Saying Gmail is Dead Nets Artist More Than $30k USD in ETH

Email has been proclaimed dead for years, but according to industry benchmarks, email still nets senders $42 for every $1 invested, in this case more than $30k.

In fact, after sharing a screenshot on Friday supposedly from Google, in which X user @SHL0MS claimed Gmail’s sunsetting in August 2024 — the artist sold the original image on Foundation.app, earning 9.3 ETH ($30k USD) on Monday.

As the screenshot suggesting Gmail’s dead spread like a wildfire, across the social media platform, @SHL0MS and other users on X Spaces delved into the history of such art and shed light on the response from users to protect their digital assets.

It ignited discussions on digital literacy and data conservation within the spaces with some users, while other users debunked the hoax by credible sources like the BBC. Many users late to the spaces acknowledged their failure to proactively safeguard their data, such as archiving emails or utilizing data recovery tools. Other users compared the trending topic on X to the film, Leave The World Behind on Netflix.

Interestingly, in the aftermath of the hoax, billionaire, Elon Musk seized the opportunity to suggest an alternative email service called X Mail. While details are scarce, in 2012 X, formerly known as twitter attempted to produce similar mail products, which ultimately failed on its platforms.