Google Girl

Why is Google Apps an attractive tool and why it’s perfect for college students.

As technology evolves year by year we see companies and their brand keeping up with the change to stay competitive in the technology market. We obviously know Google as the top search engine on the internet, but who knew they would be competing in a neck and neck race with Microsoft as a leader in business technology tools.

The more I rely and become involved with technology, social media and other new forms of communication, the more I notice myself relying on Google. Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon? As a young college student busy with class, studying, work, my blog and an internship, Google provides for me the most perfect tools to keep my hectic life organized.

Although similar, Google uses a cloud based sytem that runs productivity options and tool. Because it is a cloud based tool, you virtually can access all of your content on any device that receives internet connection. This mean I can access all of my content in my dorm, library, classroom, cafeteria, virtually anywhere on campus with any device! I mentioned only a few, but the features and capabilities for Google and Google Apps produce quite a long list.

I have used both Microsoft and Google tools personally, as well as for work and can confidently say I am indeed a Google girl.

From the moment I wake up until I climb back into bed, Google acts as a staple to my schedule. Its efficiency and convenience is exactly what it took to win me over as a service.

Walk through a normal day of mine, you will see how often I take advantage of the Google tools and how useful they really are.

6:30 am – I wake up and immediately open my laptop. Of course, I use Google Chrome, but more specifically I have three separate Google chrome browsers that I use daily. One for my personal email which is what I check first. Second a work email, might I add that this company is fully Google affiliated. And finally, my third browser; my blog.

These are only three browsers and emails that I use every morning. Altogether I have about five to six different Gmail accounts which are used often.

7:00 am – Check my phone before going to breakfast, and what is on my home screen? A Google search app. I immediately open this app to check the weather for the day. ( I find that the Google weather report is more accurate than others)

8:00 am – I arrive at work and open my Google Drive for documents that I need for the day.

9:30 am – I usually check my social media sites and one of my favorites… G+! I try to post at least once a day.

1:00 pm – Again I check my emails. The most recent update to Gmail is something that I am absolutely in love with! This update separates all of my emails under different tabs. You can customize exactly how you would like your emails categorized, however I kept mine with the default tabs. (primary, social and promotions) It literally is the most convenient way to organize my emails, AND Google does it for me!

3:00 pm – I receive a text and a notification from Google calendar on my cell phone saying I have a meeting in 30 minutes. What a perfect reminder!

6:00 pm – I have a meeting for my second job, and appropriately we use Google Hangout for our conference calls every Monday.

8:00 pm – A co-worker and myself simultaneously work on a document together on google Docs.

Google also plays an important role in my fall internship. I am a Style Guru blogger for CollegeFashionista and we use Google hangout for training sessions and webinars, as well as G+ to promote our posts.

It is apparent that not only is Google present throughout my daily schedule, but it makes my day run much smoother.

One of Google’s #1 competitors in Microsoft. With similar applications and features, we truly do see Google and Microsoft battle for the top position However, for fellow Millennials  Google provides reliable and inexpensive cloud based tools for every facet of our life.

Like mentioned, it is the convenience and efficiency that Google provides for my specific needs that has allowed me to solely rely on them for technology tools. More specifically it is the email efficiency and convenient apps and access that I love.

First of all, the entire Google Apps suite covers and hosts most of the scope in which Microsoft does with two separate applications, Outlook and Exchange. When it comes to installing and accessing email, it is much more difficult to do so with Microsoft. You can either access Outlook Web Access (OWA), which requires a web browser or you can through Microsoft Outlook, a program installed to your specific computer. With Google all you need in an internet connection to access all your content, making it much more efficient. Who has the time or money to install separate software to each of your devices anyhow?

The convenience comes from the mobile apps that Google offers for each of their tools. Being able to access not just my email and calendar while on the move, but documents, folders, and Google Hangout (video conference calling) makes my job so much easier.

My opinion stands strong, as a twenty something finishing college and transitioning to the work lifestyle, I recommend utilizing and taking advantage of Google’s free tools!

TIPS:

• Use Google Calendar to get your life organized. Sync you calendar with your smart phone so you can receive email and text notifications. (You will never have to worry about missing or being late to an appointment again)
• Organize your email inbox with Google’s new feature. Use the default tabs or customize your own so Google can do the work sorting your mail. (Because sometimes a work email is more important than the Lilly Pulitzer online sale reminder)
• In class and forgot to print your paper? Save all your documents on Google Drive, head to the library for instant access to your content.
• Use Google Hangout to keep in touch and talk to your mom at home and sister in Columbus, at the same time! Also, useful for conference calling for work!