Business Tools Blog

iGoogle is a big timesaver … you can organize everything that is important to you on the web on your personal homepage.

Google offers step by step instructions to set up iGoogle.  It only takes a few minutes.

First follow Google’s instructions.

1. Visit the Google homepage and click the iGoogle link in the top-right corner of the page
2. Begin personalizing by selecting some of our most popular content from the blue “Welcome to iGoogle” box to appear on your iGoogle page
3. Open the iGoogle directory by clicking Add stuff in the top-right corner. This will let you add additional gadgets from the directory to your iGoogle page.
4. Once a gadget appears on your iGoogle page, click its downward-facing arrow and select Edit settings to adjust the gadget’s settings.
5. To move a gadget on your iGoogle page, just click the gadget’s blue bar and drag it to your preferred location.
 
You can add themes … I selected “Louie the Yellow Lab Puppy.”

1. Click on “Select theme” or “Get Artist themes”
2. Scroll through the themes and click “Add it now” to select the theme of choice (There is a Chicago Bears & Wrigley Field theme)

Next, you can add Gadgets. 

1. Click “Add stuff” in the upper right corner
2. Scroll through the gadgets and click “Add it now” to select the gadgets of choice
3. Most blogs make it easy to add their feed to your iGoogle page. Just click the “+Google.” (see pic below)
4. Then, click the “Add to Google homepage” (see pic below)

If you are having trouble choosing, try The Gadgets Directory for reviews.

Step 3.

Step 4.

Your homepage will look like this:

Coming soon …

iGoogle is collaborating on OpenSocial an opensource project where developers can create social networking applications that will be available to users of iGoogle.  I am just speculating here, but if these applications live up to the hype, they can be a great collaboration tool for business.  Keeping my fingers crossed!