What you can do with Google

I bet you thought of Google Chrome when you saw the word “Google”. Well, Chrome isn't the only useful tool developed by Google. In fact, there’s a whole collection of different tools you may or may not know, that can assist you with various tasks. So today I’ll be going through some of the less known ones, explaining what they do and how to use them.

Blogger

Of course, how can I not talk about Blogger when I’m ON Blogger. Being one of the very few free blogging platforms, Blogger is great for beginners. The user interface is very simple and easy to navigate through. You can not only post articles but also track their progress using Blogger. There are very near pre-made layouts and themes for you to use on your blog, but you can customize them to a certain level. You can even earn money by monetizing your blog. Now only that, you can also follow other people's blogs and add their posts to your reading lists on Blogger. There are some not-so-obvious functions of Blogger as well. For example, even though it may appear as though you can’t change the font color of your blog, you actually can by using the HTML view instead of the compose view. . You can also embed videos and do many other things that you might’ve thought were not possible using the HTML view. The downside of this is, you have to have some knowledge of HTML to do this.

Overall, Blogger is a great platform for beginners and even experts in blogging. If you don’t want to spend money on a paid blogging site, then Blogger is for you!

Keep

Google Keep is basically like online post-its/ You can create little notes, bucket lists, to-do lists on Google Keep and access them from any device with an internet connection. You don't have to remember to Keep post-its in your bag. Every time you want to note down something, you can just type it on Keep. collaborate on them with other people, add reminders, pin important notes and even add images(unlike with regular post-its). If you want to categorize your notes, you can color-code them or add backgrounds on Keep, or you can even arrange them in a specific order. The best part about Google Keep is that you can actually search for a note if you can’t remember where it is.

Calendar

Okay, I know what you're going to say. “I know what Google Calendar is!”. But wait, hear me out. Google Calendar is actually so much more useful than people claim it to be. You can (obviously) schedule your day, add recurring events, have different calendars for different categories and color code using more colors than the ones in the palette. It’s so much easier to change an event on Google Calendar. You just have to drag the event to where you want it to be. Besides events, you can also add tasks and reminders to your calendar. And within an event, you can add notes, links to meetings, etc. By customizing the Google Calendar to fit your needs, you can make your daily tasks a lot easier.

Photos

What’s different about Google Photos is that you can sync it across devices! Let’s say you have a photo on your phone that you want to access using your laptop. If your photo is in Google Photos you’ll be able to access it with no problem. The downside is that you’ll have to have a stable internet connection and regularly sync your devices

Podcasts

Google Podcasts is one of the best Google tools I've used. You can find so many podcasts there and listen to them on the go, when you’re cleaning, etc. You can subscribe to channels and create your own queue just like Youtube. And you can access your account from any device with an internet connection. Yes, that means you can listen to your saved podcasts anywhere anytime!

Classroom

I haven't been using Google Classroom for a long time, but it’s a great tool nonetheless. You can keep track of all your classes, class materials, assignments and you get an email when a teacher posts something new. There’s also a calendar that you can integrate into your own Google calendar, and a to-do list to keep track of assigned, missed, and finished tasks. Even though these tasks can be performed using various different apps, having everything in one place makes it a lot easier.

Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Most people know and use these three, but I want to talk a bit about them as well. What makes them different from their Microsoft counterparts is that you can collaborate on a file with different people. That makes them great for group projects. You can also convert your file into pdfs and download them with just one click. The add ons you can add also make some tasks such as signing documents much easier. And of course, being able to access your files from any device is an added bonus. But the downside is that the ability to edit is limited compared to their Microsoft counterparts. However, if you’re doing a project that doesn't require that much editing, Docs, Sheets, and Slides are perfect!

Arts and culture

Google Arts and Culture is a place where you can find high-quality images and interesting descriptions of various cultural artifacts and even different aspects of nature. It’s also a fun tool if you want to explore something interesting during a study break. There are also different experimental games you can play. You can also find artifacts near where you live and add things to your list of favorites. Even though it doesn’t have a specific use like other tools, if you’re passionate about arts and culture, you might want to try this out.

Travel

Google Travel is a tool you can use to manage just about anything related to travel. You can find and book flights and hotels, search for places to explore and things to do in the country or city you’re in, and many more. It offers quite a lot of details about the places you want to travel to, such as the weather, what you should bring and the currency that’s used there. Personally, I haven't used this as I haven't had the chance to travel yet. But it seems like a great tool for travelers.

Google's Coding Competitions

This is something I discovered very recently. Google has annual coding competitions. They’re held in 3 categories: Kick Start, Code Jam, and Hash Code. Kick Start is for beginners and intermediate coders while Code Jam is for more experienced coders. Hash Code is a team competition. You can participate in any of these competitions for free and they’re really useful if you’re practicing competitive programming. Past contest questions are also available on the website. These questions range from easy competitive programming questions to quite challenging ones.

Now you might be wondering what’s so great about all these tools, as different apps do the same things. Well, apart from their functions you can manage everything with just one Google account. Everything is synced across all platforms. This is a huge advantage to people who have a hard time keeping track of their different accounts. The simplicity of the interfaces and the attractive design make the whole experience very pleasant as well. In conclusion, Google is a great platform you can use to perform so many tasks (a lot more than just the basic ones) but it’s overlooked by people most of the time.

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