feel comfortable publishing this address on my personal website for people to reach out, since the account itself is already all over the internet.
My new account is shared with friends and family, and I also use it when I reach out to new people. If I see a blog post I like, I do my best to send a message to show my appreciation. This way, my people account’s inbox consists entirely of pleasant communication. It’s a happy space isolated from machines.