Filed under: Business, Google, Education

For most people, "Google" has become synonymous with "search". Heck, Cambridge dictionary lists it as a verb.

But as we all know, Google can do lots more than just search. You've got Gmail, and YouTube, and Maps, and the calculator, and a whole bunch of other Web properties.

While Gmail is enormously popular, not all Google projects fare so well (cough Wave cough). Even most of the search operators for Google itself are confined to the geekier crowd.

One thing Google UK has done to make its service more accessible to the non-geeky crowd is create Things to do. There's no US version at Google.com, but the British one is lots of fun, especially for guys who don't know Google so well.

It's basically a long list of things a normal person might want to do online (no, porn is not represented ... but that doesn't mean you're not normal, don't worry). The lines are couched in informal British English, which makes it all the more amusing. Being a nerd, I knew I could personalize my YouTube channel, but I didn't know I could "glam it up".

The whole page is a JavaScript accordion: Each tip has a + sign next to it. Clicking the line (or the sign) opens up the line, and you get a short YouTube clip demonstrating the feature, or a Search box for the specific service (for example, Google Scholar).

Bottom line: This is a very nice resource for sending to clueless friends who are wondering what sort of things they could use Google for. Saves lots of explaining - and hey, you might even find something that's new for you!

Google's "Things to do" helps you show the power of Google to non-techies originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google - YouTube - search - Search Engines - Google Wave