Google Voice Secrets

In my last article here, I explained how IMPORTANT it is to:

>> Back up all of your data contained within your Google / Gmail account, and...

>> Have a "Front End" for your Own email address and your Own telephone number...

......Just In Case..... anything were to happen to your Google Account.

In my last article (on http://brucewagner.posterous.com ), I described
how to create an external email account on GoDaddy, and then receive
all of your incoming email -- through it -- into your Gmail account.
And how to send all email from within your Gmail account -- out
through your GoDaddy email account.

Well, here's a simple way to set things up to AUTOMATICALLY backup all
of your actual email:

(1) Create that email account on GoDaddy (i.e. in my case, it's
called email@brucewagner.com ).

(2) Set up your Gmail account to SEND mail out using GoDaddy's SMTP
server (see my last article for instructions).

(3) Set up your Gmail account to RECEIVE mail via POP3 from that
same GoDaddy email account..., (but to NOT delete messages from the
GoDaddy account as they are retrieved).

(4) Set up "email forwarding accounts" for one -- or as many email
addresses as you want -- to forward TO email@brucewagner.com ( for
example, I have bruce@brucewagner.com set up to FORWARD to
email@brucewagner.com .... and I also have contact@bredmedia.com
set up to FORWARD to email@brucewagner.com )

(5) Finally, create a NEW Gmail account.... strictly for the
purpose of back-up. (Try not to tie it to your original account in
any way. Don't use the same mobile number to verify it, etc.) Set
that Gmail account to retrieve all email from that SAME GoDaddy email
account (email@brucewagner.com in my case), (but to NOT delete
messages from the GoDaddy account as they are retrieved).

(6) Once a week, or once a month..... Log in to your GoDaddy
email account (at http://email.brucewagner.com in my case) and DELETE
ALL of your email. This will prevent your GoDaddy mailbox from
becoming full. (You normally get 1GB of storage for free.)

NOW, ALL of your email will also be backed up on your ALTERNATE BACKUP
Gmail account.... Just in case anything were to happen to your main
Gmail / Google Account. The most recent 1GB will be in your GoDaddy
account. And the most recent 7GB will be in your Alternate Backup
Gmail account....

And, once it's set up... it's totally automatic.

Cool, eh?

Loading mentions Retweet

This is a CRITICAL problem....

If Google / Gmail's anti-spam robots mistakenly target YOU at any
point.... You may suddenly find your own Google / Gmail account
suspended...

You may find yourself LOCKED OUT of your own Email, Gmail Contacts,
Google Calendar, Google Docs documents, Google Voice, even your own
Google Voice TELEPHONE NUMBER.... among all the other Google
services... Feedburner, the list goes on and on and on...

Good Luck fighting with Google to get it back!

I know about this because it has happened to me..... TWICE now....

At first I've been very hesitant of going back to Google.... and
relying on Google for services.... especially my TELEPHONE NUMBER
(Google Voice), my Contacts, (Gmail), Email, Docs, Calendar, etc...

But....

I think I Found a Solution!

(1) Get your own domain name ( like, YourOwnName.com ) at
GoDaddy.com Note that GoDaddy has excellent support. You can call
480-505-8877 any time 24 hours a day and they will talk you through
any of these steps over the phone.

(2) Set up a free email account (comes with your dot-com domain
registration) at GoDaddy.

(3) Configure Gmail to send outgong email as you@yourownname.com (
See Settings-->Accounts and Import-->Send Mail As )

(4) Select the option to send mail out through your OWN "smtp
server" rather than Gmail's server....

(5) Enter the SMTP Server as: smtpout.secureserver.net

(6) Enter the Username as: email@yourownname.com ( whatever
email account you created on YourOwnDomain.com on GoDaddy.com in step
2 above )

(7) Enter the Password: ( the same password you selected when you
created the email account on GoDaddy.com )

(8) Select Port: 465

(9) Select "Always Use SSL" to ON ( checkmark the box )

(10) Click "Save".

Now, whenever you send mail FROM you@yourownname.com (from within
Gmail), your outgoing email will go through GoDadddy's email servers
(smtp servers) instead of Gmail's servers... And that means that
Gmail CAN NOT block your outgoing email...

This means that Google / Gmail's overzealous anti-spam robots can not
target you and block your outgoing email.... which could lead to your
Gmail / Google account being suspended...

Some other side benefits include: The recipients of your email will
never get your Gmail address in the headers of the email you send.
They will only get your professional you@yourownname.com email
address.

