Here’s something I doubt many of us will be able (or want) to use, but which is worth knowing about: Dynamic Email, or AMP for email, or AMPHTML email. The technology comes from Google’s GMail, and is aimed at that client, which is why it’s hardly going to be something we’ll all be rushing off to use, but who knows? Maybe it’ll get widespread adoption in time. We should at least be aware of it.
Dynamic Email allows senders to add interactive elements to an email, such as a survey or a subscription form. Real-time elements can be included, such as calendars or up-to-date information on times or inventories. These are all things which could be provided just a click away on a website, but the possibility of removing that step is, I suppose, intriguing.
On the other hand, Techcrunch wrote a year ago that it was a terrible idea. And I think they’re right. Do we want emails that have changed every time we refer back to them? Email is great because it just works.