BigShinyThing

Love GMail? You should — its the leanest, neatest full function web-based mail client. And its little buddies Google Talk and Google Calendar aren’t far behind. As a friend (who is setting up a new business) said to us just the other day, “wouldn’t it be nice if I could just set up my office with GMail, instead of having to bother with IT geeks, mail servers and all that nonsense”.

Well, now you can — almost. Google has announced the clumsily-named Google Apps For Your Domain. The (currently beta) package provides GMail, shared calendars and chat, all branded with your own domain (so for example, we could use GMail to send email as thing2@bigshinything.com rather than my.name@gmail.com).

Google is yet to integrate this service with their online word processor to create something that competes head-on with MS Office, but that’s an obvious next step. And even in its current form, Google Apps offers a compellingly easy way for small startups (at least) to get industrial-strength internet communications without traditional IT hassles.

And what a fine new space Google is creating for incredibly well-targeted advertising. Emailing your suppliers for a new batch of stationery? Don’t be surprised to see some competitive on-screen offers you really can’t refuse! Watch this space.