Why Your Business Should Use Google Apps

Google Apps, free web apps provided by google have become very popular for personal use, but not as much so for business use.  Why?  Well, this is mainly because most people think that they have to have a GMail, or GoogleMail, account in order to use these services, but they are wrong.

You can actually sign up for a Google ID without a GMail account, the only thing is, you won’t be able to use GMail to check and respond to the email you have on your domain, unless your host supports POP3 access to the select few ports that GMail offers.  For people and businesses who use BlueHost and other hosts like it, which use port 26, and an obscure SSL port, the option to simply use GMail isn’t available.

This is where Google Apps comes in.  You can sign up for a free account for your domain, which gives you Google Docs, Google Mail, Google Talk, and Google Sites, all on your domain.  This means you’ll be easily able to use GMail with your own domain to check and respond to all of your email.  The additions of Docs,  and GTalk are all pluses, because they allow you to collaborate with other people, whom you will be able to add account on your domain for.  The best part of all of this, is Google Apps for your domain is free up to your first 50 users, and for most small businesses, this is not a problem, but for those businesses who do need more users $50 per year isn’t all that much at all.  Plus, you’ll be getting top notch support from Google with any problems you might have, as they give you a telephone number to call, instead of waiting for email support in the free version.  Another thing I noticed is that you can’t use GMail Themes in Google Apps, but I’m hoping for that to change soon, once they become more stable.

There’s isn’t really much to setting up Google Apps, either, so if you’ve set up your own hosting, and have bought a domain, and know how to set nameservers, you’ll be able to set them up fine, and you’ll be up and running in no time.  Google does provide pretty clear instructions, and I was able to set it up even though they didn’t have specific instructions for BlueHost, and I by no means consider myself an expert.  So, what are you waiting for?  You can be using Gmail to read and respond to emails on your own domain today!

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The 4 Google Experiments Review

Personally, Google is my best friend in Internet and I’m glad that they’re doing improvements and new things. Their latest project have been some experimental things regarding the search engine. The project is called Google Experimental Search and it has gained popularity since it was launched.

Google Experimental Search has been a topic of discussion between many webmasters. Threads about it are “flooding” forums. This test includes experimenting on 4 different Beta features:

SearchWiki with Sound

If you don’t know anything about SearchWiki take a look at this video:

It was launched on 11/20/2008 and now are added some very nice sound effects. When using one of the animations a sound comes up (like the sound effects of Windows of Mac). The sounds were recorded by Google’s co-founder: Sergey Brin

Alternate Views for Search Results

In this 2nd Experimental project you can change the way how to view at your search results. Google now has the feature  see results on a timeline, map, or in context of other information types. Official Description:

See results on a timeline, map, or in context of other information types. With these views, Google’s technology extracts key dates, locations, measurements, and more from select search results so you can view the information in a different dimension.

Timeline and map views work best for searches related to people, companies, events and places. Info view shows all the data found for each result, to help you select the best choice.

Keyboard Shortcuts

This is an awesome idea by Google Inc. It’s very useful for busy people who waste some time by clicking and using the mouse a lot on Google search. Now with some Keyboard Shortcuts you can make actions by pressing letters in the keyboard:

Accessible View

After the keyboard shortcuts feature come another very useful one. With Accessible View you can navigate through search results very easily without using the mouse at all. “As you navigate, items are magnified for easier viewing” - is written on the official review.

For now, you need to use the Firefox 3 web browser with this experiment. This note will be updated as other browsers are added. Magnification already works with Google Chrome and Apple’s Safari.

To activate any of this Experiments go here: Google Experimental Search. Note, that you can use only 1 of them at a time.

If you find this post interesting or might want to add something take your time and comment here,
Thank you for your time,
Arlind H

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12 Steps To Constructing an Awesome Business Name

Creating a business name can be challenging, but with some hard work in choosing the right one, you should be able to reap the rewards later on.  Remember, a good business name is a good brand.  It should be memorable, not too short, not too long, and pronounceable.  Here’s a short list on how to create an awesome business name, and how to make sure it isn’t already a business.

1. Brainstorm.  You need to think about how you want your potential customers or clients to feel when they hear your name.  I recommend that you write these words down, and then organize them by their primary meaning.  Use bot ha dictionary, and thesaurus for this, as both will be able to show you how your words are related, and may even give you name ideas.
2. Relate your words even more.  You’ve already gone through the dictionary and thesaurus and related your words, no look up the Greek and Latin translations.  This will help you find out what other types of things such as colors or animals relate to your words.
3. Experiment.  Make a list of words, combined words, and two word names from the words, and translations you researched.  Now is not the time to judge them!  I can’t stress this enough.  You might just fall in love with a name you didn’t really like, and would have scratched initially.
4. How does that make you feel? No, you don’t have to go to a counselor for this step, but you do have to read your words and see how they make you feel.  Try seeing how they make you feel when you say them in your head versus when you say them out loud.  Is there a difference?  If so, it’s probably not a good choice.
5. Ask A Friend.  Here, you’ll be using one of those “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” lifelines by asking your trusted friend which names makes sense, and which ones he or she likes.
6. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.  You’ll be doing a lot of this with your business, so you might as well start with your business name.  Throw the ones out that just don’t work, and prioritize the rest in a nice list.
7. Check trademarks.  Make sure anyone else isn’t using any of the names on your list, if they are throw them out.  Yes, you can use the same name if you are in completely unrelated fields, but that might create confusion between the names, and no one wants that.
8. Check domain names.  If there isn’t a suitable domain name available for your proposed company name, I recommend throwing that out as well, as you will most likely be needing a good, relevant domain name in order to contact many of your customers and clients in today’s world.
9. Use Google.  Even if there isn’t a trademark or a domain registered, it doesn’t mean someone else isn’t using the name.  Google should help you find out if anyone is.  Now, in this case, it’s a judgement call whether or not to throw the domain out.  My rule of thumb is, if they don’t have a website, they don’t matter, but there are some little businesses that run completely off forums, or something because they don’t have need for a website.  If this is the case, I normally try and find out how many clients they have, and this will give me a good idea of whether or not to throw the domain out.
10. Check some more.  You are going to need to check company names, and assumed names.  In the U.S., you can check with the Secretary of State about company names, and your County Clerk about assumed names.
11. Claim It! Now that you’re sure your name is available, grab it before someone else does.  File all your paperwork with the appropriate places, and start using Trade Mark or Service Mark right away, as these don’t have to be registered, at least not in the U.S.  You should also register your domain name.  I recommend getting at least the .com and .net TLDs.  Others you might want to look into getting are the .info, and .us, if you are in the United States.
12. Buy It! Buying a Service Mark or Trade Mark costs $325 in the U.S., which is nothing compared to the court fees you could potentially spend defending it in a lawsuit.

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