Google Groups - No Man is an Island

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

I'm back - great weekend. First thing I did was check my Gmail this morning. No spam. Emails came in all organized in conversation threads. Sorted them into "Folders" as I moved through them. Even without folders can still use the "Search" box to find one's that I have lost. Also plenty of stuff from my Google Groups.

Stumbled into Google Groups when I was teaching myself about SketchUp, Google Earth, and Google Sites. Now I subscribe to about 20. I can manage the amount of email I receive. If you want privacy you can set up and manage one of your own. I have set up one group - as part of a virtual reunion I am organizing of one of my old college classes. Even customized the look around our school colors/mascot.

My initial interest was as a user forum, problem solving tool (great). But now there is that aspect and a social network side as well. You can discuss online, or via email. Start new posts, manage threads. Also set up resource pages. Was just part of a conference of people from around the globe ( more on this later) - was a lifetime experience that the Google group we formed helps us prolong.

Monday, Monday. Got to run.

Adsense - Show Me the Money

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

Show me the money. Adsense. Jeff Jarvis's book explained how Google is able to work it's magic - advertising (read Jeff's book to figure it out for yourself). Since I have been using quite a number of Google offerings, I decided to try it (blame my wife) when I set up this blog.

It was easy - just hit the "Monitize" tab or button and follow the instructions. Was very straight forward. So much so that I hooked it up to a number of Google SItes (see "Monetize" button there) I have that I park my Google Earth content in so that it is available to the Google Earth Gallery. While I work on my typing skills, Google works for me. Kind of nice because I am taking the weekend to go camping. To be realistic, this process will take some time - but rest assured I will let you know when I get my first check. In the meantime, before the revenue rolls in, Google is providing all the server space, web search, site internet security, and new product development for free - 24/7. Nice.

Previews - working on my laptop in the kitchen, when I get a phone type ring on it - my daughter (in the west wing) calling me on Google Voice - was pretty cool. Have used Gmail's Chat function - but it is texting (not all that exciting to someone working on their keyboard skills). Had a quick chat - quality time (yeah right) with my daughter sharing the joy of discovering a new tool. More later.

Need to start packing. Did think about taking the IPhone - Google Mobile - on the trip (Kalispel Island, Priest Lake, Idaho - check out Panramio pics in Google Earth). But did not want to bee like Robin Williams in "RV".

Have a good weekend.

Google Translate - Listen to the World

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

First things first - tried out Google Translate tool right after I finished my blog post yesterday. It was a breeze. The easy access to the tool is through Google's main search page - "More" - drop down - "Even More" - under "Communicate, show & share". Just fired up the tool, inserted the url of my friend's (from Brazil) blog and bingo - now I am reading his blog (Portuguese) in English. The translation seems simple/rough but it is functional. In short - we are communicating. Now I need to try reverse - send some English back to him in Portuguese. Keep you posted - literally.

Going to the lake camping this weekend with friends - hope (is anybody there?) you do not mind the silence for a day or two. I won't. Need to get going on some chores - including updating my Google Calendar.

Make it a good day.

Again, What's This All About?

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

This past weekend I saw the movie "Julie and Julia" - I loved it. When she decides to start blogging she sets out the goal or task she is attempting - to cook her way through Julia Child's famous cookbook in a year - 500 plus recipes in 365 days. So what is my goal?

To improve my keyboard skills - ok, lets aim a bit higher. On a personal note - I have always wanted to get good enough on a computer so that I don't have to spend much time on one (hence, better typing skills). Because the Google products I have tried so far have opened up a world of possibilities for me (on the web, not economically yet) - I want to see what the rest of their products have to offer me (us?). So ...how big a task is it?

Wikipedia (I googled "How many Google products are there?") indicates a couple pages - too early in the morning to count. Here's the catch it keeps growing. So it will take a bit of time.
Unlike Julie Powell, I do not think I will set a timeframe - yet. I am older and want to enjoy the journey - I have found that in life, pace plays a key role.

A second goal involves encouraging anyone who is a late bloomer/late comer to the internet to join in the fun. To encourage you/anyone to use it as a tool, not just a toy (chewing gum for the eyeballs). My guess is that while all of us are different, there is probably a Google offering that might appeal to any of us (let's look past the searchbox).

