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  1. Email

    Google Adopting More Strict Email Policy

    Google is about to update  their authentication policy that impacts people who use Gmail to send emails through a third-party service like email marketing services or website contact forms. Free email providers like Yahoo, AOL, and soon Google have adopted the strict DMARC  email authentication protocol to prevent spam.

  2. Warning: Google Apps and YouTube Don’t Mix!

    We had an issue with a client that is using Google Apps for their email and when they went to their YouTube account, it told them that since Google bought Youtube, their Youtube account info needs to be merged with a Gmail/Google account. It suggested merging with his Google Apps account, which Google now treats just like any other Gmail account. Well, guess what? Google Apps accounts don’t support integration with Youtube, so if you link them up you get a lovely “This service is not available” message and you’re locked out of your YouTube account!

    To fix it, you need to unlink your account which you can do here:

    http://www.youtube.com/my_account_unlink

    Then you can create a brand new Gmail/Google account here and then try to log in to your Youtube account using your OLD info and when it asks you to link the account with a Google Account make sure you link it to this new Gmail account – NOT your Google Apps account.

    Hope this helps some folks avoid an annoying issue. If you have questions, feel free to contact the Raleigh internet marketing experts at Page Progressive here.

  3. Google Apps Outlook Sync

    Google has just released a new product called "Google Apps Sync for Outlook" that allows people on Google Apps to continue to use Outlook, but not need a Microsoft Exchange server. See the details here. That is a great new addition as this could save businesses a lot of money by not requiring an Exchange server anymore to sync up company contacts, email and calendars.

    The only bummer is you have to have the Premiere Edition of Google Apps and not the free, "Basic" edition. 

  4. Tasks: My Favorite Google Apps Addon Now With Calendar Integration

    Google recently added an addon feature for Google Apps called tasks which shows a list of to-do items in your mail view. You can turn it on by going to Settings –> Labs and look for "Tasks." I love this addon because it puts a list of to-do reminders where I spend a good portion of my time – in email. Tasks can even be viewed on your phone.

    Even more recently, Google added task integration with Google Calendar, so you can schedule tasks and easily refer to them when in Calendar view as well – here’s more information from Google about it.

    Did I mention Google Apps is free for 50 accounts or less? Once you see what it’s capable of, it will revolutionize your workflow.

  5. Use Twitter From Inside Gmail or Google Apps

    Like to Twitter and use Google Apps? Here’s a gadget that lets you update and view Twitters from within your Gmail interface:

    http://www.twittergadget.com

    Not bad.

  6. Google Apps Now Have Custom Email Themes

    Back in November, Google announced themes for Gmail so that you could customize the look of your webmail. While this was a great addition, I hated that I didn’t have it in our Google Apps. Well a couple days ago, I finally noticed the new "Themes" option in my email setttings! It’s pretty neat…I was getting tired of the default look, so this was refreshing….so now I’m sporting "Green Sky."

    Keep in mind that Google is rolling this out slowly to users, so if you still don’t see the option, just hang in there.

  7. PDF Files Now Allowed in Google Docs

    For those of you out there using Google Apps, you may have noticed that Google has added a lot of new features lately, like working in Google Docs and email offline, and templates for presentations, spreadsheets and forms. One thing I’m pretty excited about is Google Docs now allows PDF file uploads, in addition to word processing, spreadsheet and presentation files. So if you have a nice, jazzy PDF of a price list, newsletter or sales sheet, you can post it in Google Docs and share it with your staff or clients. A feature I’ve been waiting for for a long time. You still can’t edit PDF files….but I wouldn’t be suprized to see that feature coming soon.

  8. Google Apps Email Now Offers Offline Support!

    We highly recommend Google Apps to all of our hosting clients and one of the few things that made Gmail (or any webmail for that matter) not as attractive is it required an internet connection in order to work (IE: view old emails), since it’s a webmail system. That is not the case anymore! Utilizing the new "Google Gears" technology, now you can access your Google Apps Email even when not connected to the internet!

    To enable this feature, simply log into your Google Apps email account and click "Settings" in the top right corner of the screen and then go to "Labs."

    There you will see a link to enable "Offline" access (As well as several other nice goodies). Turn that on and then click the "Offline" link in your top right menu and your most recent email will be synced with your computer and accessible even if you are not connected to the internet.

    This is a great feature if you have a laptop and are always bouncing around from one wifi hotspot to the next. Obviously in offline mode, you will not receive new emails until you are back on the internet and any emails you compose and send will actually go to an "Out" box to wait until the next time you are online to get sent. But you do have access to the most recent emails that you have dealt with. And that’s pretty cool.