TechCrunch lists some companies they’d like to see move into the online space, kind of a wishlist of Web 2.0 technologies. The list is making the rounds on various tech blogs like it’s the Second Coming (which I can’t figure out, it’s not that revolutionary a list), and while overall it’s a decent read, I do have one point of contention:

2. Blog/website Email Lists

People can visit my site, and get the content via RSS, but I know of no quality service to allow people to subscribe to my site via email.

…I want people to have the option of getting an email every post, every day, or every week.

I also want to know that I and I alone control these email addresses so that they will not under any circumstances be misused. If I change services, I want to have an easy export feature to take these with me (OPML would be nice).

I also want access to real time stats. The number of emails, type of subscription, how often they are opened and what things are being clicked on.

And users need a very easy way to stop the emails.

I’m willing to pay for this. Probably as much as $20 per month. A free version should be offered too that’s add supported and maybe doesn’t have the analytics.

I read this and I thought, “Uh, hello? The 1990s called, and wants its listserv back.”

Seriously, why the hell would anyone want to receive website updates via email these days? That just seems so backward-thinking.

On the other hand, there’s a couple of the other items that I like: Portable reputations, and tailored local offers via RSS.

And Richard MacManus follows up with a similar post, and in particular I like his first idea: more Web 2.0 products for eBooks. I’m not sure specifically what he has in mind for this, but I have some ideas. None that I’m gonna share here, though. :)