Have you ever explored those nine dots on your Google account?

The grid of the nine small boxes that are found on the top right corner of the browser when using various Google products like Google Chrome and Gmail is popularly known as the “Waffle”. Google, on the other hand, prefers to call it the “App Launcher Icon”. This is the place to visit for users who like to unearth gems.

Here are a few Google services you can access through those nine dots.

Top Applications in ‘Google Waffle’ aka the Google Application Launcher Icon

Meet

Google Meet is Google’s answer to Zoom, the popular video calling app. An upgraded version of the Hangouts app, Google Meet, allows the users to host video calls with up to 250 people at a time, depending on the selected plan.

Google Meet has excellent features like –

• Screen sharing
• Video recording
• Adjustable layouts
• Live captioning
• Controls for meeting hosts
• Accepting bulk knocks
• Attendance tracking
• Invite from Google calendar

Google also provides hardware for Google Meet a speaker mic, chrome box, touchscreen, and camera. The specialty of Google Meet hardware is that it can turn any space into a video conferencing room. The microphone provided with the hardware is designed to reduce echoes and to manage background noise.

Google has built a robust support system for Google Meet as customer support is available 24×7 by phone, chat, and email. Apart from this, Google also provides valuable support materials like FAQs and guides on using the G Suite apps.

Sites

Google Sites is a simple web page creation tool that allows users to build websites without coding. The most exciting thing about Google Sites is that it is completely free of cost, and the tool is devoid of expiration dates, limits, risks, or upsells.

Google Sites is fully integrated with all Google products, and the users can access their sites from Google Drive. The beauty of Google Sites is that there are no additional passwords of account setups required to use Google Sites. There is virtually no learning curve for Google Sites and the product, like all other products from Google’s repository, is simple and easy to use. A significant advantage of Google Sites is that it takes care of the website’s security with no extra efforts from the user’s end. Like security, Google also handles the speed issues of websites. As Google Sites is fully integrated with the Google Account, it is simple to share and preview, allowing the users to create and collaborate on the website as quickly as collaborating on a Google Doc.

Vault

Google Vault is a service that allows users to save their sensitive documents like email conversations and chat conversations in the cloud. The service is mainly aimed at helping businesses maintaining their compliance requirements.

Apart from emails and chat messages, Google Vault also supports the following types of files.

• Google Drive files
• Google Group texts

An exciting feature of Google Vault is that it allows the users to pre-decide when they want to retain or archive the data. Google Vault is easy to use as it allows the user to quickly search for emails and chats. Google Vault allows companies to retrieve data from the accounts of those employees who have deleted the data. Google Vault hold is a feature of Google Vault that stores the data indefinitely, disallowing the employees to delete it. Google Vault empowers the organizations by letting them monitor the activities of users at certain time intervals.

Podcasts

Google Podcasts is a minimalistic podcasting app that satiates the hunger of podcast lovers. The user is greeted with a section called ‘For You’, which has the latest episodes of the podcasts the user has subscribed to, a tab showing the episodes in progress, and a tab showing the podcasts user has downloaded.

Google Podcasts has various categories like comedy, news, politics, sports, spirituality, and arts. Google uses AI to suggest recommendations based on the listening patterns of users. The home screen changes by giving out more relevant suggestions as the user uses the app. The users can add podcasts to their home screens to quickly play it as and when required.

This is what industry stalwarts think about Google Podcasts.

‘I think there’s no question that it will help bring more people into the podcasting world.’ – ERIK DIEHN, MIDROLL MEDIA

Podcasts also work seamlessly with various Google Assistant-powered devices like Google Home and Android phones, boosting the user experience. Google is acquiring startups like 60db to make Google Podcasts better.

Jamboard

Jamboard is posed as the next big thing in the workplace and education collaboration.

Google is improving the meetings, educational sessions, and other gatherings through a digital whiteboard known as the Jamboard. The UHD 4K touch display whiteboard allows multiple users to work simultaneously on the same project.

