Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Anyone who knows me knows that I love many Google Products - I use Gmail extensively and follow their product releases closely. I wanted to write about how you can use many of these Google products to build your business with the Google Apps suite.

 

Setting up Google Apps

Google Apps is a service that combines many products into a single suite for business and organizations with a focus on collaboration and communication. It allows a company to set up a web presence or Intranet that is hosted on Google's servers and assign an account to each employee or member. These accounts are all tied together, so users can easily e-mail, chat and collaborate with one another.

There are two versions of Google Apps - Standard and Premier. The Standard version is free and packages together all the Google products for up to 50 users. Google subsidizes this service by placing ads within the applications, similar to the way Gmail currently works for regular users.

The premium version has a per-user charge with no maximum account limit and is hosted on separate servers with guaranteed uptime. The premium version comes packaged with some compliance and security tools that can be important for larger organizations and allows for full access for programmers via Google's extensive APIs (application programming interfaces).

To join Google Apps you can purchase a new domain (www.mycompany.com). If you already own the domain and you have full DNS-level access, you can make Google Apps work as well. Once you have registered, you can build your company website and assign accounts and e-mail addresses to your users (user@mycompany.com).

It's amazing that Google provides these services to organizations for free - I was able to set up my organization with 3 accounts within 20 minutes, and when I logged into my Gmail within Google Apps, I could immediately see the other two members of my organization within the Google Chat sidebar.

Links:

• Google Apps for Business
• Google Apps Editions

Using Shared Google Calendar, Talk and Gmail

Google Apps comes with the following applications:

• Full featured Gmail account for every user
• Calendar - Each user has their own calender that can be shared, and can see the company calendar
• Google Chat - A built-in instant messaging tool
• Google Docs - Use the online word processing and spreadsheet tools for collaborating and sharing
• Google Sites - Create an wiki for knowledge management
• Google Pages - Maintain a set of web pages for your organization
• Contact - Organize your contacts and their groups

SalesForce integration is also available at an additional cost.

One benefit of signing up your employees or organization members within a single Google Apps installation is that all the accounts are connected. All users can see their company calendar, and collaboration is easy.

All the applications are also available on mobile phones, and the e-mail, contacts and calendar can all be synchronized with desktop programs like Outlook if preferable. Gmail supports POP and IMAP e-mail protocols and allows all e-mails to be forwarded to a different account or be pulled from other mail servers into Gmail.

 

Using Google Docs

Google Docs is an amazing product. It is much like Microsoft Office, except that it is all hosted by Google and documents are all available online. When you are working on documents, spreadsheets and presentations, you can share them with other users. In fact, this article was originally written within Google Docs, and shared with other users for review. Many users can work on the document at the same time, and all changes are recorded.

Some features of Google Docs include:

• Share and collaborate - documents are stored online so you don't have to worry about multiple copies
• Security and access control - You can decide who can view or edit your documents.
• Revision control - All changes are recorded and can be reviewed
• Notification - Supports email notification when a document has been edited

Google has also recently added a full presentation tool (like Microsoft PowerPoint) and a form builder that allows you to send surveys and have results compiled automatically into a spreadsheet.

There are many competing products that are similar to Google Docs - a few of the major competitors are listed below for reference.

Links:

• Google Docs
• Zoho online office suite
  
• ThinkFree office

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Improve your productivity and get more done every day by managing your time better. Good time management skills have several benefits:

• Higher productivity
• Lower stress levels
• Job satisfaction
• Increased focus
• Greater ability to meet deadlines

Learning how to manage your emails properly or creating an efficient desktop filing system can help you better manage your daily workload. If you are constantly multi-tasking and trying to catch up, you will increase your stress level and become less productive.

Five Time Management Tips

1. Make a prioritized task list at the start of every day.
2. Work through your tasks one at a time.
3. Set aside a specific time slot to catch up on emails and phone calls.
4. Create a filing system that works for you and stick to it.
5. Focus on what you do best and delegate or outsource the rest.

Of course, managing your time effectively is easier said than done! How about starting off by making a list of your top priorities for tomorrow?

Check out the following online services for list makers:

• Ta-da list - an online to-do list creator
• DontForgetTheMilk.com - an online shopping list manager

Monday, March 2, 2009

This month we’ve turned Serebra Connect into a more robust and social platform! Here are some features to look out for:

Café Connect

Join us at our Café! Learn from our global pool of buyers, freelancers, and in-house professionals.

• Stay up-to-date at the Café's blog 
• Get your questions answered through the Café's forum

Share & Bookmark
Recommend or remember Serebra Connect using one of the following sharing and bookmarking features:

• Tell a Friend: Recommend Serebra Connect to your friends by clicking "Tell a Friend" on the website.

• Facebook: Become a fan of Serebra Connect on Facebook, and meet other buyers and freelancers, by clicking "Become a Fan" on the website.

• RSS: Get notified via RSS feeds when new tasks are posted on Serebra Connect by clicking "Subscribe to RSS" on the website.

• Bookmark: Socially bookmark, or simply bookmark, Serebra Connect by clicking "Bookmark & Share" on the website.

Twitter

Stay up-to-date with what Serebra Connect is doing on a regular basis by reading our tweets. Follow us on Twitter.

Shop Serebra Connect
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• Choose from hundreds of desktop, IT, and professional development courses
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Alerts Tool
Get task updates as soon as they happen with the new Alerts Tool.

• Receive alerts each time a new activity (such as a bid or message) occurs for your task
• View details of task activities in the Alerts Center

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