Gmail
Gmail (or GoogleMail as it’s known in the UK and Germany) is a very popular online email service, created by the well known internet company Google.
What is it?
Gmail is Google’s free internet-based email service. That’s it really.
Why should you use it?
The search facility alone makes Gmail one of the best email services around. Instead of deleting your email, it can be archived so it is stored and no longer shown in the inbox, and at a later date the email title, content or sender can be searched for and easily found. There is a huge amount of storage available (currently 6.5GB – but it’s always increasing – with the option to buy more storage space at low cost) so you won’t have to worry about using up your allotment of space any time soon. Google make their profit on this service from showing users simple, unobtrusive ads, unlike other email providers who clutter the page with distracting flashing and sometimes noisy adverts. Google make sure that their main priority remains providing simple, easy-to-use email facilities.
What can you do with it?
There are numerous features which make Gmail so handy. As stated above, the archiving facility keeps your inbox clutter free so that you can easily stay on top of your incoming mail. The search feature compliments this, allowing you to use Gmail as a mini storage device, meaning you can send notes and documents to yourself so that they can be easily found later. There is a good contact management system, keeping track of everyone you email and allowing you to add further details such as phone numbers, address, photos etc. to each contact and then to group these contacts for easy reference if you wish. When you start to type into the “To:” box whilst composing an email, your contacts will come up automatically so that they can be easily selected.
You can also create labels for your emails, which allows you to sort everything for quick reference. Gmail provides the ability to filter your emails as they come into your account, sorting them according to rules which you set (for example, emails from your family’s email addresses can be labelled “Family” and archived, so that you can read them later).
There are many other features, such as keyboard shortcuts, which you may like to investigate after you have been using Gmail for a while.
How do you use it?
Gmail can be used through the online browser-based website. You can access it through your mobile phone by installing an application, making checking and sending email on the move simple. You can find more information on Gmail mobile here.
Gmail also provides the ability to download your email to a desktop client, such as Outlook, if you prefer to stay in touch this way. You can even forward your emails to another email address if you only want to access one account.
How can I get started?
You can sign up for a Gmail account here.
This will provide you with a Google account which you can use to sign up for other Google services, such as Google Calendar and Google Docs and Spreadsheets (which will be covered at a later date in this blog).
Then all you’ll need to do is start sending emails and you’re off!
Filed under: Communication | Leave a Comment
You may have heard of Twitter and thought of it as another way for people to waste time broadcasting their lives on the internet, much in the same way as people think of Facebook. But in fact it is a simple tool with a huge number of real-life applications.
What is it?
According to the Twitter FAQs:
“Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time.”
Which means…..?
Well, in its simplest form you have a text box on a webpage, which will take up to 140 characters, and you use this to answer the question “What are you doing?” Used in this way, it acts as a kind of microblog which people can subscribe to and be notified each time you update.
Why should you use it?
So it sounds a little bit pointless, right? Who cares if you’re eating a cheese and cucumber sandwich for lunch? Well, Twitter can communicate much more useful information as well as the everyday lives of its users. Many businesses and blogs have Twitter accounts which they use to inform followers of new products or services, or new blog posts. People use it to make announcements, or to ask questions and advice of their friends who follow them. Nowadays, international news stories even seem to break on the “Twittersphere” before the news websites.
What can you do with it?
You can keep in touch with friends and colleagues, follow high profile people in your line of work to see what projects they are working on, get weather reports, receive instant sports scores, follow politics and elections, find out about local events, propose… 
The possibilities are endless!
There are also a huge host of other web services, such as Remember The Milk which use Twitter as a means of communication between the application and the user (such as by adding to do list items and receiving reminders), making it a valuable tool in many new ways.
How do you use it?
There are various ways in which you can update your Twitter status and receive the updates of others:
- Online through your web browser
- Via a desktop application such as Twitterific, Twitteroo or Twhirl
- Using your phone or other mobile device
- Via SMS (text messages)
- Using an IM chat client such as MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, GTalk etc.
How can I get started?
So how to begin? You can sign up here – and if you want, you can start by following us here at Inuda Innovations.
And as a special treat, here’s a great video which explains Twitter in plain English:
Filed under: Communication, Social | Leave a Comment
