I can't fight it anymore. I may as well admit that I'm the biggest Google fangirl (Googirl?) in the known universe. What can I say? I'm on the Internet pretty much all day at work, looking up prices, company URLs, how to spell "magnanimous." And I have to Google stuff. But of course, that's not where it ends. Not even close. As you'll soon see, Google has squirmed its googly way into my heart.

 

I should probably see a doctor.

 

Meanwhile, here are a bunch of ways I use Google products and services. And yeah, they're all free.

 

 

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Email

Obviously there's Gmail. I use it all the time, love it muy mucho. I'm a huge fan of the by-conversation-thread organization. I am thrilled with the integration between it and Google Calendar - if the Gmail bots see what they think could be an appointment, an option will pop up on the right-hand panel to add it to your Calendar. And you can send event notices to people from either your Inbox or your Calendar. Handy!

 

Sendin' out an invite.

 

Party on a duck? (In the sponsored links. Must be one deep-pocketed duck.)

 

But my favorite feature in Gmail just might be the use of labels. These work just like tags on blog posts, letting you assign individual messages to as many categories as you want. Then when you click a label (found in the left panel), all those messages are instantly available. Once I label a message, I can archive it (take it out of my inbox) and then know that it's just a click away. As you can see in the screenshot, I'm using labels to help me manage all the email regarding my wedding plans.

 

 

Chat

If you use Gmail's Contacts list, you know that you can chat with your contacts right in the Gmail window, or pop out a chat to a floating window that stays open as long as you keep the Gmail window open too. I use it all the time to talk to my friend who's teaching in Taiwan, actually.

 

 

 

But what you might not know is that you can use your Google login for Google Talk, a chat service that's compatible with Jabber. Which means it's also compatible with both iChat and Adium. Huzzah! (And lucky, since the Google Talk Client is only available for Windows.)

 

To set it up in iChat, open iChat > Preferences, click the Accounts tab, and click the plus sign in the bottom left corner to add an account. For Account Type, choose Jabber. Your Jabber ID is your full Gmail address. Password is self-explanatory I hope. For Server, enter talk.google.com, and click Add. All your Gmail contacts are right there in your buddy list. Googtastic.

 

 

 

Setting up Google Talk in iChat.

 

Setting it up in Adium is even easier. Adium > Preferences. Click the Accounts tab, then the plus sign, and select Google Talk from the pop-up menu. Then just follow the prompts, G.

 

And if you are rocking a Windows setup, the Google Talk Client will let you make free PC-to-PC calls.

 

 

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Searching...everything.

 

Google Desktop is new on Macs, having been around on the Windows side for a while. It's kind of like the Finder on steroids, searching not just your computer's files and folders, but your Gmail messages, your Web-browing history, the text of documents, your media, aaaaaand the whole darn Internet while it's at it. And it works pretty much exactly like the web-based Google Search you've used for years.

 

You can download it here, and opt to have it live in your menubar, on your Desktop, or in your Dock. Clicking the menubar icon lets you access the Quick Search box (the floating black window in the screenshot) or the full page, which launches in your default Web browser.

 

 

 

You can specify in the Preferences where it should search.

 

 

 

The results are speedy and incredibly easy to navigate, like anything Google does. (I'm so shameless.) Seriously, though, it's kind of creepy how well this thing seems to know me. But it's quick and accurate and the interface couldn't be easier. I'm hooked.

 

Results from the Quick Search pop-up.

 

And the results from the full browser-based search.

 

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Getting the 411

Google SMS is amazing, especially when you're traveling. You text a query from your cell phone to 446453 (GOOGLE), and it texts you back the answer. You can ask it for an astonishing range of information too. Of course there's basic phone and address listings for businesses or business categories (sushi 94105), and the obligatory weather info, sports scores, movie listings, and stock quotes. But you can also text it your flight number (NWA 110) to see if your plane is on time. You can tell it the airline name and get their contact info in case you need to call and yell at them. You can get phrase translations (where's the bathroom in italian), driving directions, or just the bet-settling answer to a question (california population). You can try it out in your Web browser at this link.

 

You can test Google SMS in your browser before you try it from your phone.

 

And if you don't have a cell or just don't like texting, call 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) from any phone and you can speak the name of a category or business name to get the phone number -- or even be connected for free. You can even opt to have the info sent to your phone via SMS by speaking "text message." It's "still in its experimental stage" so it doesn't work all the time, but try it out because it's pretty darn cool.

 

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Managing information

 

Google Notebook is so very, very handy in my line of work. Like I said earlier, I'm on the Internet all day. All. Day. So this is a great way for me to clip and save things for later, whether that's text, images, notes, or links. Best of all, I can get to my notebook from any computer. But on my main machines, the toolbar that lives in the bottom right corner of my Firefox windows is a godsend - oh, excuse me, a Googsend.

 

The Notebook pops up from the bottom-right corner of my Firefox windows.

 

Google Docs and Spreadsheets is also helping me with my wedding, as I can store info and to-do lists, and my fiance, mom, and faithful bridesman (shout-out!) can access and update them easily.

 

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There's more, of course. Google Earth. Picassa, a free photo organizer. Blogger. Google Reader for RSS. And the list of projects at the Google Labs is simply mind boggling. But I've babbled on long enough (for now). All I have left to say is... thanks, Google. You roogle.

 

Fangirl out.