Jamboard is a great product for teams located in different geographies. Jamboard is also a useful product for e-learning.

Jamboard supports all the products in Google’s ecosystem, like Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive. The Jamboard is fully equipped with a 1080p camera, microphone, and speakers. The most exciting thing about Google Jamboard is that it mirrors the content displayed on one Jamboard to all the connected Jamboards, tablets, and computers. The intelligent “handwriting brush” uses AI to transform messy handwriting into easily readable text.

With Google Jamboard, the users can –

• Pull photos and screenshots
• Add emojis and other stickers
• Take pictures with the built-in webcam
• Sketch ideas
• Use digital sticky notes
• See their fellow collaborators writing on the Jamboard

The number of people who can collaborate in a “jam” session is unlimited, and the product boasts smart learning and collaboration between teams.

Cloud search

Google Cloud Search is a search tool that allows the users to easily search for content throughout the G Suite products like Google Calendar, Google Slides, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Gmail. Google Cloud search is equipped with assist cards, a system that allows the users to work on their recent files. Cloud Search also allows users to monitor upcoming meetings and events.

Some prominent features of Google Cloud Search:

• Search query suggestions
• Tracks meeting schedules
• Can use Google search operators
• Ability to search from anywhere
• Customizable search queries
• Nice search filters
• Find and contact people

Google has designed Cloud Search as the primary search tool for all G Suite apps. The tool allows the users to immediately search for shared documents, including comments, mentions, and responses. Google Cloud Search offers an intuitive search experience, where users can enter common words and phrases as search queries. For example, the users can type “emails sent yesterday” instead of typing the exact date, and Google Cloud Search will display the correct results.

Using the search filters, the users can easily customize their search queries. The users can choose to display the search results according to the G Suite product, the person who created the file, the file format, the date and time of creation, etc.

Classroom

Google Classroom is an online platform that enhances the learning experience in the physical classroom. It is part of the Google Apps for Education suite, which strives to enable paperless learning in the classroom.

Google Classroom is an excellent collaborative learning tool. It allows the teachers to create assignments, take online classrooms, grade the assignments, and monitor the students’ progress. Using the forms tool, the teachers can add images and multiple-choice questions, making learning more enjoyable. Using Google Classroom, the students can access the learning material uploaded by their teachers. The Inbox tool allows the students and teachers to find highlights and critical updates easily.

Google Classroom enables the teachers to send regular reports regarding a student’s performance to the parents.

Google Classroom Features:

• Promotes a paperless classroom.
• Instant collaboration between teachers and students.
• Simple to use.
• Allows teachers and parents to track a student’s progress better.

GMass

GMass is a mass campaign tool that the senders can use in conjunction with Gmail. The tool allows the senders to bypass the sending limits of Gmail through its enhanced distribution technology. GMass sends the emails in several days to ensure that the rules of Gmail are not violated.

Marketing managers know how painful it can be to maintain email lists; GMass extracts email addresses from the previous campaigns, saving time spent on adding the recipients again. The easy integration of GMass with Google sheets allows the senders to upload their email lists to GMass with ease.

One of the most critical features of GMass is that it automatically sends follow-ups and keeps on sending them until the sender receives a reply. GMass empowers a marketing campaign by allowing the senders to send replies in mass to the people who have responded to the email; this feature adds a touch of personalization to the email message. Using GMass, the senders can easily create a visually appealing email.

GMass Features:

• Open Tracking
• Click Tracking
• Twist Gmail’s Sending Limits
• Personalization
• Google Sheets Integration
• Email List Builder
• Scheduling
• Automatic Follow-up Emails
• Reply Management

Wrapping up

Google Waffle is the place to go if a user wants to uncover the hidden gems in the Google Universe. Right from taking online classrooms to securing the data, Google brings out interesting products that aim to make lives easier for all of us. The best part is that most of them are either free or are competitively priced, making them all the more accessible.

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