On April 25, 2009, a man named Greg received an email from an unfamiliar address. To his surprise, this email helped Greg recall all his memories, aspirations, and dreams from several years prior.
This email was actually sent by Greg himself from the past through a service called FutureMe.org, which allows individuals to send emails to their future selves.
FutureMe.org is a unique website that enables people to send emails to themselves at a specific time in the future. It serves as an online diary that helps individuals vividly remember a “glorious” time in their past.
Matt Sly, 29 years old, conceived the idea for FutureMe.org four years ago. He came up with the concept during a class assignment at Yale University, where professors asked students to “Describe your entire learning process in the form of a letter to yourself.”
After developing the idea, Sly collaborated with his friend Jay Patrikios, 31, to bring this project to life. Sly noted that FutureMe.org is not exactly a service for reminiscing about the past, but its groundbreaking nature ensures its longevity.
Currently, FutureMe.org allows users to send messages to their future selves up to 30 years ahead, until the year 2035. However, the majority of users prefer to receive emails they sent to themselves within three years.
Sly stated: ”We want people to focus on their future, their goals, dreams, hopes, and fears. We will strive to implement this service as seriously as possible.”
Sly revealed that most users of this service wish for their future selves to recall their current actions and ask if they have achieved the expectations set by their past selves!
Currently, officials from Forbes.com are paying great attention to this unique idea and are assisting Sly in promoting FutureMe.org. In just six weeks since its official launch, nearly 160,000 visitors have accessed the site to send messages. Forbes, Yahoo, and Codefix Consulting are actively engaging in the FutureMe.org project, recognizing its enormous business potential.
There are other websites like myLastEmail.com or LastWishes.com that allow individuals to send emails to their loved ones after they have… passed away, but none compare to FutureMe in terms of appeal and uniqueness.
Psychologists believe that frequently reflecting on the past can provide individuals with a more authentic introspective view and enable them to make better decisions in the present. FutureMe serves as an effective bridge between the past and the future.
Currently, this service is completely free, and anyone can easily register for FutureMe. Interestingly, users cannot send emails to the past; they can only send emails to the future, with a minimum delay of… one day.
THIEN TRANG
