Email in My Life
I live in email. It's the primary means by which I communicate with friends, some family, customers, co-workers, and in many ways, my wife. I suppose I am not much different from many people. But of the people I know, I seem to be different.
I enjoyed the Google approach to email (GMail) from August 4, 2004 until I was accepted for Google Apps for Your Domain on March 22, 2006. Then I discovered the way email should exist. Since I use many computers during the week, web-based email has always appealed to me. Being able to access my email address, michael@mjohnson.net, through GMail was amazing. My wife still prefers to use a client on her computer, which is fine for her because she really only uses one computer. But the safety she gained when I set up her client to leave a message on Gmail and to send out going email through the Google SMTP server allowed the perfect backup for her. If by chance, she needed to get to her email from her parents house, she can log in to the web and find all the mail she has ever sent of received. I back up my email by using a client to grab the POP3 access from GMail and download it to my home computer. If Gmail disappeared tonight, I would be disappointed, but I would have my backup locally.
Being able to organize and archive my email by Google's method of labeling is perhaps the most powerful feature. So much more flexible than a traditional folder-like system. I can apply multiple labels to single message. Where as I could never file an email into multiple folders on any other email system or client I am aware of. And let's face it, 2GB of storage should be plenty for most people for the near future. In the last 8 months I've accumulated 54 MB of email. That includes stuff I have trashed. I empty my trash about once a month.
Another nice feature is the ability to create email lists easily. My wife and I have a couple of email lists that we use. So as to avoid unsolicited email or SPAM to these addresses, I will not mention them here. But suffice it to say that some services in our lives send notices to us by email. These services send to a specific address we use to register for these services. This specific address is actually an email list. When this list receives email, it delivers it to my account and my wife's account. Very useful when tracking household bills that arrive by email. There is also an email list that can be used to send email to my wife, myself and my daughter all at one address.
With Google Apps for Your Domain, we use the calendar features to organize our life. I have six calendars. Some of which are shared to my wife. She can edit one, which is called Family. But from the view of the others she can she what my plan is.
Although it's not used much, I also have Google Talk working at mjohnson.net. It's geeky, I know, but it's kind of cool that I can say, thanks to Google Apps for Your Domain, that I have a Jabber server running at Mjohnson.net.
These are all examples of personal/family use of Google Apps for Your Domain. Google is clearly targeting small businesses and offices. But in these busy times I think it's a great tool for families on the go as well.