gmail
for those that don’t know yet, gmail is open to all! no longer do you need an invite, you can simply go to gmail.com and sign up for an account. so, for those ybp’s who already have email accounts, why is gmail better? how do i use it?

well, first, gmail gives you at least 2.5 gigs of storage. even cooler…they keep increasing it as time goes on! when i first started with gmail in 2004, i had about 2 gigs. now i’m almost at three! what does that mean? it means you no longer have to delete another email again!

obviously, gmail also allows you to search your email. even better, gmail also automatically saves your chats with your contacts allowing those to be searched too! to chat with other gmail users, simply add their gmail address in your contact list.
in addition to the chat, you can also add a picture so your friends can see what your pretty mug looks like. simply go to the ’setting’ menu in the upper-right hand corner. once there, find the place to add an image and pick a picture!
one of the best features of gmail is tabbed emails. no longer do you have to deal with a cluttered inbox because everyone who received the email responded. gmail has the ability to see all of the responses, but in one succinct email with tabs that you can expand and collapse on demand.

last, but not least, is the ‘labels’ feature. you can label or tag each email with a label you create. this allows you group certain emails for better organization. by clicking a label, all emails with that label will return. you’ll notice that when you do, the search box for your mail has the ‘label: ‘ moniker. by playing with the search box, you can create complex searches for your email if you’ve ‘lost’ something. every email you receive automatically receives the ‘Inbox’ label.
that’s it. happy gmail-ing!
don’t forget, you can contact us at ybpguide@gmail.com.



Comment by ClassyLady on 8 February 2007:
Don’t forget the other cool features like Google Calendar (keeps track of your important events and sends you reminders), Google Photos (upload, share, and print your digital pics), Google Docs (allows you to edit and share documents and spreadsheets), and the list goes on!
Comment by Fredric on 9 February 2007:
true. i also think there is an application to use gmail chat on your blackberry. jc can elaborate on that.
Comment by Kimberly Michelle on 9 February 2007:
I like the gmail extension that lets you manage multiple gmail accounts. Makes it much easier than signing in and out every time you need to check another account. The gmail notifier is cool to, gives you pop up snippets as soon as you get a new email.
Comment by Ashley on 18 February 2007:
I think I am the only person on earth who is disappointed with gmail, and I’m hope it’s an oversight on my part and not the way the system is setup.
I understand the whole never having to erase another e-mial again, but I actually enjoy having a clean inbox. I neatly place my e-mail in folders and then clean out my inbox, so I can pay attention to what’s most recent and worry about the rest later.
G-mail would be perfect except for the fact that I cannot clean out my inbox, and let those conversations stay in their labled areas. Or can I? If I can, then g-mail would be fabulous! But if not, then it’s just annoying to flip through four pages of “labeled” mail in my inbox. Instead of serving it’s function in my folder/label.
Comment by Fredric on 19 February 2007:
Another neat option, Ashley, to facilitate a clean Inbox is the ‘Archive’ function. It’s right next to the ‘Report Spam’ button. By selecting the emails you want to Archive, then selecting the ‘Archive’ button, they will be hidden from the Inbox view.
Coolest thing about it is that your archived items can still be searched!
Comment by Ashley on 20 February 2007:
Thanks a bunch Fredric. I’m a little anal about a tidy inbox, so this was great to hear..and it works.
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