The other day I signed into my Gmail account and noticed a new link at the top of the page. The link says: "New! Video chat." Usually I learn about new Gmail tools from Webconsuls' technical director, Darin McClure. What crossed my mind is why hasn't Darin sent me or us an email extolling the virtues of this new tool. Not like Darin to not jump on a Gmail bandwagon. Hmmm! I even reviewed the Webconsuls' blog to make sure I hadn't missed a blog about this new tool. Couldn't find anything.
I ignored the bold red font, "New! Video chat" for a few days, but yesterday I was a little curious. So, I clicked on the link. This is what I learned: * Voice and video in Gmail only works with the newer version of Gmail in supported browsers: FF 2.0+, IE 6.0+, Safari 3.0+, and Google Chrome. * Download the Gmail voice and video chat plug-in, quit all open browser windows, and install the plug-in. * Sign in to Gmail. * In the Chat section of your Gmail, select the contact you want to call. If they have a camera icon next to their name, you can make a voice or video call to them; just click Video & more.
Now the first thing to remember is that you need to have a web-cam. If you don't have a web-cam, then Google has made it easy for you to purchase one. According to their site: "We tried to make buying a web-cam easier by working with Logitech and Buy.com to offer high quality cameras at up to 30% off with free shipping until November 30th, 2008." The prices quoted range from $39.99 to $89.99. But, not to worry, I already have a web-cam, so I was good to go.
My browsers met the requirements, I downloaded the Gmail voice and video chat plug-in, I quit all open browsers, and I installed the plug-in! I signed in to my Gmail account and lo and behold, there I was in a little window...Judy at work! Great, right? Here is what I noticed: 1. My Web-cam sits right on top of my monitor, so I could see myself very clearly, but I could also see my co-worker, Dennis, at work at his computer desk. You see when we are both working my back is to him, a kind of "what I don't see won't hurt me" position. But now I could clearly see him working away. 2. I could also see the little camera icon next to my name in the "Chat" box on my Gmail page, but interestingly enough the only associate with a camera icon next to their name was Malik. I could see that Malik was on-line so I tried to connect with him with video chat. Well, he could chat, but what I discovered is that he was experiencing problems with Video Chat. To quote Malik: "crashes my browser every time though". Not good and I read on-line that other users were experiencing this problem. Bugs!!
You need to be aware that this new tool is being rolled out by Google, which means not everyone has access to the new tool at the same time. Don't assume that because you have access that all of your friends can access it, just yet.
Here is my first take on this tool: Fun tool. Free tool, unless you need to buy a web-cam. I don't really know if it will take the place of Skype, as Google video chat does not allow you to connect to landlines, but it is one more tool for the tool box. Whether it will be the sharpest tool in the box remains to be seen. Also, I noticed that once you have downloaded this new tool, there does not seem to be a way to just "turn it off" should you not want to be contacted via video chat. This is a little disconcerting, but maybe I just haven't played with it enough. I do know that the software is not activated unless you are signed in to your Gmail account, so maybe that feature is the main "shut-off" valve. In other words, you can be signed out of your Gmail account and still be running "Google Talk" on your desktop and chat with friends and co-workers the old fashioned way, sans webcam.
According to the official Gmail blog: 'Once you install the plug-in, to start a video chat, just click on the "Video & more" menu at the bottom of your Gmail chat window, and choose "Start video chat." You'll have a few seconds to make sure you look presentable while it's ringing, and then you'll see and hear your friend live, right from within Gmail.' The operative phrase in this statement is: "You'll have a few seconds to make sure you look presentable." Yikes!!!
Here is the bottom line: if you are always signed into you Gmail account, the webcam is running and you better be prepared for your friends and co-workers to want to video chat with you. You better keep your desk straightened, your hair combed and not be wearing your PJs at 3:00PM.
For the record, I un-installed the "plug-in" yesterday, because I don't want to be the first one on my block to use this software...I am going to wait for Darin, Lisa, Dick, Dennis, Malik, Keith, Dan and Dennis to "plug-in". I don't want to be the cheerleader and I am still wondering why the usual cheerleaders are not cheering...just yet. To learn more, view the video below and I promise to keep you posted on this new tool. Let me know what you think by posting a comment here.
