This article shall cover the essential tools offered through the Gmail client. Gmail is Google’s personal email client, which can also build anyone a virtual office accessible from any computer with Internet access. People are given a Google account with email. This account allows the user to send / receive emails as usual however; any other email accounts can be routed to Gmail as well. This means the user can check all their mail in one location, as well as send mail from different email accounts also from the same location. However Gmail has many other great features besides receiving and sending emails, which allows anyone to build a virtual office. iGoogle, Contacts, Calendars, Documents and a personal profile all accessible from any computer connected to the Internet.
iGoogle:
The first step is to sign up for a google account. This is your desk, so to speak, your main online interface. When a user logs into their Gmail account they are directed to this page- iGoogle.
Contacts:
Instead of having the traditional paper written contact info, which must be carried around at all times one can use the contacts feature in Google. This gives the user complete access to any contact information wherever there is access to the Internet. No more worrying about computers dying out and losing all your personal data, or having to carry your laptop around everywhere. Located in full Gmail client.
Documents:
The Documents feature is very useful for many types of business. Google makes available three important programs: Word, Excel, and Power Point. These programs are accessible online from the Gmail client (full Gmail client- upper left). Anyone can use these programs to create files which can be stored online, and again accessible from anywhere. A great feature is the sharing option. This allows the file creator to share their work with others by sending them a link to read or edit the files. This is a great feature for colleagues to collaborate on a document together without being in the same space.
Calendar:
Calendar is exactly what is sounds like, the user schedules their work, budget, bills etc. This program allows the user to have multiple calendars visible on the main window of the program. The user can color code different calendars for easier separation. Also any or all calendars can be shared with outside people by emails. Other workers can see schedules, timelines, or receive updated schedules all on the Internet. This makes it easier to keep a group of people well informed without having to send constant emails to all parties. Calendar automatically sends an email to pre-selected emails every time an update is made.
Profile:
This area is where the user fills in all pertinent information about themselves or business. If all the fields are filled Google will place the information in their search engine database for others to find. This profile also can be accessed by a web address Google will provide once the profile is filled. If you are doing any web business, traffic is the key, which means people must find your page easily. By filling in the Google profile your business is submitted to the biggest search engine in the world. If you have other web pages make sure to create links off of your Google profile page to them. This will establish a network. The more links any web page has coming back to it raises its ranking in the search engines. This means higher traffic conversions.
These are just a few of the features available from Google. There are many widgets and new tools developing all the time from Google. I suggest you explore all of Google has to offer. With just a laptop and cell phone anyone can do business anywhere completely free of a cubical. And for existing companies this is a very efficient way to keep overhead to a minimum. Once users acclimate themselves to this set up, they will soon discover many new ways to customize their business operations into whatever suits them best. I have put a number of basic tutorials on the applications mentioned above visit my YouTube site at http://www.youtube.com/jaksloot for videos.
Good luck to you mates.
Jak
