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(Pause) 0 new comments were just posted. (Show) What? No Knol? Google throws so much spaghetti against the refrigerator, it's nice when they stick with something until it's right: Google Reader, for example. However, for my non-technical friends, I use iGoogle as a gateway drug to get them hooked on RSS. Going straight to Google Reader seems to overwhelm them. By the way, the thing I've never liked about Blogger is that thing at the top of the page that says "Next Blog" -- but you don't have it. It's been a long time since I've played with blogger. How did you turn that off?
Hey Rex - there are a number of ways to disable the navbar, though we have a number of improvements planned that we think will make it a nice win for users. But in the meantime, if you have a blog on Blogger where you want to disable it, this site lays out the steps:
http://www.bloggertricks.com/2007/12/hide-disab...
-- Rick Klau (Blogger PM)
Thanks, Rick. I've just always wondered (worried about) where that link takes people. I'm sure whatever you come up with will take some of the worry out of that -- i.e., if I have some opportunity to suggest where it goes.
And by the way, let me add that you are one of the coolest customer service people I've ever known. (Note to those who don't know: Rick is one of the guys who run Blogger.)
I agree with all of your products listed here as well, I use all the above extensively; but if I had to choose my favorite of all, I'd have to say Google Chrome. It has just made using javascript-heavy applications (almost all of the latest websites are), and I feel like I'm browsing in slow motion when I use anything else.
I love Picasa / Picasa web apps, SMS Channels (By Google India), Google Talk, Google Apps (for custom domains) & Gmail. :)
Nice to see Blogger in the list. ;)
Striking Google Desktop (can't use it, too resource intensive for my old computer:/) good list.
Maybe not a product, and some would say the reason there is so much rubbish on the internet, but I would have to put AdSense at the top of my list.
Having tried many ways of monetizing my websites, nothing touches AdSense for ease of use and earning power.
I use a bunch of Google products now. Google Apps for Your Domain handles our email. Google Docs let me keep some of my documents in the cloud to be accessed at any time. I have a couple little web services running on the App Engine. I have a coding blog on blogger, which is hooked up to FeedBurner and Analytics, I use GReader constantly... and the list goes on.
Many of my choices are the same (Google Reader, Google Analytics, Blogger, GMail, YouTube, Google Maps). One that I just started using that you didn't mention was Google Voice. I use Feedburner, but I don't know that I'd count it as a favorite. Google Search I take for granted, but I probably shouldn't.
Perhaps my one quibble is with Google Blog Search. I found it to be very useful a couple of years ago, but today I find it less useful. In my experience, many of the things that show up in Google Blog search today are also found in Google News, since many of today's blogs that show up in Google Blog Search are tied to existing journalistic outlets, rather than being personal forums.
You forgot Google docs, the favorite of a person like me who regularly operates out of two homes in different states:-) When Steve Rubel goes on the road, he carries a LaCie with him. I bought one after I saw it, promptly lost it, and am happy that most of my docs are in the cloud anyway:-)
Yes,goole product are very useful,and i think google analyse and webmastertool also a good tool.
Hi Louis,
I would vote for Google Earth. It's just amazing.
Google Chrome has been a disappointment for me, especially as I cant even log into Adsense with it. It throws me into an infinite loop and tries to redirect me to the Czech version of Adsense.
Why, I dunno.
I'm in Beijing.
I told the chrome lads and they're 'looking into it'.
Best of luck in England. Avoid the tea.
Ivan
Tech Writer, Beijing
I don't go online to read my RSS feeds, I let them come to me in my e-mail program Windows Live Mail. This syncs all of the RSS feeds that you enable in Internet Explorer, and then I can read them at my leisure, download any amount for each feed, see them as a webpage if I wan't to instead of a boring old summary as in Google reader.
I have tried it, but its far too 'fussy' looking for my tastes. Using my method, I can just read those I wan't to read now or save them on my computer for later. Much easier in my opinion..
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My Top Ten Favorite Google Products: As Google has grown as a company, its reach has extended well beyond its in..
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louisgray.com: My Top Ten Favorite Google Products: As Google Reader has expanded its social capabilities, I hav..
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louisgray.com: My Top Ten Favorite Google Products: While other free e-mail products have gained a poor reputati..
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My Top Ten Favorite Google Products
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As Google has grown as a company, its reach has extended well beyond its initial foundation as a massive search index. The company now represents many things - including a mobile handset platform, a Web browser, Web-based e-mail, a social network, and a wide variety of software programs. Like Microsoft in the 1990s, it is often hard to see a viable business where the company does not play a role - and a significant one at that.
With Danny Sullivan revealing Google CEO Eric Shmidt's favorite product is the Chrome browser, I began thinking about my own preferences, and thought I would share - inviting you to do the same.
1. Google Reader
Google Reader is my starting point for finding the day's news quickly. The RSS reader is the very best way that I know of to get all the blogs and news sources I read in one place, and it provides me with simple keyboard shortcuts to read through them rapidly, choosing to share them on my link blog to downstream social networks, including FriendFeed, Twitter, Facebook and Socialmedian.
