I mentioned briefly that I switched to Google’s gmail program a couple of weeks ago, and let me tell you – it has changed my life. That is, after it gave me a short working nervous breakdown. Now that I’m through that with the help of a good therapist, I’m onboard and ready to share my opinions with my travel industry friends.
Spam Filtering Differences Between Gmail and Outlook and Webmail
For starters, Gmail has a spam filter built in, so there is really nothing to do except to start using it. I go through my spam folder a couple times a day and keep it cleaned out, but so far I’ve only seen two or three e-mails that should have come through and didn’t. It also automatically deletes the Spam older than 30 days, and it has plenty of storage, so you don’t have to look at it or worry about it crashing anything, but I like to be sure I’m not missing anything, so I look every day. With Outlook, I had to look at my MxLogic or Gateway Defender Folder (separate login) and with Webmail, I had to configure a ton of rules to catch the e-mail.
Separate Account Management- No New Addresses for Your Contacts
Since I have more than 10 separate e-mail accounts, I wanted to be able to easily consolidate them into one place. With Gmail, I went to the settings, added each of the existing accounts and selected the “use original e-mail when replying” feature – which means that no one needs to know that I’m using gmail, or have to change the address they have for me. Its seamless. I can also choose which account to send from if I want to, so when sending to a gemtravelsites.com client, I use that account, and a travelwebmarketing.com client sees e-mail from that address and it is as easy as a drop down box on the compose message screen.
Conversations versus Separate E-mails
This was the real mind-blower for me. In Outlook, I had more than 400 folders to keep everything “organized” – and I use that term loosely. The ongoing challenge was that if I wanted to see something I sent, and a reply from someone, they were separate e-mails, in separate folders. With Gmail, they are one threaded conversation, and I can assign labels and archive the e-mail. This keeps the e-mail within my reach, with just a simple Google-style search to find anything I need, whenever I need it.
Web-Based
Yes, Gmail is web based, which I’ve never been a fan of, but with the optional google desktop program, I can still search through e-mail when I’m offline (am I EVER offline?) and still remain comfortably “connected”. Since Gmail is also by invitation, or connected to a mobile phone number, it is much more secure than hotmail or other free e-mail programs. There is much more accountability from the user network.
Labels instead of Folders
My Outlook personal storage file (.pst) grew over the years to more than 2GB. It was HUGE, slow and cumbersome, despite my best efforts to stay organized with folders. With GMail, rather than a folder, I can assign a label to each e-mail. I use the GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology which means I assign a project for each item, which for me is a client or a Reference like “accounts receivable” or “software licenses”. I can then assign an action label for things I need to do, like “waiting on” for items that need some response from someone, or “need blog post” for something that I want to share. This way they’re all in one place and I can do multiple similar things at once by clicking on a link in the navigation bar that has a pre-defined search. I use a free software plugin called gtdgmail.com for a really powerful and easy way to integrate this – more on this tomorrow.
Filters and the Wonderful little + sign
I stumbled across a neat little cheat early on that helped my conversion from outlook tremendously. Since you can’t import messages (you can import contacts, however) I was really stressed about trying to find messages I needed. I didn’t want to have to go back and forth between Outlook for old e-mail and Gmail for new e-mail. The cheat that saved me is the + sign. Here’s how it works. My gmail address is chelleyarbrough@gmail.com. However, I can also use chelleyarbrough+ebay@gmail.com and its still me! Notice the +ebay? Nothing to configure in gmail, just use the address. With that, I created filters with all the different projects in gmail which ended up being the folder names in outlook. Then I went through the outlook folders and sent myself the emails I wanted to save using the +whatever@ gmail.com address and they were automatically archived and labeled! It took me the better part of a day, but since I usually clean out my e-mail folders at the end of each year and use the Outlook Archive option, this was far easier, quicker and got me organized and up to speed. Everything’s at my fingertips, in Gmail and ready to go. Speaking of go….
Seamless Integration with my Palm Treo 650
My biggest movitvation for the change is the fact that I wanted to be much more mobile. With the purchase of my Palm Treo 650 almost a year ago, my goal was to get to the place where I could leave my laptop at home and still be productive at the beach, the YWCA or the coffeehouse. That never really materialized until I made a HUGE effort to find, test and refine the tools I now use. Over the next few days, I’ll give an in-depth overview of each, but right now I’ll tell you that I use:
Verizon Wireless Unlimited Data Plan – a MUST HAVE
The Gmail Mobile Application to manage Gmail – always synchronized, no download delays or overlaps
Google Maps – free application similar to a GPS, with driving directions, real-time traffic and satellite images
GooSync – to keep my Google Calendar and Palm Calendar synchronized
DragonEdit – website editor for SmartPhones, for quick website edits
MobiTV – Several live TV channels including NBC, MSNBC, ABCNews and Discovery Channels (No more airport boredom)
PTunes – With Rhapsody-To-Go Account, turns my phone into an MP3 player, so I can walk and workout and not miss a call
Quick-IM – Since I use MSN Messenger, I can chat with my clients and contacts
Jabra BT800 Bluetooth Headset
Palm Keyboard – a full size pop-out keyboard with real sized keys. Makes e-mails and blogs a snap.
On the PC Side, I changed to Mozilla Firefox from Internet Explorer because of the tools and extensions (which I’ll also explain in subsequent articles) and now I use Google Calendar which sends a message to my phone to remind me of appointments or deadlines, Google Docs and Spreadsheets, so my library of documents is secure and web-based. BaseCamp for project management, Backpack for personal to-do lists and sharing with others, and Blogger to post to this website.
Overall, Gmail was quick to setup. It took about a week to get really used to the “conversation” style of messages, but the built in tools made exploration fun, too. For home-based, small and medium sized travel agencies looking for a way to telecommute more effectively, this might be a good option. Feel free to post questions and comments!
