Tech for the Local Church
Are You Using Online Surveys?
Aug 17th
Feedback is critical to leadership and making sound decisions. But most leaders don’t have the time to poll more than a few individuals for their take on an event or new idea. Keep reading for some great online survey tools! More >
New From Google Labs: Google Reader Play
May 8th
I have been using Google Reader for years, but until I started getting serious about blogging, I was never a devoted user. Over the last month, I have cleaned out my feeds, subscribed to only the most useful content to stay informed for this blog, and fallen in love again with Google Reader.
Enter: Google Reader Play
I typically catch up on tech news using Google Reader on my iPhone, but today I fired up my MacBook and noticed one of their famous experimental offerings:
New! Google Reader Play is a fun way to browse interesting stuff on the web. Give it a try! More >
Being Found in Google
Mar 9th
Local Business Center - http://maps.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=13416
Submit your church to Google Maps. Even include service times, pictures and more.
Webmaster Tools – http://www.google.com/webmasters/
Verify your site, add your sitemap, and get an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) report card
Analytics – http://www.google.com/analytics/
See site traffic and trends.
Google AdSense – https://www.google.com/adsense
Advertise your site.
Google: Just for Fun
Mar 9th
Who says Google is all business? Here are a few fun, off topic things Google gives you.
Image Swirl - http://image-swirl.googlelabs.com/
SketchUp – http://sketchup.google.com/
Fast Flip – http://fastflip.googlelabs.com/
Voice Search – http://www.google.com/mobile/google-mobile-app/
Latitude – http://www.google.com/latitude/intro.html
iGoogle – http://www.google.com/ig
Hardware, Software & Tips that Makes Google Better
Mar 9th
iPhone and Android – http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/whats-new-with-gmail-on-iphone-and.html
Take all of Google’s tools with you.
Google Labs in Gmail – Tweak your email to be more productive.
Mac Address Book – Sync Contacts and Print Labels
Google Chrome – http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/features.html
Backupify – http://www.backupify.com/
Backup your Gmail account (and much, much, more)
Get FREE Google Apps for NonProfits
Mar 9th
Are you using the Standard Edition of Google Apps? Upgrade to the free educational edition here:
http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/request.py?contact_type=nonprofit
- No advertisements
- 2000 unique emails a day – verses 500/day with the standard edition
Well worth the trouble, I think.
Google Basics for Churches
Mar 9th
Google is search.
Churches speak of eternal destinations.
Is this a match made in heaven? Not really. But I do think that any organization that accepts the Great Commission to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ has a responsibility to do an excellent job getting THE WORD out there. Lets cover some of the basics…
Google.com
Do no evil. http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html
Get a Google Account
https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount
A google account, is basically a gmail (email) account that unlocks the door to Google’s services “in the cloud” (online, not on your computer). The big strokes here, once you are in the club are:
- Gmail – http://mail.google.com/ Complete with online …
- Calendars: http://www.google.com/intl/en/googlecalendar/about.html
- Documents: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA (Breaking News: This Just In! DocVerse)
- Forms: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzgaUOW6GIs
- Tasks: http://mail.google.com/mail/help/tasks/
- Contacts: http://mail.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=12867
- Buzz.
- Photos – http://picasa.google.com
- Photo Editing – http://www.picnik.com/
- Reader – http://www.google.com/reader
- Maps – http://www.google.com/maps
- YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/
- Earth – http://www.google.com/maps
- Google Voice – http://google.com/voice
Staff Productivity: Google Apps
While the majority of these fall cleanly in the “personal productivity” column, there is a professional side to Google: Google Apps.
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