Spam comes at us from many directions. It is estimated that on any given day 88% to 98% of emails sent across the internets are spam or virus laden. That begs the question, how good are your filters? Do you get 1 bad email a day? an hour? a week? Or has email become such a wasteland of spam that you no longer bother to read it and go directly to instant messaging or Facebook and Twitter. It looks to me like Sarah Palin needs to check her filters, as no "Flapper" should have ever let that kind of call thru. (a Flapper being the human equivalent of a filter.)
As Sarah found out, it is a good idea to check your filter regularly. Like your car, not just to see what has been caught, but also to decide if too much junk is getting thru.
Here at Webconsuls we use GMail for our domain email. Today I bet Palin wishes Google had a service that could filter her calls, perhaps when Grand Central comes outa beta.
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Yesterday my associate posted about Google Goggles. He explained how to enable the tool. I actually prepared my thoughts for this post on Thursday and then Keith beat me to it, but since it is Saturday morning, I thought I would weigh in on this subject anyway.
Wednesday evening I was up late and to tell the truth I don't know if I learned of Google's Goggles on a television ad or on a cable news story. Based on this admission I probably need a pair of Google's Goggles. Here is the scoop: Google operates what they refer to as Gmail labs. Google has a number of techies that come up with interesting ideas and if the idea has some merit they throw it out there for their Gmail customers to "try out" in a Beta version. According to Goggles' developer, Jon Perlow, "When you enable Mail Goggles, it will check that you are really sure you want to send that late night Friday email. And what better way to check than by making you solve a few simple math problems after you click send to verify you are in the right state of mind?"
OK, we have probably all sent out emails late at night when we are tired, overworked, enraged about life, but at the same time we have probably all been recipients of these types of emails. These late night communications provide interesting entertainment, not to mention insight into our emailing buddies.
Why do people send emails late at night or in the wee hours of the morning? Certainly it is not always a case of too many drinks as some commentators have stated. My experience is that many people do tend to work late at night. It is the quietest time with children safely in bed, co-workers hopefully not chatting incessantly, the pets not running wild, and the phone is quiet. When I worked as a business analyst and project manager for Mercury Insurance Services, we were expected to work from home after-hours. Yes, we were paid for 40 hours, but were told in no uncertain terms that if we had a deliverable deadline we must work at home. Most nights I would arrive home from the office around 6:00PM, dutifully make the family dinner, clean up the kitchen, throw a load of laundry in the washing machine, and then quietly go into my home office and fire-up the laptop. It was not unusual for me to work until 1:00am or even 2:00am writing technical documents. Very often I would email these documents to my fellow team members in the middle of the night. Why? Well, emailing the document gave me a sense of completing a task, as well as a feeling of starting the next work day 5 hours later with a cleaner slate. But imagine my shock when after sending the late night email many of my co-workers would respond immediately with an email that usually contained this phrase: "You're still up, too?" As a by-product, this practice allowed us the opportunity to document the number of hours we were really spending on a project! Just for the record, this project began in January 2003 and was to be completed in three years. It is now October 2008 and the project is still going strong. So much for project management.
While Google's Goggles is very clever, doesn't it really imply that we are not mature enough to reasonably manage our email etiquette? People's entire careers and companies have imploded because of email records. So why aren't we more careful about the content of our emails? Who the heck knows, but here is rule I try to follow. Years ago I reported directly to the president of a bank, Willard (Bill) Bromage. Our means of communicating with peers, subordinates and superiors was to write a memo. One day I handed him a copy of a memo I proposed to send to the struggling IT department. He read the memo and advised: "Save this document for three days. Keep it here on your desk. In three days re-read your document. If, at that time, you still feel committed to your written word, then by all means mail it."
Good advice, don't you think? The difference between Bill Bromage's advice and Google's Jon Perlow's "math test" is that Bill wanted you to consider the content of your communication, Perlow is assuming that if you can solve in 45 seconds three or four simple math equations (and I do mean simple) then you must be of sound enough mind to communicate in wee hours of the morning. In fact, Jon Perlow states in the Gmail "settings" for Google Goggles: "Google strives to make the world's information useful. Mail you send late night on the weekends may be useful but you may regret it the next morning. Solve some simple math problems and you're good to go. Otherwise, get a good night's sleep and try again in the morning. After enabling this feature, you can adjust the schedule in the "General" settings page." Interestingly Bromage had a three day rule, while Perlow has a three math problem solving rule.
A word of caution: try never to ASSUME. Happy Saturday!
