Guide to Using GmailIn the Workplace and Business

11/26/2013ENC 4265Ashley DeGeus

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Table of Contents

1. Choose Gmail 3

Introduction 3

Account Set-Up 3

2. Diversify With Gmail 6

Home 6

Workplace..……………………………………………………………………………………………………...……....9

Mobile 13

3. Collaborate Using Gmail………………………………………………………..…………………………16

Cyber Family 16

4. Unite Around Gmail…………………………………………………………………………………………18

Global Vision…..…………..…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18

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1.Choose Gmail

Introduction

These days, the wide scope of web and phone products means that the average person is constantly being bombarded by companies and products claiming to be the best at communication. Many times it can be difficult to distinguish between the empty promises of products who only want money and the companies that can (and will) live up to their boasts; with cash, jobs, and relationships on the line, navigating these treacherous waters can be tricky. Disturbed by the consumer communication dilemma, Google designers worked hard to produce a product intricate enough to ride the evolutionary waves of technology and simple enough for the even the most technically unsavvy to use. With 30GB of storage, powerful search engines and multiple options for organization, it is no wonder that Gmail has become the primary choice in free email providers for both personal and corporate use.

To the Google team, email is more than inboxes and a bunch sent messages: it is a product about people, for people. All apps, add-ons and options are engineered for the sole purpose of meeting the average user’s need for speed, with minimal stress and an emphasis on ease. Besides emailing capabilities there are texting, voice, and video-chat options that let the user see who is online and assist in facilitating instant connections from around the globe; additionally, space for shared document and photos support the team collaborations and group contacting that are so often necessary in the business world. Whether for a company or for an individual, Gmail offers the finest in communication tools and is confident that after signing up and experiencing email with Google, its users will agree.

Account Setup

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When signing up for Gmail, you have two choices: set up a personal email account for work and home, or sign up for Google Business Apps, a product that has been designed specifically to fit the needs of small and large companies. If you chose the personal email account, there is a simple set-up procedure. Follow the steps of the sample walk-through below:

1. From Gmail’s homepage, click the Create an account button.

2. Enter your full information and desired email address in the boxes provided.

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3. Verify by code or phone, agree to the Google Terms of Service and then click the Next step button.

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4. Verify your account.

5. At the welcome page, click the Continue to Gmail button.

6. Congratulations! Explore your new account by taking a quick tour.

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2.Diversify with Gmail

Diversification is a corporate strategy meant to increase sales volume from new products and new markets. For businesses, diversification can look like expanding into a new area of industry that the business is already in, or investing in a business outside of the target area of the existing business; for Gmail, diversification looks like being the best at communication, no matter what technology is being used. Whether your personal preference is laptop verses mobile or home verses workplace, Gmail offers a high quality product that is guaranteed to meet your needs.

Home

There are several helpful options and “labs” (experimental apps designed by the Google team) that can be utilized by a Gmail user who is self-employed or working from home. From a regular email account you can add custom signatures to email messages, employ folders and labels, and keep track of tasks.

Add a custom signature to the bottom of your email messages. Email signatures are automatically inserted at the end of every message you send, and have the option of listing title, contact information, and company information.

To create a custom signature, follow the steps below:

1. Click the tool icon on the top right-hand corner of the screen.

2. Choose Settings from the drop-down menu.

3. Under the General menu option, scroll down until you reach Signature.

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4. Enter desired signature information.

5. Scroll down to click the Save changes button at the bottom of the menu.

6. Congratulations! Your signature will now be added at the end of every sent email.

Embrace labels. Folders are familiar, especially as they pertain to work email; wield Gmail labels as a powerful tool to organize and manage your emails in a similar way. With an infinite amount of custom label colors to choose from, priority settings to pick from, and valuable search options within labels, Gmail labels is the next step to creating a better, more simplified mail account.

To create a new label, follow the steps below:

1. Hover your mouse over the email menu on the left-hand side of your screen.

2. Choose the Create new label option from the drop-down menu.

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3. Type the desired label name into the box and click the Create button.

4. Congratulations! See your new label in the drop-down menu.

Keep track of to-do’s with Tasks. Most people spend an inordinate amount of time in their Gmail inbox, so it only makes sense in the spirit of organization to keep a list of what you need to do right beside the inbox, where it can be easily seen. With Tasks, you have the option of creating multiple lists, notions for each task, due dates for individual to-do’s and tasks, and checking off completed items.

