Google changes all the time, and sometimes the changes are a it tricky to navigate. This week Google launched their new log-in process. It's not too complicated, but if you were just flying around trying to get some information from say, your Analytics account, you might be a bit stumped.
When you first sign-in, you get a screen that looks like this:
This is not new, it's been like this for a while. After you enter your credentials, click your photo and then click the blue Account link:
The next screen is where the real difference lies:
To see your Google Products, such as Analytics, Blogger and etc, click the Data Tools navigation button. At this point, you may be asked to enter your password again, as Google is being more proactive to guard private personal information. The password request may happen as you go through other products as well.
Then, click the blue View Account Data link. This will bring you to your Products Dashboard:
From here, you can click on any of the Product titles to get to your information. This is a definite improvement for mobile device users. The interface is much simpler.
Another new thing is the ability to share your Google data with another person in the event that you should not be able to access your information. This is called Inactive Account Manager.
You can choose to put your Google account on a time-out period, get alerts for when the account reactivation will expire and also just delete the account.
You can also now set up reports on your Google Account Activity. These reports will be emailed to you.
Another feature is the ability to download a copy of your Google data:
You can create a custom archive of your data from 13 different Google products - to have a backup, import into other non-Google services, or for whatever reason you might have to store your data. The downloads will be delivered to you in ZIP files.
Another nice feature of the new dashboard is Me on the Web. This nifty little tool allows you to easily search for yourself on the internet, set up Google Alerts and check your Google + profile:
Take some time to go through and familiarize yourself with these new tools. You might find something really cool!
Annie Buck
Local, Social Media and Education Manager
Acorn IS
Thank you for bringing this to everyone’s attention. It makes it so much easier to follow instead of having to blindly stumble through finding what Google has done.