OK, so I'm a huge fan of Google. Not only do they produce what I believe to be the best mobile phone operating system (Yes folks... Android is Google's contribution to the smart phone world), but they also have a whole host of amazing products that have the ability to make your life (and mine) so much easier, enjoyable and integrated. Yet, it astounds me that in this day and age, in the era of smart phones, tablets and social networks, that many people I talk to (mostly friends that aren't in the digital industry that I am) aren't aware of what a Google ID actually is and don't see it as anything more than just another email address, much like Yahoo and MSN... This is FARRR from the case!
On that, I thought I would write my next blog post about a few of the features and functionality that Google provide me with on a daily basis. All of which don't cost me a penny, are all interlinked and enable me to be more organised, efficient and sociable. :)
Google Mail...
Yes, it's email... straight forward and simple email. But, your email address is just the start. It's not just an address... it's an ID. An online passport if you like. This ID is the core of all Google products, it is the login ID that you use for them all, and the ID which stores all that important information which you hold dear, and in some cases, (like mine) an online backup to your life... How? I'll tell you. But before I do, I'm sure of you by now are wondering... "what if I don't want Google to know everything about my life?" Well, unfortunately, they probably already do. What with all the data you share on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and whatever other social media network, there's probably not a great deal about you life that isn't already on the world wide web. There is a benefit to this however, especially in Google's case. All this data that is collected, including your online browsing behaviour, shopping habits, type of websites visited, etc... is all used by Google to make your online experience better, particularly where advertising is concerned, because lets face it... you're gonna see ads. Doesn't matter if you like them or not, you're going to see them. So wouldn't you rather see something that is of interest to you? That's why Google collects this information. To make the ads you see, more relevant to you. But this post isn't about online marketing, its about Google and it's products.
OK, so we've established that Google Mail is the email functionality, but encompassed in this are a few other nice and handy little features. Google Talk, Calendar and (my favourite) Contacts.
Google Talk is very much like MSN messenger. Quite simply, it's a chat applet. The clever and most useful ones though are the calendar and contacts. They are as you would expect. They are a calendar, and a store for your contacts. However, if like me, you are a smart phone user these are automatically synced with your phone. Meaning as you add new appointments, meetings, contact details, etc... to either interface (phone or Desktop) these are updated on Google's servers, giving you access to them wherever you are... 'Simples'.
Don't you just hate it, when you get a new phone and have to transfer all your details across? Contacts, meetings, photo's etc... You're Google account removed this issue. Once your data is stored on Google, you simply connect your new phone to Google, and viola... all your contacts and details are restored :)
So those are the basics... But then there's more... More (much more, but I'm not going into all).
Another one of my favourites is Google Reader... There are soo many blogs, forums, sites of interest out there these days that have an RSS feed, it's hard to keep up. Anything from the BBC, through to your local Poodle lovers site... (In simple terms, an RSS feed is a URL which pulls through the posts on a blog, forum etc... Copying this feed url in to a feed reader will display them all in that app, reader, site, etc). Google Reader does just that.
If I come across a new site that I like, and it has an RSS feed, I simply click it, and subscribe using my Google ID. This feed subscription (free) is then added to my list of feeds, which again, I can access either via Google Reader online, or the mobile app. This allows me to keep up to date on news and updates on things that I find interesting, and most mornings, I spend my commute to work reading the latest Android, Disney, and Driftworks updates.
Google+ (plus)
Google+ is Google's answer to Facebook... Slightly behind the times in coming out, but slowly getting bigger in terms of people using it. And, to be honest, I quite like it. Its got some great features in it, such as Hangouts (Like video chat-rooms which you create and talk to mates using video), Circles (similar to Facebook friend groups, but much easier to use, segment, create, etc... as well as the ability to share certain things, comments, posts with certain Circles). I think one of the best features to Google+ however, is its seamless integration with Picasa, Google photo sharing service. You can link all your photo albums on Picasa directly to your Google+ account, and share them through that. As well as being able to them instantly download (or upload) these to / from your smart phone.
So there's just a few of the things which I use on a daily basis from Google, and maybe Yahoo and MSN offer exactly the same and maybe some of you reading this now are just as happy with your Yahoo & MSN accounts, but there's something about Google that makes you feel secure, makes you feel like your data is safe. Afterall, I have never had my Google account hacked and used to send spam, but I have my Hotmail, and, I've never had spam emails from any of my mates using Google, but I have their Yahoo...
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