This for me is a problem but how do I let go of them all?

I could keep all the addresses alive and just feed them all into one main address but this issue isn’t about filling up my inbox, it’s about having just one contact gateway.

Can it be done?

Here’s how I got into this mess:

• Hotmail  – This was my first ever email, created in 1999. I still use it and until recently have been giving it to people as my social email as it’s connected with MSN messenger.
• Yahoo – I have two of these. One was to create a yahoo group for an assignment at uni and the other one was to communicate with my girlfriend.
• Gmail – I’ve recently created a gmail account to take advantage of their software products such as picasa, docs, calendar, reader, wave etc.
• Uni email – I’ve always needed a uni email. This year we will use Micrsoft’s Outlook lite which is basically a neat and tidy version of hotmail with extra features.
• Mail.com – This is probably my most professional of email addresses. I started using this address around 3 years ago when applying for jobs. There was no way I was going to put a hotmail address on my resume. Mail.com started putting ads on the bottom of my messages so I paid for premium services. I’m happy with this account
• RBravo.NET – Due to having this website hosted privately, I’m entitled to 100 or so email addresses. I originally created a couple but have since realised I don’t need them. Our internet service provider doesn’t allow me to send out emails from a server that’s not theirs.

My ideal scenario would be to have one professional and one social email and to not receive subscription emails – just personal messages. I want to get rid of my hotmail email but something tells me I should just hang onto it for now. I don’t see the point of keeping my yahoo mail though. I don’t need my rbravo.net domain emails either.

I want to take the leap but I feel like I’m running a risk. Please share how many email addresses you maintain. 8 is currently too many for me.

I was late to adopt many of the popular web services and by the time I did I couldn’t get my full name for a gmail account, couldn’t get the ideal username for a twitter account so I’ve had to settle for what’s left.

It’s a shame I didn’t act quicker because I could have had the one username for all the services I use. I wonder how the next generation of internet users will cope with the demand for internet name property.

I don’t foresee a solution but I get the feeling that what’s hot now may not be so hot in 10 years time. I remember when the services of Excite, Infoseek, Lycos and Altavista seemed as though they would be around forever (or at least, at the top of their market).