You can also set up as many alias email addresses as you want on
GoDaddy.com.... (for different businesses, for example)... all
forwarding to your email@yourownname.com GoDaddy email account. Then,
use POP3 to import them all into your Gmail account. ( See:
Settings-->Accounts and Import-->Check Mail Using POP3 )

For example, I have many GoDaddy Email FORWARDING accounts (for
example, one is called contact@bredmedia.com) each of which FORWARDS
to email@brucewagner.com (my single GoDaddy email account). Then, my
Gmail account retrieves all email from that account via POP3.

With this configuration, Google could lock me out of my account at any
time, and I would still be able to access all of my email at
GoDaddy.com instantly.

Note that I do something very similar with my telephone number. See
my other article about how you can go to Best Buy and buy a MagicJack,
pay $10 extra for an amazing vanity number (mine is 646-368-0000),
then call-forward that number to your Google Voice number..... and
simply put that MagicJack in a drawer..... This gives Google NO
CONTROL over your actual phone number... Only you and MagicJack
control your phone number. (You can even use the Number Portability
Act to transfer that number to another phone company in the future if
you ever decide to.)

Google never controls my actual email address, bruce@brucewagner.com

Google never controls my actual telephone number, 646-368-0000

BOTTOM LINE: At this point, Google's services are irresistible.
However, I recommend using them only with the following two
prerequisites.

First, back up all of your data at least weekly, on your own computer
hard drive. This includes your Gmail Contacts addressbook, your
Google Calendars, your Google Docs, etc... everything.

Second, you must always use a "front end" with Google -- which you
publish, and which only YOU control. This means, use your own email
address (hosted at godadddy and forwarded or POP3'ed into Gmail, for
example)... And use your own telephone number (a magicjack number
forwarded to Google Voice, for example).

Questions, feel free to ask in the comments below.... Or call or
email me. ( You have all my contact details within this article. :)

Bruce

http://brucewagner.com

Loading mentions Retweet

I found a GREAT SOLUTION to this problem...

Finally....

(1) Go to Best Buy and buy a MagicJack.
(2) Pay $10 extra for a "vanity number" when registering it, if you
want to. (It's well worth it!)
(3) Activate the call-forwarding feature and FORWARD your new
magicjack number to your Google Voice number.
(4) Unplug your magicjack and put it away in a drawer.
(5) Give out your new vanity magicjack number to everyone!

NOW, .....

(A) Everyone can call your number.... because calls are going to
your magicjack number.... then forwarding to your GV number....
(B) All calls still go into, and through, your Google Voice...
(C) Even if Google messes with your Google Account (i.e. their
anti-spam robots wrongly shut your account down!), you still control
YOUR main (advertised) number! You can redirect where calls go... on
magicjack.com with one click!

Optionally, buy a second magicjack to actually USE as your home
landline phone service (and have your GV ring on it as well)...

Magicjack service costs less than $1.60 per month and is EXCELLENT!

Bruce Wagner
http://brucewagner.com

Loading mentions Retweet

I’m extremely excited to announce that Bruce Wagner has agreed to Google Voice Secrets as an occasional contributor.  Many people know Bruce as a talk show host who covers more topics (in depth) than Oprah.  He’s currently in the process of relaunching as a web-based show, ala Tom Green and Revision3, at www.bredmedia.com.

More importantly, for the past twenty years Bruce has been an internationally known expert on leading-edge telephony technology.  I am always impressed at the number of times that I find something really new and important, only to realize that Bruce told me about it a year earlier.  Another reason that this is good news is that Bruce is actually a good writer, unlike myself.  (Maybe someday, I’ll find a good writer to rewrite my articles…)  You can contact Bruce at “Bruce (at) GoogleVoiceSecrets.com”.

I don’t think that we’ll ever have another contributor as knowledgeable about telephony as Bruce, but please – prove me wrong.  Send me a sample article or two to post to the site and let me add you as a contributor that can post articles without going through me.  (Also feel free to contact me if you’d just like to interview me and post well-written articles based on those interviews on this site.)

Steven (at) GoogleVoiceSecrets.com

Loading mentions Retweet

(1) Set all phones as "Home" phones in Google Voice,
(2) Set SMS notification via email to ON (in your Google Voice account),
(3) Create Filters in Gmail to Forward GV emails to your
"cellphone-SMS-email-address" (For example,
6464595000@mymetropcs.com or 6465734567@mobile.mycingular.com or
6146092277@teleflip.com ) If you don't know what your
cellphone-SMS-email-address is, contact your cell phone company and
ask them what it is.

You will now immediately receive an SMS for every incoming Voicemail
~or~ SMS that comes in on EITHER of your TWO Google Voice numbers...

Loading mentions Retweet