If you have ever found yourself under the influence of your choice poison, which led your writing and sending a poorly thought out email, consider the new email tool Gmail Goggles. This email setting in Gmail makes you answer 4 math questions before you are able to send any email, between the hours you set for self restriction. The ultimate hope being you can't do math intoxicated and therefore are unable to compose any email until the following day when cooler heads prevail.
So how do you enable Google Goggles? When logged into your Gmail account, access the "labs" option in the Settings page. Once you have enabled the goggles feature, you can then access the parameters of the tool in the 'general settings' page within that same Settings tab.
The parameters available to this tool are comical- you have a 1 to 5 meter you set for yourself on how difficult the math is for the questions that need be answered correctly before any mail can be sent. Additionally, there is a basic scheduling feature that allows you to set when the goggles apply to your email, and furthermore when you feel you may be inebriated enough to need 3rd party intervention.
But of course, if you can still do middle school to early high-school math when intoxicated, this won't do much for you in being an obstacle.
We here at Webconsuls have been using a tool we think is better than Gmail Goggles-- we call it self control; like Gmail Goggles, it's free of charge. But I still like this tool because math is fun.
Ok, so you have taken our advice and you have decided to dip your toes into the growing "Social Environment" on the internet. How do you keep the nudges, zombie attacks, and status updates (AKA BACON) from making your work or personal email box unmanageable?
That is EASY!
I sign up for all my new "Social accounts" with a gmail address I use for just for this reason. That way if an email comes into my work account I can be fairly certain that it will be "Ham" (Thanks to Gmail for Your Domain) and I should check to make sure it is not a fire that needs my immediate attention. Now if I see an email come to my "Social accounts gmail address" I can digg thru all the "Bacon" at my leisure.
Use this tip and your "Bacon" will never become your new "Spam"
Want simple, powerful communication and collaboration tools for your organization without the usual hassle and cost?
Communicate... Give your users Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Talk accounts that use your own domain, helping them to stay connected and work together more effectively.
Collaborate and publish... Docs & Spreadsheets lets users share files and collaborate in real-time. The Start Page is the first place your users will look to preview their inboxes and calendars, access your essential content, and search the web.
...and get on with business. It's all hosted by Google, so there's no hardware or software to install or download, and minimal setup and maintenance. You can get up and running quickly, even if you don't have technical resources.
And Webconsuls is there to help if you would like to make the move.
The Premier Edition offers the best of Google Apps. If you're looking to complement your existing IT infrastructure (account management system and/or Intranet), you can access extensibility APIs to integrate your entire organization with Google services.
Some features include:
* $50/user account/year * 10GB mailboxes * User account provisioning * Single sign-on * Email gateway * Email whitelist * No ads displayed on Google services * Access to Google partners
Google offers 24/7 assistance, including telephone support for critical issues. Google Apps Premier Edition also includes a 99.9% uptime guarantee for Gmail.
Google Talk is Google's instant communications service. Like Gmail, Google's free webmail service, Google Talk uses Google's innovative technologies to help people communicate more effectively and efficiently. This means Google Talk is fast, intuitive and fun to use.
It also means you can start thinking about instant communications in a new way. Google Talk offers you different ways to integrate real time communications into your online experience. The Google Talk Gadget lets you see who's online and send instant messages from your Google Personalized Homepage, without installing any software. You can also add the same instant messaging capabilities to your own webpage or blog by cutting and pasting a single line of code. And by downloading the Google Talk Client, you can make voice calls and transfer files to your friends.
And if you use Gmail, Google Talk offers you even more. You'll find all of your Gmail contacts organized in your Talk contacts list. Gmail also archives all of your Google Talk chats and makes them searchable. And since Google Talk is integrated into Gmail, you'll be able to chat with all your Talk contacts there, too.
At Webconsuls we know good technology when we use it. That is why we have moved our email to "Gmail for your domain". Gmail for your domain is hosted by Google, so there's no hardware or software for you to install or maintain. Each email address gets 2 gigabytes of storage, spam and virus filtering, with search tools that will help find information fast. Instant messaging from right inside the account so that it's easy for everyone to work as a team.
Follow our Switching Guideto learn how to announce your new Gmail address, import your contacts, and forward your email from Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, Hotmail, and others.
Visit our Help Center to find specific answers to all your questions.
Users have often told us that the more they use Gmail, the more they discover its benefits. So go ahead and give it a try. We'll keep working on making Gmail the best email service around, and we appreciate your joining us for the ride.
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