Entering Gmail From A Different Perspective

Since many of us use Gmail as a single inbox for multiple email addresses, our inboxes are very busy places. There are times when we need to focus on a single portion of our inbox, or even enter it with a stress-free view. I jokingly refer to this as entering Gmail in Disguise Mode.


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Wow! I love your Ezine!


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The danger of putting all your eggs in one basket

by Nora Rubinoff on April 27, 2013

Convenience: many online services fully understand its importance. The ease with which you can set up an account, install a web site, create a social media identity, and scores of other online activities, is what draws us in. WordPress touts their “Famous 5 Minute Install,” for example, while many sites say things like “You’re less than 30 seconds away from getting started.”  Make life easy – install and move on along with your work – is tempting because we all have so much busy-ness.

eggsThere is a danger in putting all your eggs in one basket, however. If, at some point in the future, you become disenchanted with the service, installation via the “easy route” may come back to bite you. This is why I recommend not purchasing your domain name from your hosting company, as an example. If the host has a catastrophic failure, if service becomes dismal, or another issue has made living with your web host a pain that you don’t wish to further endure, having your domain at a separate registrar allows you to quickly select the new host of your choice, redirect your domain, and move forward. If both your domain and your host are managed by the same company, separation may be more difficult and complicated. As a personal example, a domain name that I purchased via the hosting company (and I should have known better!) has now become a royal pain to transfer, with two failed transfer attempts to date.

Email is the same way. I have a number of different email addresses that I use and manage for my various clients. The concept of a universal webmail inbox is convenient and helpful to me – all my stuff in one place.  When I recently became increasingly frustrated with Gmail, I began searching for alternate solutions. Once my solution was selected, I realized much more fully just how many hooks, wires, tricks, and filters I had set up in my Gmail universal webmail inbox. Transition is almost complete to my new solution, but not without a great deal of pain.

The point to my op-ed is this: the gratification that you get from using the “speed” installation of an application or service will only be as long-lived as your love affair with the solution. When that dwindles, or is replaced by the new bigger, better thing, you will instantly be reminded of why a more thoughtful implementation might have been a better choice.

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Call to action #fail

March 20, 2013

Blue Cross Anthem Sign on Concourse, a photo by Gary Paul Smith on Flickr. You know those messages that the cable company scrolls across your screen, telling you that you’re about to lose a channel because some network supposedly won’t negotiate with them? Apparently, this tactic is now being attempted by physicians. Today I got [...]

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I am

March 7, 2013

I am a climber a runner a walker. I am the person behind you wearing war paint. I am a finisher. I am not the fastest but I am steady. I am determined. You may pass me and I will cheer you. I am only in competition with myself. – Nora Rubinoff As we run [...]

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Break Free Of Your Addiction

February 26, 2013

This past week, two interesting articles caught my eye. The first article was an article in the New York Times about American junk food addiction. The Extraordinary Science Of Junk Food (Michael Moss, The New York Times, February 20, 2013) talks about a 1999 meeting of the minds of the CEOs of America’s largest food [...]

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Digital watermarking – is it just for professional photographers?

February 19, 2013

As more and more services make it easy for you to share your photos quickly, particularly socially, privacy concerns keep bobbing to the surface of our minds. Just recently, for example, Instagram outraged users with its privacy waffle.

It’s understandable why a professional photographer would want to watermark his or her images – it is their livelihood! Increasingly, I’m thinking that as we share images, audio, video and other media, it is a good idea for us to track, lock, or watermark what is ours.

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Entering Gmail From A Different Perspective

February 18, 2013

Since many of us use Gmail as a single inbox for multiple email addresses, our inboxes are very busy places. There are times when we need to focus on a single portion of our inbox, or even enter it with a stress-free view. I jokingly refer to this as entering Gmail in Disguise Mode.

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Tomorrow is not Friday and neither is the day after

February 12, 2013
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Email is broken. There is no magic bullet.

February 12, 2013

Just like weight loss, there is no magic bullet to fix email. In order to “fix” email, you need to make a number of fundamental changes to your workflow, your interactions with others, and your email client.

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What I’m Looking At: Skype

November 14, 2012

Skype has been having some issues this past week or so. My first clue? Receipt of emails hourly letting me know Skype had docked another $25 from my bank account. Again. And, again.

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What I’m Looking At: Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad

November 8, 2012

This week, I’m taking a look at a new piece of iPad tech recommended by my friend Mary. The Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover Black for iPad 2 and iPad supports third and fourth generation iPads. Its sleek design may just make it a must have for your iPad.

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