Do you really know what Gmail can do?

Do you know what Gmail can do?

Many people around the world use online mail services or webmail services like Yahoo Mail, Hotmail and in my view, best of all, Gmail. If you have Gmail, I am pretty sure you will agree that it is the least cluttered, most easy to use and probably most powerful, no nonsense webmail service out there. If you are only looking at it now, then this blog post will help you discover some things you may not have known about Gmail. First off, the web address is http://www.gmail.com/


I have been a user of Gmail for quite some time now and I thought I’d share some of the features with you. Who knows, maybe this very simple introduction can be of use.

These are among the many features enclosed in Gmail.

· Live Chat without software client If you love Google Talk then this built in chat functionality will be awesome if you are a road warrior without a steady notebook companion. Chat anywhere on any computer at anytime.

· Excellent spam filtering Google Mail’s spam filtering capability is second to none. Many people run their everyday mail accounts through spam just for this capability.

· A decent contact manager The Gmail contact manager allows you to keep track of your contacts automatically and also gives you a group mail function in which you can make lists of contacts for specific purposes. It is not a bulk mailer that individually mails people (wouldn’t that be a dangerous feature for a spammer?!!?) but it gives you listing capability to for instance have lists for sending stuff about cars to the guys for instance.

· Mail sorting capability Google (being a search company first with everything else just a very decent bonus) includes their search functionality that enables you to do amazing things with Gmail. I store copies of my ID, Passport and other important documents on it. You never know when or where you may need them. I store passwords on it for easy retrieval. Finding these documents are as easy as pie with the search ability. You can even let Gmail label specific messages to make it easier to quickly scan your inbox for important or not so important messages.

· Keyboard shortcuts Need to read mail quickly and easily? This feature is for you!

· Signature Classic add-on. I don’t use it so much, but it is there. Perhaps a corny quote for the day?

· Personal level indicator Nice feature. It distinguishes between mail sent to multiple recipients and those sent directly to you.

· Snippets Ice and easy control. Snippets are little previews of your mail in the main Inbox view.

· Vacation responder Going away from any form of Internet? Activate the responder and anybody sending mail to you will get an automatic reply explaining why you are away and that they can fly to the Bahamas (for instance) if they want to see you.

· “Send mail as” function The ability to send mail appearing to be from your work email for instance or your sports club or whatever other email addresses you may own. You have to prove that you own these said email addresses though, so spammers go cry somewhere else.

· Add extra storage As with most free email services these days extra space can be acquired. I don’t see how you would need more than my current 6507MB of space. This space is automatically growing by the way. Every day it gets a little bigger.

· Fetch mail from other accounts This is a brilliant feature. Especially if you are on the go and your other email accounts happen to have icky web interfaces. Reading work email and other proper pop3 email accounts via Gmail is a synch. The spam killer is at work here too.

· Use Gmail with your own domain. You can have Gmail act as the mail server (webmail, settings, galore!) with a limitless number of mail accounts at your disposal. It isn’t even that hard to make it work.

· Mail filtering Need some kind of action to be taken on incoming mail. There are options. Create a rule. Be strict with your mail man! Take control!

· Pop and IMAP access Need to read Gmail on a normal mail client? No problem! Enable POP or IMAP access and off you go.

· Chat with OAL IM Some South Africans have been to the USA and have friends on AOL’s IM service. Gmail enables you to chat with them via Gmail.

· Use it on your mobile phone. Whether you use an app or a direct web interface, Gmail is mobile. I personally use the Gmail application for S60 mobile phones.

There you have it. A quick rundown of some of the many functions you will find in what I consider to be the best webmail service on the face of this planet at this time.