He took Steve Jobs' email alias—What happened next surprised him
09 May 2025
In October 1991, Steve Hayman began his journey as a Systems Engineer at NeXT, the company Steve Jobs founded after departing Apple in 1985.
The company used a standard email format—first initial, last name—assigning Hayman the address 'shayman@next.com' and Jobs got 'sjobs@next.com.'
While exploring the system, Hayman noticed the alias steve@next.com was unused. Acting on impulse, he asked for it to be forwarded to his own email, not expecting much to follow.
NeXT emails in 90s offered multimedia capabilities
Ahead of time
The email system on the NeXT computer was revolutionary for its time, providing multimedia capabilities like fonts, attachments, and sounds (an audio clip of Jobs' welcoming new users).
This was a far cry from the command line plain-text email that people were used to.
Every new NeXT user got an introductory email from Jobs on starting their computer, emphasizing his personal touch in the company's operations and user experience.
An overflowing inbox and realization
Wrong Steve?
Soon after assigning 'steve@next.com' to himself, Hayman's inbox was inundated with emails intended for Jobs. These messages, ranging from reporters to CEOs, were misdirected due to the alias.
Recognizing the potential breach and fearing repercussions, Hayman acted swiftly to rectify the situation.
He redirected the 'steve@next.com' alias to 'sjobs@next.com,' ensuring that future communications reached their intended recipient.
Hayman then sent an apology email to Jobs, explaining the mistake and the corrective action taken.
Email from the 'new guy'
Fact
"Hi - I'm new here. I did something dumb and set up a mail alias so that steve@next.com would go to me. This was a bad idea, I'm sorry. I've changed it to steve@next.com goes to you, not to me. I think that makes more sense," wrote Hayman.
'Great idea, thank you'
Unexpected acknowledgment
To Hayman's surprise, Jobs responded with a brief message: "Great idea, thank you." This was the only personal email he ever received from Jobs, making it a memorable highlight of his career.
Hayman often mused about framing the email, letting others speculate on the nature of the 'great idea.'
While it wasn't a groundbreaking innovation, the acknowledgment from Jobs held significant personal value.
Hayman retired from Apple earlier this week
From NeXT to Apple
In 1996, NeXT eventually merged back with Apple. Hayman retired from Apple earlier this month, after working at the company for 30 years.
According to his LinkedIn profile, his final role at the tech giant was 'Senior Consulting Engineer.'
Hayman's professional journey began with an email from Jobs and concluded with a message from Apple CEO Tim Cook upon his retirement.
This serendipitous start and end underscore the unique experiences he garnered during his tenure.