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Business managers, owners and employees have come to rely on email so much that it has changed the way we communicate, largely for the better. Because it is an important part of daily operations, many users would like a get an overview of their email usage and related statistics. If you use Gmail, there is a useful tool that provides an interesting look into your email habits.
Gmail Meter is a script written to help users keep track of their Gmail usage. How it works is you setup a script – a mini program that tells a number of Google Apps to develop a report – that runs once a month, creates a statistical report and emails it to you.
The report provides statistical data and allows you to analyze your usage and email habits. Some statistics tracked include:
This report provides great insight into how you use Gmail. If leveraged correctly, you could spot areas for improvement. For example, you notice that you receive most of your emails in the afternoon, but send most of your emails in the morning. This likely means that you spend most of the day looking at email, and may benefit from setting specific times to check and reply to email. More than anything, it’s a cool look into something we use on a daily basis and likely take for granted.
Setup Gmail Meter
If you would like to set this feature up, you can do so by:
You should now be able to run the script simply by going to the Spreadsheet you opened earlier and looking for the tab labeled Gmail Meter in the menu bar. Click on it and select Get a Report. The script will run and you will get an email with the information, normally within a couple of hours. From then on, you will get a monthly report on the same day.
You can also visit the Gmail Meter website and set it up from there. Installing the website version is simple, just press Get Started.
This script was written for a third party developer (not Google). While some users may see this as a security issue, the script is installed on what’s called the client side – your version of Gmail and Google Drive. The developer of the script does not have access to your email, but you will need to give the script permission to access different Google Apps and information.
If you would like to learn more about this feature, or other ways Google Apps can be used in your business, contact us today.
The poll has long been a staple method for groups of people to make informed decisions. As many of us are now online and communicate almost solely via chat and video messaging programs, the software we use should have polls. If you use Lync, part of the popular Office 365 suite from Microsoft, you and your group can utilize polls to make decisions easier.
Here is an overview of polls in Lync.
Before you begin a poll
Because you can create a poll directly in group chats in Lync, you will first need to start a group chat, or be made a presenter in an existing chat. If you are not a presenter or the organizer of the group, ask the organizer to update your status.
Polling is also made easier if you take a moment before creating it to jot down or think about what exactly you are polling for e.g., for feedback on a specific point or to form part of a more complex decision making process. This will help you devise the questions or options participants choose from.
You should also be aware that this feature allows for only one poll to be active at any one time and each poll can only have a single question and up to seven answers. If you need to ask more than one question, separate polls will be needed.
Creating a poll in Lync
You can create a poll by:
Managing the poll
Once you have created the poll the question and choices will appear in the group chat window. You will see a Poll Actions button at the bottom of the window, this allows you to manage the poll.
For example, if everyone has voted, press the Poll Actions button and select Poll is closed to end the poll. You can also save the results as an image by pressing Save the poll results.
To close the poll, press Stop Presenting at the top of the chat window. This will allow users to continue chatting and also allow you to launch another poll if need be.
If you are looking to learn more about using Office 365 in your business, please contact us today to see how we can help.
Published on 26th March 2013 by Jeanne DeWitt.