Google announced the introduction of Gmail Motion, a new technology that would allow people to write emails using only hand gestures. Gmail Motion, the company explained, used a computer's webcam and a spatial tracking algorithm to track a person's gestures and translate them into words and commands. For instance, a person could 'open a message' by making a motion with their hands as if opening an envelope. Or they could 'reply' to a message by pointing backward over their shoulder. By 2011, Google had become well-known for making spoof announcements every April first, with its annual spoofs both highly anticipated and widely shared. But Gmail Motion was one of its more believable jokes. In fact, within a few days programmers had demonstrated that it was possible to create a working, gesture-based email system like Gmail Motion using existing, off-the-shelf technology.