To create a Task to-do, follow the steps below:

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1. Click the down arrow beside the Gmail logo on the left-hand side of the screen.

2. Select Tasks.

3. After the task box appears in the bottom right-hand side of the screen, type the desired task name and click the plus sign.

3. Congratulations! Check the box preceding the task title when the task is complete.

Workplace

For large the corporations and businesses willing to spend the extra buck for an exceptional product, Google proudly offer Google Apps for Business. Google Apps uses the Cloud (Internet storage accessible from anywhere and any device) to increase productivity and design a suite that will help individuals and teams connect and work any device and any destination. Google Apps not only offers the options of creating an original email domain name (i.e. lastname@yourdomain.com) supplies countless communication and collaboration tools including Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs. To sign up for Google Business Apps, follow the sample walk-through below:

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1. From the Google Apps for Business homepage, click the Get Started button.

2. On the next page, enter the required personal and company information into the boxes provided and then click the Next button.

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3. Choose to use your own domain name or buy a new domain name. (For the purpose of this tutorial, the choice is to use an already purchased domain name.)

4. Enter your already-purchased domain name into the box supplied and then click the Next button.

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5. Enter your desired username and password into the boxes provided.

6. Verify, agree to the Google Terms of Service and then click the Accept and signup button.

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7. Congratulations! Click the Start Setup button to begin enjoying your new product.

Mobile

For those businessmen and businesswomen always on the go or constantly commuting, Gmail presents Google Mobile – your email account made downloadable on any mobile device. With Google Mobile you can:

Manage multiple email accounts from a central interface. Many business owners receive email in several accounts according to the purpose of the emails; by creating a centralized email account with Google Mobile, your correspondences in Gmail will be routed to the same address.

To set up Google Mobile, follow the steps below:

1. From Google Mobile’s homepage, click the Download Gmail for Android button for an Android product or click the Not on Android? Get Gmail link below it.

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2. Follow the links to their appropriate websites and install App as directed on your mobile device.

3. Congratulations! Enjoy accessing Gmail from anywhere, at any time.

Use offline Gmail. Anytime you're not online – work can occasionally take its employees to places without Wi-Fi – you can turn on offline Gmail and Gmail will download a local cache of your mail which synchronizes with Gmail's servers while you’re connected. When you lose connectivity, Gmail automatically switches to offline mode, so you can continue to work, and your replies are automatically sent the next time Gmail detects a connection.

To set up offline Gmail, follow the steps below:

1. Click the tool icon on the top right-hand corner of the screen.

2. Choose Settings from the drop-down menu.

3. Under the Offline menu option, click the Install Gmail Offline button.

4. Follow the link to the Chrome Web Store and click the Free button in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

5. When the Confirm New App pop-up appears, click the Add button.

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6. Congratulations! Click the Learn More button to take a tour of your new app.

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3. Collaborate Using Gmail

Cyber Family

Gmail is not just about sending emails, but about people and the ways they communicate. To this end, Google designed two options in Gmail that facilitate instant and at times facial interaction with people outside the immediate area. For businesses and corporations, this means that web-conferencing and customer service has just reached a whole new level of efficiency.

Chat and video chat can be used to communicate with colleagues or provide instant, in-the-moment customer service. Without downloading separate products and applications such as Skype, Gmail chat and video chat lets you communicate instantly with the people important to you via voice or text.

To add video chat capabilities to Gmail, all you need is this small plug-in and a webcam.

To enable chat, follow the steps below:

1. Click the tool icon on the top right-hand corner of the screen.

2. Choose Settings from the drop-down menu.

3. Under the Chat menu option, click the Chat on button.

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4. Congratulations! Start a chat by clicking on a contact on the left-hand side of the screen.

To enable video chat, follow the steps below:

1. Click the small camera icon by your name on the left-hand side of the screen in the drop-down menu.

2. In the pop-up window, install the necessary plug-in.

3. Congratulations! Join the video chat and make some connections.

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4.Unite Around Gmail

Global Vision

The Google team views email as much more than inboxes and sent messages – it is a product about people, for people – and the accompanying apps, add-ons and options are all designed to not only increase the user’s productivity, but to unite the world under a banner of global communication. Email, texting, voice, and video-chat options have been included to facilitate instant connections from both around the States and around the world, while Cloud space for shared document and photos support team and group communication. Whether for a company or for an individual, Gmail boasts to be the best at communication and hopes that users will sign up and experience an expansion of their world through Gmail.