With that thought in mind, I am going to look at a Google Tool I saw yesterday - Google Translate. I made a new friend from Brazil (Eloi - loves SketchUp like me) - want to see if I can read his blog with this tool. More later.

Make it a good day.

Google Analytics - Is Anybody There?

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

Is anybody there?

Went and saw the movie "Julia and Julie" yesterday. Julie starts up a blog (my daughter noticed she used Blogspot like me) about cooking her way through Julia Childs cookbook (see earlier post about why I blog). She jumps right in with enthusiasm, but eventually (despite all the positive effects the process has on her) she wonders - "Is anybody there?"

Same for me. After I set up my Google Site I was a happy camper, for a while. While I was pleased with my accomplishment, I was curious to see if anyone had noticed. I had been taking courses in web design (you can teach an old dog new tricks - if they want to learn) and had heard about the concept of "analytics", or getting statistics and feedback on who (no big brother specifics here) is looking at your site, where they are located (relatively), and various particulars about their usage.

Enter Google Analytics. I should point out here that I did not find this Google tool at the product offering link (upper left - "More..", then "Even More") from the main Google search page. I had to "google" it.

This area is not for the faint of heart (requires coffee and patience). But it is free, and interesting if you are game. The home page provides links to tons of resources, and (remember one of my first tips) you can "google" your way through if you have patience.

I am not a statistics junkie (baseball is not my favorite sport), but Analytics provides all kinds of tools, and help to figure out what the tools are telling you. Because of my love of geography, I like the map view that lets you see where everybody lives that stops at your website. Other tools indicate how much time they spend (read fast), whether they come back (your choice), what pages they visit, etc. If you have several sites you can have them all organized in one spot. Tip - the "add account" button just adds another website to your existing Analytics account - process is a bit confusing but trust me it will work out that way in the end.

This morning I went to my analytics account, hit the "add account" button (if your new - just create an account), and added this blog. Because I wanted to find out if there were any nuances in this process for Blogspot, I googled "How to set up Google Analytics on Blogspot".

It takes about 24 hours to kick in - will keep you posted.

Is anybody there?

Make it a good day.

Google Sites - My "Web Stop"

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

Jeff Jarvis refers to Google as a "platform" - a base for people to operate from on the web. Obviuously I agree. Once I got the taste/thrill of seeing my SketchUp models up on the 3D Warehouse and the 3D Buildings layer, I was eager to post more content. Because my Google tool of choice at that time was Google Earth - I began investigating how to get my material to show up in their default database (there are many ways/opportunities). The one that interested me most was the "Google Earth Gallery" (Tip - Hit the "Add Content" button in the "My Places" panel the next time you are running Google Earth).

The Gallery is a place to find user generated content (sometimes very sophisticated) made for viewing in Google Earth. It is sometimes referred to as "kml" - because of the file format (Keyhole Markup Language - the company that greated Google Earth). Google provides the template process for submitting kml content to the Gallery, one just needs server space for Google to fetch the content from. I wasn't sure what to do, then I stumbled into "Google Sites".

Tip - I have "stumbled into" many Google tools from Google's Search Window - just look at upper left (blue links) and start having fun.

Google Sites (Preceeded by Google's "Pagecreator") allowed me to set up a website (actually now several), personalize/customize it (via their template system or html), and use it as a place to upload files for internet usage. I can track users with Google Analytics (more later) and use Google's Adsense to see if I could derive some web revenue from my online time.

All this for free. I was in the big time.

Actually, not really - I had to find a way for Google to "find" my Google Earth content -stay tuned for a big tip down the road.

In the meantime, I set about creating a cozy little nest for my content on the web. Once again, I just concentrated on the content - Google did all the heavy lifting.

Need to start my week. Make it a good day.

Forgot to mention - saw "Julie and Julia" yesterday (see earlier post).

One Google Thing Leads to Another

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

One Google thing leads to another.

Once I got the hang of SketchUp, I was anxious to see if I could produce a model that was good enough to make it into Google Earth's "3D Buildings Layer". This get's at the heart of the Google experience for me - participation (Jeff Jarvis also talks about "collaboration"). Google is not only trying to "organize the world", but it wants to let us help by making it possible (and easy) to put content that is interesting and important to us up on the web.

