Colored Labels in GMail

Frederic    blogging    

When I opened up my Gmail this afternoon, I noticed that something was different. Looks like I can now assign colors to my labels.

Nothing too spectacular, but a nice new feature. At least I can see that this one would be useful to me. A little bit of color definitely would help navigate the wall of text that greets users.

I do not, by the way, see any of this in my “Gmail for your domain” accounts yet, but then, those haven’t even been updated to the latest version anyway.

Update: Looks like Google now has some info about this.

Update 2: The GMail Blog also has some more info:

Today, we’re happy to announce the next evolution of labels: the colored label. Until now the label has been a little inconspicuous creature, subtly suggesting categorical associations in its simple green coat. Oh, we’ve seen the colored label here and there, its precursors surfacing in various experiments and Greasemonkey scripts; but the label has never before been so brazen, so bold. How will it use its new colors? Will it disguise itself with the chameleon’s camouflage or clamor for attention with the monarch butterfly’s vivid contrast?

But the most interesting news might be hidden at the end of that post:

*P.S. We actually kinda like folders. In fact, we’re doing some work to add some folder-y-ish functionality. Stay tuned.

Hmm… seems like a bit of a 180 to me. But then, I venture to guess that most people are using labels pretty much like they used to use folders anyway. At least, that’s what I do.

Update 3: Some other takes on this from Mashable and ParisLemon .

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