I heard about this fascinating web site from Daniel Pink‘s monthly newsletter back in October, and I had to meant to write about it back then, but it must have somehow slipped into the deep abyss that is my mind. Fortunately, it was still in my inbox, and I stumbled upon it again today. (By the way, I’d highly recommend subscribing to his monthly newsletter.)
Here’s what Mr. Pink he had to say about FutureMe:
“(FutureMe) allows you to write a letter to yourself that will arrive . . . in the future. Just type a note (“Dear FutureMe”). Select when you’d like it to go out — in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, or on a specific date. Then click “Send to the Future.” At the appointed time, you — or rather Future You — will receive the message.”
It sounded like a great idea, and so I had to check it out, and I ended up sending a letter to my future self. I can’t wait to read it a year from now, perhaps I’ll share it on my blog at that time.
There are several powerful testimonials on the FutureMe web site, such as the following:
“I love this. I’ve sent myself 5 letters so far and every year it’s a surprise. Because I forget so easily. It turns into such a deep reflective process, that I usually weep and laugh while I write.”
I absolutely love @futureme, refreshing memories from last year and jotting down new stuff for myself to laugh at and cry with next year.
Just got a letter from myself in 2012 from @futureme. Made me tear up a wee bit! Time to write myself another one for 5 years time…
“Future Me lets us eavesdrop on the silly, serious, hilarious, and heartbreaking conversations that ordinary people have with the extraordinary people they hope–or fear–they will someday become, providing a fascinating view of the human mind on its one-way trip through time.”
“I just want to say that I absolutely LOVE FutureMe. I’ve been writing letters to my Future Self for 8 years now, and since I always forget about it, I’m always surprised and often get emotional. So thank you so much for existing and doing this. I hope you will always continue to do so.”
“I love future me. Receiving a message from the past is indeed magical.”
“I love FutureMe. I’ve been writing myself a birthday letter every year since 2011. And when I forget about it, the surprise is amazing! It really makes your day. Writing the letter is also therapeutic. It helps me set my goals for the future, and reminds me to become a better person.”
I think you get the idea.
And despite what some of these testimonials say, I don’t think I’ll be tearing up when I read my letter a year from now, but you never know.
Borden's Blather 
I will certainly be checking this out, thanks Jim! Great post.
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P.s. You should re-blog this! I would reblog it on to Scribbler’s for you, but I can’t seem to find a re-blog button.
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Hi Matt, thanks, but I’m not really sure how to do what you are suggesting!
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Go to your blog menu, than sharing, then manage and make sure you have the “reblog button” turned on. That allows others to share your posts on their own blogs.
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thanks, Matt. It looks like since I am on the business plan for wordpress, the reblog button is not an option. I did read however that if someone is rading my blog through the WordPress reader, the share button works ina manner similar to the reblog button.
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Ahhh! I see. Is the business plan worth it? I’ve thought about it just for some of the monetizing options
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it’s hard for me to tell if it is worth it; this is the second time it’s caused a problem. the business plan also does not come with a default WordPress follow button; they designed one for me. I like it for the unlimited storage (although I have no idea how much storage I need). I have also been quite impressed with the live tech support feature.
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Strange that they take those features out! Were you planning on starting a business at all?
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no, but I just liked those other features. After one year, I will go back and examine if it is worth it. Which plan do you have?
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I think it’s the one step up from basic so that I get a custom URL and no ads on my blog unless I choose to put them there.
I’ve been thinking in a year I might try to get off wordpress.com though and onto .org maybe so I can customize my site more thoroughly.
You get plugins with business so that’s pretty nice. I’d like to put a few ads that are tailored more to my content but I’m no programmer or web site designer
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I used to use .org, with bluehost as my host, but switched a few months ago so that I would be more tied into the wordpress community, and I feel like that has definitely been the case.
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So you think .com is the better choice? Good to know
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that’s just my opinion, but that is what I have experienced.
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Why was it less of a community feeling?
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