Tag Archive - Google

We’re not ready to live in the cloud

May 4, 2010 in for Churches

I was quite excited when I heard that Google Docs had opened up to allow documents of any type to be uploaded and stored for free. I could now store all of the design resources for church in Google Docs, and share the folder with these files with those who need access to them. No more emailing back and forth. No more YouSendIt. A central, online repository for all files. Brilliant.

I’ve since been adding the necessary files to Google Docs. Until today.

Today, when I try to upload files I get the following error message:

“Server Rejected”

I’m not the only one with this message. Forums share experiences of others who have been experiencing this issue since February. I can’t find a response from Google about this issue. And so my plans for using Google Docs as an online file repository have come to a shuddering halt.

The cloud has a lot of potential. But when it’s not working properly, it’s very frustrating. There’s some bugs to iron out, and until then, I’ve got my doubts about the value in storing anything significant in the cloud.

Do you agree?

Fear Facebook?

April 28, 2010 in Social Media

I just read an interesting post – “Thanks Facebook for putting my nuts in a vice“. The author is scathing of Facebook’s intentions:

“Facebook is only concerned about two things. Amassing the biggest profile database in the world and to convert that into a sickening amount of money. Today’s announcements where just the opening salvo on their march to integrate themselves so deeply in the web that we can’t do without them.”

Facebook recently announced some fairly dramatic changes and expansion plans, including the launch of social plug-ins to support engagement and interaction across the web, within your Facebook network.

Should we join the author (who happens to also be called Steven) in his concern about Facebook? Should we be concerned about Google too? Is it time to  metaphorically take our money out of the bank and put it under the mattress?

Resources to learn how to use Google Analytics

April 13, 2010 in for Churches

As far as website analytics goes, Google Analytics is advanced. It’s free, which is great, but just because it’s free doesn’t mean it’s straightforward to use.

When I chat to people about the analytics they are collecting on their website, it’s not uncommon to hear “We’ve got Google Analytics installed, but we don’t really look at it”. Not surprisingly, if you don’t take the time to learn Google Analytics (or any other analytics program you’ve got running on your website), you won’t be able to make the most of it.

If you’re after a less complicated solution, for my money (slightly more than the cost of Google Analytics), Clicky is the winner. It’s simple, easy to use and cheap (but not free). I’ve written about its benefits previously.

However, Google Analytics is the industry standard. ‘27 features that make Google Analytics best of breed‘ might be three years old, but it still applies and then some, with even more features added since.

Here are some resources to learn more about Google Analytics so it can be more than just code you’ve got running in the background of your site!

My first recommendation is to go to ‘Conversion University’ and take lessons in Google Analytics IQ. These short tutorials provide a beginners overview to Google Analytics, what it is, what it does, and how you can set it up. If you’re brave, you can then do the test!

I also recommend checking out the following:

Is your church or ministry using Google Analytics on its website? Do you feel like you are making the most of it?

Gmail’s new ‘remind me’ service

March 31, 2010 in Christian Living, Pastors

Have you ever sent an email and not received a reply? Silly question! Sometimes this doesn’t matter, but sometimes the reply is important and it’s messy adding a calendar item along the lines of “check to see if Troy replied to my email”.

Help is here!

I just noticed this in my Gmail account:

This new feature enables you to set a reminder to follow up with your recipient if you haven’t heard back from them (via email) within your designated time-frame.

Useful tool.

I’m not sure if it has been enabled on all Gmail accounts, or if it’s just being tested on a few. Can you see it?

Update

Some people have written in and not know where they should be looking to see this new service. Here are a couple of screenshots to show you what I’m seeing:

Google is starting to scare me

March 16, 2010 in Christian Living, for Churches

I’ve written a lot about Google and the usefulness of its products. For example:

There are so many useful applications of Google’s products.

Last year I wrote about Google’s moves to be more transparent in the information they collect (see ‘What does Google know about you?‘). However, this video (from ABC1′s Hungry Beast) made me feel quite uncomfortable:

Should we be concerned?

What are the risks with Google owning so much, and having access to so much information?

Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

(Feature image source: BNET Australia)

Ideas for using technology for the good of the gospel

March 1, 2010 in Christian Living, for Churches, Outreach, Pastors

This weekend I’ll be presenting a seminar at the church weekend away on the topic ‘ideas for using technology for the good of the gospel’.

What would you speak about?

In what ways would you encourage your brothers and sisters to use technology?

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