Websites let send e-mail to their future selves

In the year 2009, on the 25th of April, a man named Greg is supposed to get an e-mail. It will remind him that he is his own best friend and worst enemy, that he once dated a woman named Michelle, and that he planned to major in computer science.

"More importantly," the e-mail says, "are you wearing women’s clothing?"

The e-mail was sent by Greg himself — through a website called FutureMe.org. It is one of the messages open to public view at the site, and Greg used only his first name.

FutureMe is one of a handful of websites that let people send e-mails to themselves and others for delivery years in the future. They are technology’s answer to time capsules, trading on people’s sense of curiosity, accountability and nostalgia.

"Messages into the future is something that people have always sought to do," said Paul Saffo, director of the Institute for the Future, a research group. "In a way, it’s a statement of optimism."

By Nahal Toosi, Associated Press

Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-12-18-future-emails_x.htm