The Thirty Day Year

Google Update-Fantastic 5 For Friday-Issue 15

February 29th, 2008 | by Jeniffer |

It’s been over 30 days since I began trying out new things Google. I’ve just been having so much fun, I hadn’t gotten around to reporting on them yet.

So here we go!

GMAIL

The first thing I tried was Gmail, Google’s free email service.

I really like this one. Not only is it free, it’s convenient, because you can access it anywhere you can access the internet!

I also like the ability to label emails, with as many labels as you like, rather than trying to force an email into a single file or folder. What a great idea this is! Now if someone sends you an email which deals with several different projects or subjects, you can slap those labels onto it, archive the sucker, and be done with it!

As well. finding email has never been easier, with Google’s search feature allowing searches by name, subject, label, keyword, who sent it to you, date–pretty much anything you can think of searching for, you can!

And you can search the internet from your email account.

GMAIL definitely gets two thumbs up!

Google Calendar

Google Calendar was the next trial for me. Another item I had never used before, and another one with which I am quite happy.

Not only does this free calendar allow you access to it from wherever you are that has an internet connection, you can view it in the usual daily, weekly, or monthly views, as well as just viewing the next four days. Plus, there is an Agenda mode, which displays what you have coming up in your schedule. Very handy!

It also lets you schedule reminders so you don’t forget those important birthdays, anniversaries, or company gatherings.

Events are easy to add.

Google Calendar is another thing that I would recommend.

Google Docs

Google Docs is a wonderful free tool with spreadsheet, document, and presentation abilities.

The document program allows you to print, copy, delete, export as HTML, RTF, Word, Open Office, PDF, or text, includes a word count ability, and features the ability to insert links, images, headers, footers, and tables.

A handy word processor for those who do not need all the features of Word, and did I mention it’s FREE?

In general, for all the above, you can go back to view previous editions of documents and spreadsheets, and revert to an older version if you would like to.

You can also share, discuss, or publish documents on the web, such as in a blog.

Google Docs is another winner!

Blogger

Blogger I have already mentioned in a previous article, however it is partof the Google things experiments, so I feel it is worth mentioning here.

Blogger is a free blogging tool. It is easy to use, and would make a great platform for anyone who may be thinking of starting a blog.

However, it is no WordPress, which is what I use on this site, and which I prefer hands down.

WordPress is an incredible platform, and Blogger pales by comparison. However, if I hadn’t already been so spoiled by WordPress’s amazing expandability and array of free templates and plugins, I would be quite impressed with Blogger.

Blogger is easy to use, as I have said, and the layout of the dashboard is not difficult to figure out. Changing templates involves finding one you like and, with the click of your mouse, you are able to see it on your page. It can be changed again  just as quickly.

It just doesn’t have as many functions so readily available as WordPress.

However, I would have to say, if asked, yes, Blogger is a worthwhile blogging platform for those who are seeking something perhaps on a smaller scale than what you can find on WordPress.

So Blogger is a winner, it just lives, for me, anyway, in the shadow of WordPress.

What’s Next?

Next up among the many offerings of Google which I am going to try is Firefox.(See update, below. Firefox is actually a Mozilla product. Only the google Toolbar it comes with in my ad is from Google.)

I have always used Internet Explorer as my web browser, not so much out of choice, but because that is what my computers came with, and I stuck with it. This will be my first time ever trying anything else!

Firefox is a Webbrowser which Google offers free. It is apparently more secure for browsing, and is rumored to be faster than Internet Explorer. I also like hearing that it is fully customizable.

I’ll be downloading Firefox into my computer soon, and will report more fully after I have.

Then I’ll try it out for thirty days, and report after that period.

Update:thanks to a very helpful reader’s comment (thank you, thank you!), it has been brought to my attention that Firefox is not, in fact a Google product. Just the Google toolbar that comes with it in the add for firefox is from Google. Firefox is a Mozilla product.

Thank you so much for noticing the error, and alerting me to it!

Much obliged.

Have any ideas for a thirty day challenge you would like me to try? Leave a suggestion in the comments section, or email me at

Jeniffer@thethirtydayyear.com

Comments and suggestions are always most welcome!