Google alters time and space for Gmail on April Fools Day

When I signed on to my Gmail account this morning, I was greeted by a new Gmail feature.

The new Gmail Custom Time claims to send email back in time to save you from missed deadlines and anniversaries.

I was already impressed that Google was partnering with Virgin Galactic to send lucky space travelers to set up a colony on Mars. First space travel, now they can send Gmail back in time!

What is the date today? Oh yeah...April 1st.

Google Facebook Application - Share your searches with friends

Steve Rubel posted a link on his Twitter feed to a Google Operating System about a new applicaion for Facebook.

You perform a Google search through Facebook and it is shared with all your Facebook friends.

I'm not so sure if I want all my Facebook chums to see what I'm searching for, and I can't see the immediate benefits this would have.

I could see sharing a Google search where you use a whole arsenal of advanced search operators, showing off your mad Google skills.

It is cool to see Google and Facebook starting to integrate.

Google Book Bar is back

The Google Book Bar is back. I removed a while ago because it was interfering with my template. Now that my template has white background again, it fits in nicely.

I wish Google had a way to edit the style and background colors of the book bar and other tools to make them mesh seamlessly with any blog.

Find books using Google Book Bar!

I just installed the Google Book Bar on the top of the blog. I used this page to set up code for the top of my Blogger template.

You can set up the book bar to be either horizontal or vertical, and then tell Google what kind of books to show on the bar.

The Blogger template editor let me copy/paste the code I made into a space, just like the news feed I added.

I have set up my book bar to display books on blogging, CSS, web usability, writing, and other subjects.

Try it out on your blog!

Custom search engine added - Search my RSS feeds!

I added my own custom search engine to the sidebar. Blogger's template editor lets you drop code into your blog.

I used a tutorial from Google Operating System to create a search engine that uses the RSS feeds from my Google Reader. Google Reader does not have a search function. If you want to search through your RSS feeds, you have to create one yourself.

I've narrowed the list of feeds down to sites that focus on technology, web design, blogging, SEO, and marketing.

The list of includes feeds from A List Apart, Google Operating System, Slashdot, Digg, Blogger Buzz, Zeldman.com, ProBlogger, Boing Boing, and many others.

If I am looking for a solution to a problem, I turn to this search engine first. I'm always finding new feeds to add to it.

Have a web design problem? Want to know how to market a website? Want to know about the latest episode of Battlestar Galactica? You can probably find the answer here.

The ability to create a custom search engine is a great feature that Google has given their users. If you want to try it out for yourself, check it out here.