Happy new year 2025
A Googley Email Conundrum: Revisiting the Journey of COLECOOP@gmail.com in 2025
In the modern digital age, having a common name can lead to unexpected challenges. For me, the adventure began on October 6, 2004, when I became one of the early adopters of Gmail during its beta phase. My email landscape was quite different then: I had a Hotmail account (Obandrinker@hotmail.com) and a Shaw @ Home address. Excited to try out Gmail, I quickly snagged the username colecoop@gmail.com. My Gmail display name eventually became cole.cooper@gmail.com, and with that account, I set up my blog and various Google services.
Back in 2004, the name "Cole Cooper" wasn’t widespread online. Fast forward to 2025, and it’s a different story. Today, Cole Cooper is a name shared by many. There’s a Cole Cooper on Twitter (@coopball), a football player. Marvel fans might even recognize "Cole Cooper" from the Daily Bugle universe. Facebook profiles and websites like colecooper.com abound, each tied to a different person. I’ve long made peace with these digital doppelgängers; they’ve claimed their rightful email addresses, and I’m happy to share the online space.
But there’s one issue I can’t ignore: the ongoing email confusion that stems from my Gmail address. As the first Cole Cooper to secure a Gmail account, my inbox receives messages meant for other Coles. The problem lies in Gmail’s unique handling of addresses: sending an email to colecoop@gmail.com, colecooper@gmail.com, or cole.cooper@gmail.com all routes to my inbox. Over the years, this quirk has resulted in a deluge of misdirected messages.
While I’ve tried to manage this confusion, it’s become clear that the volume of these emails isn’t sustainable. Currently, the Gmail addresses colecoop@gmail.com, colecooper@gmail.com, and cole.cooper@gmail.com are no longer actively monitored, and messages sent to them will not receive a response. If you’re trying to reach me, here’s how you can:
Contact Details for The Real Cole Cooper
Email: istudio101@outlook.com
Phone: 403-295-0044
Text: 403-540-5387
I’ve also chronicled this "Great Email Identity Crisis" on my blog, The Sunday Journalist – Cole’s Notes.
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