Explore Google

For the record, I intend to record on this page all the things you can do with Google's array of web tools, services and products. Though when I realise the magnitude of the task, I think it might have been easier just to list the things which don't have Google's sticky fingerprints.

As an example, consider Google's supply-chain for bloggers. You want to start a blog? Sign up with blogger . Looking to generate some ad revenue from the blog? Sign up wth Adsense. RSS? Built in atom feed. Want to upload images to your blog? Courtesy of Picasa . Embed videos? Google Video or Youtube, both coutesy Google Inc. From the other end, you want to advertise on blogs? There's Adwords, courtesy Google. Want to search blogs? There's Google blog search. Want to set up a store online alongwith your blog? There's Froogle. Want to accept payments for aforementioned store? There's Google Checkout. And last, but not least, is the fact that any visitors you get, and any sales you make, are most likely to be from Google's ace in the pack, Google search.

So, to sum it up, Google lets you start a blog, gives you the tools and services you need to improve and monetize the blog, sends you visitors, allows you to accept money, collects the money on your behalf and sends it to you. In short, there is no other company except Google involved when you're a pro-blogger. In soundbite world, Google is crack for bloggers. You can't live without it, and you keep coming back for more.

Moving on to the real world, a world where not everyone is a geek, and where there is hard cash involved, not pennies and cents - Web 2.0. As usual, Google is leading the pack, with an established dominance in local search, using Google Earth, Google Maps and Sketchup. Not to say that Google is about replace professional architects, but real estate brokers are quaking in their collective pants. Why? Because if you were to use Google's local search tools to implement a virtual tour of your 'on sale' property, using Google Earth and Sketchup to upload a 3D model, the real estate broker is going to feel kind of leftout, considering that you could make the sale using Google Auction tools and Google Checkout. And of course, for a face to face chat between buyer and seller, there's Google Talk.

To sum it up, you can shop for, sell and buy property online, from the comfort of your chair, and entirely using Google's supply-chain for web 2.0 local search.

In addition to the above, Google has a hefty inventory of products and services, some really useful, and some...well, over-imaginative. These would include Analytics, Jotspot, Orkut, Spreadsheets, Desktop Search, Book Search, Mobiles and a lot more, all listed here.

As for the future, what can we expect from the bright sparks at Google Labs? As you can see on the Google Labs home page, this bunch of nerds isn't short on ideas. If anything, they're too imaginative and have too much money to play with, which makes them come up with all sorts of wierd ideas. But it's all good, and if you feel I left out something important from Google's bag of goodies, feel free to jump in and add to it.