The companies that stand to lose the most if the service is popular are Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), AOL (AOL) and Yahoo! (YHOO), all of which have huge numbers of email subscribers. Some of the portal companies get a large portion of their page views, and therefore a large amount of advertising, from email accounts.
Facebook has already hurt the portals by selling ads at CPMs (cost per mille) below previously established market prices. This has tended to bring down what portals can charge in a competitive ad industry.
But Facebook's new email service has just as much chance of failing.
Email users keep the addresses of their contacts. In some cases, that may be hundreds if not thousands of email addresses. To migrate these to a new service could be considered risky by some customers, even if it is not from a technological standpoint. Many people simply do not want to take a chance on the process. Many email users may also worry that friends and business associates won't update their contacts to reflect a new email address.
Perhaps the greatest hurdle Facebook email will encounter is concerns about privacy. The social network has -- deserved or not -- gained a reputation as a website that is willing to share information about the demographics and habits of its users. Potential customers for the Facebook service may be put off by that.
FaceBook Email To Launch Soon
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