As Google Reader has expanded its social capabilities, I have also recently enjoyed a near-explosion in active conversations on my shared feeds, and find I am spending even more time inside this product than in months past.
Though it may sound crazy, I believe the quality lead Google Reader has over its competition exceeds even that of Google Search's quality lead over its relative competition. I would rather have Reader and be forced to use Yahoo!/Bing than use Google Search and use some other RSS reader.
2. Blogger
The Blogger platform, now 10, doesn't get enough respect. The simple blog publishing and hosting product makes it easy for me to add new posts, categorize them, and update my templates, multiple times a day. Having moved well beyond its initial reputation of being something like a spam blogs haven, Google has put real effort into clamping down on bad behavior. Meanwhile, outages that used to impact the service have practically been eliminated.
Blogger is the platform of choice not just for my blog, but for my wife as well, giving us one place to log in to update either site.
3. FeedBurner
While the product hasn't seen a ton of updates since its acquisition a few years back, FeedBurner hasn't received much challenge (with the exception of FeedBlitz) when it comes to distributing RSS feeds from millions of blogs, mine included. On top of making sure that my posts get distributed, FeedBurner also keeps tabs on statistics in terms of total subscribers, click throughs and site visits, and enables the ability to customize each blog post with feedflares, adding additional interactivity.
4. Google Search and Google Blog Search
Google Search just does its job, period. Even as the Web has grown dramatically, Google's ability to return the "one right answer" solution when guessing what I am looking for is unmatched. It may lack the real-time capability of other sites, but imagining an alternative Web without Google search is daunting.
Similarly, Google Blog Search has largely replaced Technorati for most and is the default engine for finding new content on blogs around the Web.
5. GMail
While I have been using .Mac e-mail since well before GMail ever launched, the product changed the game in terms of what online e-mail represented. GMail, at its debut, offered storage space 20 times higher than the competition, integrated search and other features, such as labels and automatic filtering that make it both light and flexible. While other free e-mail products have gained a poor reputation online, seeing a GMail address doesn't make me turn away in scorn. I recommend that any business starting an online media strategy obtain a GMail account to centralize related e-mail.
6. YouTube
Though, like FeedBurner, not born at Google, YouTube is one of the most recognizable brands on the Web. Like Google Search, it has become the default service on the Web for what it does - enabling people to share videos and view videos, from silly family pictures to professionally designed music videos or corporate interviews. It is through YouTube where my wife and I share home recordings of our twins, and embed them on our sites. The ease at which we can port YouTube content to Facebook, FriendFeed and blogs is a big reason we use them above any other competitor.
7. Google Maps
Ever since I acquired a GPS unit for my car, my reliance on Google Maps has plummeted. But if in a pinch, if in another car, or needing to look up a route quickly on my iPhone, there is no substitute. While I once used Mapquest to find my frequently-lost self around town, Google Maps is now the trusted standard. As TechCrunch recently noted, only Google was sharp enough to recognize the recent closure of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, alerting potential travelers accurately.
8. Google Chrome
A decade following the peak of the initial browser wars, between Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer, we have an interesting tussle for browser market share once again, this time involving Microsoft, Google, Mozilla and Apple. (With Opera still not dead yet) The debut of Chrome, first for Windows and Linux PCs, with stable Chromium builds for Mac here as well, introduced more stable browsing, simplified favorite pages, and speedy load times. Let not the low ranking fool you - compared to Schmidt's #1 position. For me, it's a good product, but not the market leader in the way its brethren Google Reader, FeedBurner and Search are.
9. Google Desktop
Google Desktop brings the power of Google Search to your desktop files - helping to find everything from text files and e-mails to rich media content embedded in office documents. While in years past, much of its functionality could be found in Apple's Spotlight, or the Mac's integrated search in Finder, the latter is just too slow and unreliable, with Google Desktop gives you the familiar and trusted approach you know from the Web. Its ability to crawl through previous dates to see when documents were created is especially useful.
10. Google Analytics
Few self-respecting bloggers go too far away from their Web traffic statistics, and many have two, three or more packages going simultaneously, to ensure they have enough datapoints to consider themselves experts. For no cost, Google Analytics provides detailed stastics, not just for the last 4,000 visitors (as Sitemeter does), but for all visitors, letting you compare time periods, dive deep into demographics of visitors, and see trends in your publishing and content.
Close but not included: AppSpot, iGoogle, Google AdWords, Google Earth, Google Docs, Google Finance, Google Groups, Google News
What are your top ten Google Applications? Did I miss your favorite?
Labels: Chrome, FeedBurner, Google, Google reader, Search, Top Tens, YouTube
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Andy was born in the Isle of Man and currently lives in Pittsburgh. Known globally as a willing source for tech news and views, Andy takes great pride in consultation and education. Should his schedule permit, Andy is available to help you with your SEO and Web Analytics needs.
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