In the case of SketchUp, this means "sharing" the model via the "3D Warehouse". Google does all the heavy lifting in this process. It supplies the server space, provides the template "fill in the blank" submission form, handles the review process (makes allowances for future edits), and provides a tool bar button to initiate the whole process. Furthermore, if your model makes it to the "3D Buildings" layer - it has a hotlink to your detail page (and possibly you).

This tends to be the case with many Google products. They make producing web content (take your pick of venue as we shall see) easy, almost fun. In adddition, their products have a seemingly incestuous relationship with each other - often allowing you to post to a number of viewing spots on the web. In my case - once I proved I could do it (my first model) I was eager to do it again, and experiment with trying to post content in other Google offerings.

One Google thing leads to another.

Make it a good day.

SketchUp - My Google Passion

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

I guess everybody has their own relationship with Google based on their needs or interests. Mine initially revolved around my interest in real world 3D visualization - building a 3D model of the real world for people to use on the web. I was excited about Google Earth, because it meant that Google was also interested in doing it. The fact that Google had also developed (well bought) SketchUp meant that I could help.

SketchUp is a free 3D modeling software that can be used to model anything for viewing in 3D on a computer. It integrates seamlessly with Google Earth. Like Google Earth, it functions fine on either a Mac or PC (I run on both). For the ambitious (Google makes you work for this) who like to look at their house in Google Earth (mainly 2D at the moment, except for terrain), SketchUp allows you to build a scaled 3D version and put it into Google Earth (check on "3D Buildings" Layer in GE). I had been working with some modeling software and CAD before so I took right to it. Anything I was puzzled by I could find answers to on the web - help, users forums, video tutorials, etc.

After modelling my home (the Funny Farm), I used it to model my college campus (with some help), the town it is in, and various historic structures from my travels. In addition to doing the model, when I posted it to Google's "3D Warehouse", I was able to add additional info and web links - including a logo link to a pertinent website (helping to raise awareness for historic preservation/local culture and history). My wife and daughter wondered about all this until a few weeks ago when Google came to my rescue.

Out of the blue I was invited to the SketchUp "Super Modelers" conference at Google's Boulder offfice. Great time. Still pinching myself. The contact I had with other modelers and Google people only reinforced my interest in exploring other Google offerings.

Time for weekend chores. Make it a good day.

Google Sets The Hook - Google Earth

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

The truth be told, my fascination with Google did not start when I opened my Gmail account, it started with Google Earth. It was love at first sight.

After almost 20 years in the construction business (golf courses) - I had developed an intense interest in 3D visualization of the real world on a computer. I had been using computers in our business for several years, teaching myself the ropes (rewarding, but slow going). My wife got a job (see "Blame the Wife" post), I had a good friend (they also had adopted children from China) - a computer science professor (3D graphics) - who suggested I talk with a colleague of his who was teaching GIS - geographic information science. We chatted, I was impressed, I enrolled in college again (age 56 - 5th time - hey when don't learn anything you have to keep going back).

I loved the subject matter - using a computer to make paper maps to help display and analyze problems. My biggest problem was that I found the paper map severely limited the potential of the compter's interactive capability. The s0ftware we were using was a prevalent, proprietary product that had limited internet capability - none in 3D.

Then along came Google Earth.

It was free. It was easy for me to use. There was tons (and ever growing) of online resources for aid in learning more about the product - blogs, user groups, online video tutorials, games. There were basic mapping tools for an old "road warrior" like me - "Search/Fly To", "Find Business", 'Directions". A "My Places" panel for maintaining things of interest to me. There are "Tools" that can be used to calculate distance, area, and import GPS points from GPS units. Above all - there were tons of ways for users to post content (for private usage, or all the world to see). The content included 3D models developed with Google's free modeling software - SketchUp. Many of Google's other products (YouTube, Panramio) readily interfaced with Google Earth, allowing the user to post content from those offerings into the "Layers" panel in Google Earth.

I jumped in with both feet.

It is hard to be brief when you are passionate about something. You might not think it is you cup of tea, but try finding out more about your cup of tea (travel, food, wine, hiking) using Google Earth - you might find it useful. It is all so new - you could be the first on your block.

If you just want to have fun (self promotion here) - try turning on the "3D Buildings Layer" in "Layers" Panel - then type "Cheney, WA" into the "Fly to" in "Search" Panel. Check my town out in 3D. Also/or - find "Add Content" button by "My Places" Panel - click on it to go to the Google Earth Gallery - type in "Ron Hall" (or whatever interests you) - check out the content.

