I read about ClearContext a little while ago, and it intrigued me. There’s no doubt that the concept is tantalizing; ClearContext purports to be able to arrange your inbox in order of the priority of the email coming in. In their own words, ClearContext Outlook Plug-In “automatically analyzes, organizes and color codes incoming email; presenting the inbox as it should be and saving you valuable time each and every day.” I filed the name away in my head, thinking that I’m always interested in new and different ways to make the way that I relate to my email easier and faster.

I later downloaded the trial version of their program, installed it, and gave it about a ten minute try. I’ll admit, I wasn’t fair; it changed how my inbox looked, and I wasn’t in the frame of mind to deal with that or learn a new way of interacting with my email. So I immediately uninstalled it, and forgot about it.

Then some time later I had my little fit with respect to email etiquette, which has become known as the “Filers vs. Pilers” post. While I was reviewing the comments and trackbacks on that item, I noticed a trackback that pointed to an email survey at www.clearcontext.com. When I followed the link, I found that there was no referring content – in other words, nothing that explicitly mentioned my post. Forgetting that I had heard of ClearContext before, I deleted the trackback. (I could very well be misunderstanding the use of trackbacks, and if this is the case, I apologize.)

Surprisingly, a few days later I received an email from someone at ClearContext apologizing for the confusion. They wanted to make sure I understood their intentions, and explained in detail what their survey was about. They also listed a bunch of influential bloggers that were supporting this initiative in some way. In a word, I was impressed.

Since that time, I have had a few email exchanges with Brad at ClearContext, and I have to say that I’ve been impressed at every turn. When I finally took the survey, Brad noticed, and sent me a license for ClearContext for my trouble, even though I’d made it clear that I was perfectly happy with my email solution.

I wanted to make it clear here that I did receive a free license from ClearContext, but that is not the reason I’m talking about their company; I have simply been impressed each time I’ve come in contact with them. I emailed some people I trust about them, and got nothing but glowing references. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that they deserve another try.

So, after my last email-related post where I intricately described my MailFiler / GTD plug-in setup, I’m going throw things into disarray, and turn off MailFiler in favour of ClearContext. I’ll keep you posted on my results.