Better Folder Organization for Google Docs

Noticed today that Google slipped in the ability create sub folders now in your Google docs management.

Definitely a nice feature to allow me to better organize my Google Docs and keep them meaningful and combined with he search you are able to find exactly what you need.

My Profile Organization

In a few of my last posts I talk about organizing myself and developing a routine. One thing I am working on is creating a platform and routine that I work on everyday to help organize my world both internally and externally.

I have started by creating an outline in Google Docs that I keep updated. This has all the elements of my world. It is pretty large so I won't list here. But it outlines everything about myself and what I am working on.

I run down this outline at least once per day and and see what has changed and what needs maintenance.

I am using Blogger to keep track of a lot of this and using it as part of the platform for tracking the data. It is one piece of how I use Google as a Content Platform.

I will keep refining this and posting my perspective of this.

Google Data API Integration

I was syncing up some of my OWS Network systems with the complementing Google systems today. Such as when you post a blog entry to your blog it will post to Blogger, and when you post an calendar entry to your web site it automatically publishes to Google Calendar.

So I started working with the Google Data API, and I noticed when you click on code samples and references it just sends to directly to Zend Framework. They have created Zend GData which gives you read / write access to the Google Data API's.

It is a very nice set of PHP classes that allow you to work with Calendar, Spreadsheets, Blogger, CodeSearch, and Base.

It saved me a lot of time and energy and gave me nice set of tools to get my systems integrated with Google right away.

Google Apps & Features

Google is really rock'n lately!

I have been really impressed with the line of products and features lately. I was impressed with Android and OpenSocial, but some of the latest incremental features are just working for me.

I really see things slowly coming together.

IGoogle just added the ability to share a tab with other Google users. This really opens up the possibilities for collaboration. Combined with Google Code, GData, and their IGoogle widgets you can really build just about anything. For project management, work pages, etc.

They also added where you can change the layout of your IGoogle page to different column formats.

Another system that is really coming is the contact manager for Gmail and Chat. They have added contact group which I see as the prelude of whats to come. I predict with the introduction of OpenSocial we will see the entire Google Platform take on more of the characteristics of a social network in the next year, allowing for more collaboration.

It's getting good.

It is all coming together...slowly...but surely.

Tracking everywhere I have been on the internet

Going through my Web History for my Google Profile. A little scary when you look at it. I click into my Web History right from the Google Home Page, well...my IGoogle.

First page it shows my search history for the day...starting at 8am. Hmmm...what to think about this?

I look further and I click on the calendar to view other days. Hmmm...that is what I was looking at last saturday.

If you think about it this is pretty scary. Google knows where I have been and what I am looking at.

You know what I really don't care at this point, maybe someday I will. But really if I do something I don't want someone to know about I am not going to do it on my home or work computer logged into Google. C'mon.

I kind of like it. It shows me my trends. What the hell I am looking at. It will integrate with my bookmarks.

I could create a cloudview of what I do. I would like to be able to share some of my search history with the world. I would like to share some of my bookmarks with the world.

Maybe a neat little public cloudview of what I do on the Internet daily, well what I want the public to see that I do on the Internet daily.

Gadgets vs. Browser Add-Ons

While working more and more with my Google Home Page, gadgets and apps I have found that not quite everything I need in my daily operations is available in a gadget or part of the Google Application Pool.

This is alright, it will happen.

In the mean time I am working to build an arsenal of Firefox Add-Ons that help me accomplish my goal. So I am starting this blog to help gather my thoughts on this topic.

Maybe some things aren't mean to be a widget...they need to be embedded in the browser?

We will see.

My Profile - Kin Lane - Google Apps

I really feel Google has the best grasp of the Internet and where it is going of all the big Internet companies. They are definitely in danger of falling into the same rut that Microsoft is in currently, however with the right approach I think they can avoid it.

I have recently made the switch to use Google Online Apps for most of my daily operations, this is after 10+ years of dedicated Microsoft Office and other Microsoft tools.

They just work for me! What can I say.

The core applications that I depend on daily are:

• Gmail
• Google Notebook
• Google Reader
• Google Home Page
• Google Calendar
• Google News
• Google Docs
  

Other applications I use but not on a daily basis:

• Adsense
• Analytics
• Googlebase
• Blogger
• Bookmarks
• Orkut
• Picasa
• Web History
  
• Google Maps
• Google Blog Search
• Youtube
  

A couple of core services I am workinPublish Postg into the core architecture of my daily work are:

• GData
• OpenSocial
• Google Code
• Android
  

These are three areas that I think are very "disruptive" and huge potential in what I offer to my clients as well as for how the Internet operates in general. I haveyet to realize the full potential of these areas as well as the rest of the world.

More to come!