Chores to do. Make it a good day.

Gmail - The First Step

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

So where to begin when one is talking about a subject like Google/Google products. Since I am working on my typing, I warn that I will tend to be brief. Also, that since I am 56 years old, one of my intents is to get older generations more comfortable with life on the internet (translates to just give it a try - most of us know about Woodstock and the '60s). When I was in college, Bill Gates was still at Harvard.

First let me say that this is not a tips/resource page type effort (the first rule is that there are no rules - will throw in a tidbit from time to time). It is also not about Google and its corporate culture - they have and Official Google Blog for that (minor tidbit). It is more personal. I hope to translate my journey and continuing adventure with the internet/computers through a description of my involvement and interface with the Google offerings I currently use (quite a few) and chronicle my exploration (at my age this is a comfortable adventure) of their offerings that I have not used yet. Remember this is also about me working on my keyboard skills.

Since it is all about me (hey it is my game/my ball) lets start with Gmail (and the Google Account). Gmail is free (why not set up a gmail address just to try it out - don't be the last person on your block without one - "inhale") and the Google Account is the key to partaking in Google's staggering array of free offerings. Google uses these two items (when you set up a Gmail account - you set up a Google Account) as the building blocks for a smooth integration of a number of new web services/technologies that you may have heard of but not tried yet.

I run it on my old PC laptop - on Firefox browser, and my new Mac (bit of bragging here) - on Safari. My daughter (acid test) and her friends all use gmail. I started simple, then experimented with the organization and "Search email" tools - both great - to help me with inventory and access to my old emails. Google brags that you will never have to delete an old email because of the amount of free storage you have. Excellent spam filters (does have automatic "Spam" Folder/Archive in case you want to review/dump). Google has also made it easy to import all your old contacts, or forward/link to your current email account - just check out the preference settings (like any application you are familiar/comfortable with - look around the page border, tasks bars, for dropdown menus that handle all kinds of things - don't be afraid). Tip - Learn to "right click" on things - your ticket to life in the fast lane.

If you are into style/personality, you can customize the look of your Gmail page, as well as your out going emails. If you are socialable, I leave Gmail on when I am working, because of the "chat" feature, (my daughter loves this) Google's version of instant messaging.

There are too many good points about Gmail for me to cover in my time frame with this blog (hey it is not my job, just an avid interest). While I was checking a few things out regarding Gmail for this post, I noticed that Google has a new item (new to me) associated with Gmail - Google Talk . Another blog down the road.

Base nut here is give it a try. If you have kids ask them about it (that goes for any thing I write about here - almost).

Make it a good day.

Blame Julia Childs

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

Blame Julia Childs (in case anybody/anyone just tuned in, this thread is about why I just started a blog). If Jeff Jarvis (actually his book) got me thinking about blogging, Julia Childs got me doing it. More accurately, it was the trailer from the movie "Julie and Julia".

Just like I haven't finished Jarvis's book (still find it revitting - Jeff), I haven't seen the movie. However, when I was thinking about what to blog about, when the theme from the trailer popped into my head. Instead of cooking my way through Julia Childs cookbook, I would work my way through Google's impressive list of free online offerings/products and blog about it.

I apologize to Julie Powell (and Julia Childs) for being inspired by her/their stories (translates to I hope I do not have to write her and her attorney a check). But the base nut is that part of the movie (like Jarvis's book) is about finding/defining yourself (and a sense of worth) in the internet age. Julie Powell was intrigued with Julia Childs, Google is more towards the center of my universe.

Why me?

Why not. (Hey it's my blog). More on that later.

Make it a good day.

Jeff Jarvis Sucks

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

Jeff Jarvis sucks (hardly). He is to blame for getting me started on the idea of thinking about blogging. I picked up his book ("What Would Google Do?") on a recent trip to Boulder, Colorado (more on that later) and it was eye opening - not even finished with it yet and I am recommending to friends. Say "thanks" Jeff.

At age 56 - my relationship to the business/economics of the internet was hampered a bit by my background (traditional MBA from Wharton Business School) and years of "preinternet" business experience. Never could quite get my head around how Google got it done. Jarvis's book explained it all neatly (like reading John McPhee - since this is a blog/gossip, he is/was my uncle's neighbor in Princeton, N.J.). In addition, he echoed the sense of empowerment that I feel from using the web, for free. While his book is about more than Google, he points to Google as the major factor in this feeling phenomena. Since Google is at the center of my internet universe, I agree with Jeff.

