AUGUST 19, 2013 BY
Reprinted from the Shift Network If you’re a Gmail user, you may have noticed a new “tabbed inbox” system that is being phased in now.
Basically, Google has split your inbox into 5 separate inboxes and created tabs across the top labeling each “Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates and Forums. The problem is…they’ve also decided that THEY, not YOU, get to choose which emails go into which new inbox tab, unless you tell them otherwise. What does that mean? A lot of emails you’ve asked to receive will end up under the tab marked Promotions, even though they’re valuable content and you’ve specifically asked to get them. Pretty much all emails from bloggers and other websites and people you subscribe to are being lumped into the “Promotions” inbox automatically, where you may not look. And you’ll end up missing a lot of stuff you wanted. The good news is there’s a fast and easy fix for you. Look at your Gmail account to see if the new “tabbed” inboxes have been turned on (you’ll see the new tabs across the top of your emails). If so, here’s how to make sure you’re seeing what you’ve asked to see: 1. Click on the Promotions inbox tab. Drag any emails from people you actually want to hear from (hopefully, that includes me and The Shift Network) and drop them onto the tab that says Primary. 2. Then, when it asks if you want future emails to go into your Primary inbox, just click yes. For the next few weeks, as Gmail phases these new tabbed inboxes in, be sure to check your Promotions inbox to make sure nothing else you really want is getting caught in it. Easy enough! Further, if you want to totally turn off the new tabbed inboxes (which I did, because I don’t want anyone else screening the email I’ve asked to receive and find it harder to check multiple tabs), just click on the Settings “gear” image at the upper right corner of your inbox and select “Settings.” Click the “Inbox” tab and uncheck ALL of the categories except “Primary,” and then save your changes. |
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