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?

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“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?

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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:

• Follow the Google Analytics Set-Up Checklist. This is a step-by-step process, with links to more detailed instructions.
• Google Analytics has a blog – you can check out the Back to Basics Series and the Beginner Topics.
• Google Analytics Help Centre. As the name suggests…
• A Guide to Google Analytics and Useful Tools from Smashing Magazine. Includes some good links to desktop applications and Firefox extensions for monitoring analytics. For example, this extension to let you know if Google Analytics is installed. SiteScan can also check this for you (first 100 pages free).
• O’Reilly produces some well-written technology books (usually at the more intermediate/advanced end of the spectrum). I’ve got Google Analytics Shortcuts from O’Reilly. Google Analytics is due for publication this July. Complete Web Monitoring incorporates advice on analytics and more general site maintenance (i.e. it’s more advanced).
• Two books I’ve heard good things about are Web Analytics: An Hour a Day by Avinash Kaushik and his more recently book – Web Analytics 2.0.
• The Complete Google Analytics Power Guide. I’m always wary when something is describe as ‘complete’ or ‘ultimate’ – I don’t think this is either, but it’s another resource worth checking out.
• 10 Must Track Google Analytics Goals. For example, how to track how many people are subscribing to your newsletter or RSS feed.
• If you find yourself wanting to learn more, three blogs worth exploring are Occam’s Razor (by Avinash Kaushik), ROI Revolution, Analytics Talk, and of course Google’s official Analytics blog.
• The Google Analytics Channel on YouTube. For quick tips, check out the series Google Analytics in 60 seconds. Other videos for beginners include ‘Interpreting and Acting on Your Data’:

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

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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:

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• Beginners resources for improving search results
• Brainstorming with Google Sets
• Save time and can email responses
• Will your church join LA City Council?
• Get your church on the (Google) Map
• Planning the year ahead with Google Calendar

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)

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What would you speak about?

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

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How many of your website’s visitors arrive via a web search? My guess is that this figure will be at least 35%.

And 35% is not an insignificant proportion. And these are just the people who were successful in their search!

The good news is, there are some simple things that you can do to make the content of your church website easier to find via search engines. This process is called Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Here are some resources to get you started:

• Network Solutions has an entry-level video to understand how search engine optimisation works. It’s in a style very similar to the exceptional Common Craft videos (for example, check out ‘Web Search Strategies in Plain English‘), and whilst they are clearly plugging the use of professional services, it’s a helpful place to start learning.
• Google has put together a Search Engine Optimisation Guide (PDF). This is an excellent place to begin to learn some simple tips for improving your church website’s appearance in search results.
• Google also has a Webmaster resource with lots of tools for analysing and improving the content on your website. This includes the Webmaster Tools Checklist.
• Microsoft Bing and Yahoo also have tools for webmasters (however I haven’t tried these out).
• seomoz.org is a great website for all things search-engine related. They have put together another beginners guide – the Beginners Guide to Search Engine Optimisation. You might also like to check out the Beginners Checklist for Learning SEO. They also have a blog (e.g. ‘11 Best Practices for URLs‘), and share free tools and other guides (not all of the guides are free).
• seomoz.org also has an interesting article on the top 5 ranking factors – i.e. the factors that affect where your website’s pages appear in search results.
• SEO Book has an impressive collection of resources including a glossary, videos, tools, and guides.
• Search Engine Land has some helpful how-to resources, how more of the content on this site (compared with seomoz.org or SEO Book) is restricted to premium (i.e. paid) access.
• Sydney-based company Switched On Media provides some simple answers to frequently asked questions about SEO, as well as their top 5 SEO tips.

I hope these links are helpful in your endeavours to improve search results. There’s not much point having a church website if people can’t find it!

Know of other useful resources? Share them with us via the comments section below.

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And Google Sets came up with the following additional items:

Sure, some of the suggestions weren’t quite what I was looking for, but it was a helpful first step for the brainstorming process. Go on, give it a try!

Can you think of any other ministry applications for Google Sets?

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• What are the service times for your church?
• What are the bank details to give to the church?
• Can you add me to the list to receive the weekly email newsletter?
• I’d like to join the church – how do I do this?
• I want to become a Christian – how do I do this? (wouldn’t it be great if that were a common question!)

If you have ever had the need to write the answer to the same question twice, you might benefit from using Google’s canned responses. Launched in 2008, I only just discovered this handy tool a couple of week’s ago when a friend put me onto it.

Canned responses allows you to save a response to easily re-use it on another occasion. They save you from re-typing the email from scratch. They save you from having to dig around to find the response you gave to the same question three months ago.

Of course, you can adjust any of the response to customise them as you need, and you can add text before, after or in the middle of the canned response, but  simply having the pre-written response on-hand can be a real time-saver. Other uses of this tool including adding signatures to the bottom of emails, or creating templates for weekly roster reminders, or weekly emails to your Bible study group.

If you use a Mac, but don’t use email, you might like to try out a tool called TextExpander (explained in more detail, along with some other email tips, in ‘8 tips for email liberation‘).

But if you don’t use Gmail, perhaps it’s time you switched – there’s lots of benefits to using this tool to manage your email!

It’s easy to import your email to Google from another web-based email account (e.g. Hotmail), and even if you don’t want to use a Gmail account, you can send and receive your email, using the Gmail interface, by importing your mail settings.

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• Surveys, polls and sign-up forms (e.g. Wufoo)
• Organising meetings (e.g. TimeBridge)
• Reputation management (e.g. Google Alerts)
• Website analytics (e.g. Google Analytics)
• Collaboration (e.g. Huddle)
• Password management (e.g. Pastor)
• Email newsletters (e.g. Campaign Monitor)
• Task management (e.g. Remember the Milk)
• Note taking (e.g. Evernote)
• Time tracking (e.g. Freckle)
• Asset management (e.g. Dropbox)

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