So ..... based on Jeff's book, I decided that blogging would be a good way to work on my typing skills, learn abit more about another Google offering, and possibly (not holding my breath here) derive some economic benefits. In short, while indulging myself, I could deal with my wife's and daughter's long list of my short comings. A "no lose" situation.

Now I just needed to find something to blog about......

Make it a good day.

PS - You'll have to read the openning to Jeff's book to get the meaning of today's title.

Blame "The Wife"

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

Why blame my wife (Lisa - actually she prefers "Lovely Lisa")? This blog was not her idea. Her role was much more subtle. First, after years of working together in our business (we specialized in golf course construction/renovation for almost 20 years) she decided to try and reenter the "job market".

Be careful what you wish for. Lisa is smart and talented - she got a good one. Her good fortune (she wonders about it from time to time) allowed me to follow/explore my growing interest in computers/3D visualization. So she went to work, and I went back to school, again (more on this subject later).

We both enjoyed our new lives/roles - but eventually Lisa got (1.) Curious in what I was doing, and (2.) wondering if there was any economic benefit in it (translates to - not "value added" but "hard cash" - like "pay the rent" hard cash).

She was not alone in this. I bored many friends/people with my new found interest in reply to the question "so what are you doing?" at parties and chance meetings. After my attempt at an elucidating response, most asked "so how to you intend to make money?".

Since everything (well most everything) I was doing on the internet/with computers was for free......(keep in mind, I was using Google's free tools/products/offerings - told you last time I would have more - much more - on Google) , I began my investigation/research into how to subsidize, and possibly financially benefit from my new passion.

Enter Jeff Jarvis. Got to go, but notice I have Google's AdSense running on this blog.

Make it a good day.

Why Google?

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

Why Google? I started using computers later in life - lets just say that when I was in college, Bill Gates was still in Harvard. It was "preinternet", but I had a desire to use computers for a specific purpose - 3D visualization. However, my goal was to get good enough on a computer so that I did not have to spend much time on one.

I stumbled along on my own (translates to bought a computer, got help from friends setting it up, and started teaching myself). Slow going. Over time I realized there had to be a better way (good friend, knowledgeable with computers had a "heart to heart" with me - thanks Bill) so I went to a local university and started taking some classes (in GIS - geographic information science).

It was better, but still not fast enough (remember I am 56 years old). However, now we were in the internet/Google age. Pay attention - Light bulb moment was when a professor (thanks Dr. Warren) was helping me, and she cut and pasted an error message into Google's search window.

At that moment my relationship with a computer changed. Now I had a source (a virtual online friend/geek or community of geeks) to help me with my computer problems. In addition, thanks to the beauty of "cut and paste", I could procrastinate on my need to learn to type.

There are a few more good reasons (very good reasons) why Google, but more on that later - need to start looking at the keyboard).

Make it a good day.

About "Why"

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

In no particular order, blame my 13 year old daughter - she said I needed to learn to "keyboard". That is the new word for what I used to call typing (I am 56 years old). She is a wizard, I was a "hunt and peck" extraordinaire - I stunk. Since I have not mastered voice recognition software (I do know something about computers) - learning to keyboard effectively was the key to a smoother life on/with the computer.

Because I have a life outside this screen, I wanted to get good enough on a computer so I don't have to spend much time on one. So....

A few months ago I started to memorize the keyboard. First thing each morning (that's my time) I started typing (word keyboarding is for those who like to show off their typing skills) the alphabet - repeatedly - without looking at the keys. I got good enough (no discussion of time frame here) to start limiting my alphabet lines to just 5 daily (see above) and then started my name, and where I live (it is true). Started branching into some random words, thoughts.

Because I am a utilitarian by nature, I needed something productive to do to rationalize this practice so...

Whoa...... Nope. Idea of this blog did not come to me right away. More on that later. Need to start looking at the keys again (this is too slow.)

Why

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My name is Ron Hall.
I live at the Funny Farm.

Why?

Yet another blog. You can blame this one on Jeff Jarvis, "The Julie/Julia Project", my 13 year old daughter, my wife, and (oh yes)

Google.

More later.

Make it a good day!