Google Chat in Gmail

 

Google Chat in Gmail

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

Don't you just love emails? The way your phone or laptop gently lets you know at any time of the day (or night) that someone, somewhere out there needs your attention? We can thank the late Ray Tomlinson, the creator of the email, for fundamentally changing the way we communicate forever. Last year about 4 billion users sent just about 290 billion emails a day, every day, and that number is expected to skyrocket in our new WFH environment. 

To be frank, being greeted by 50 emails first thing in the morning can be a tough way to start the day. Quick little questions you'd ask your colleague across the department office are now replaced by emails that always seem to be prefaced with, "sorry to bother you" or "sorry for another email but..." Wouldn't it be nice to reduce the number of emails we send and receive? Enter: Google Chat

Now I'm not saying Google Chat is THAT much better than emails, but it is a lot less formal and a lot easier to have a quick back and forth without having to send and wait for emails. It can also be easier to type questions on your computer instead of typing text messages on your phone. In that way, it makes me nostalgic for my AOL chatroom shenanigans back when dialup was cool, and my AIM screen name was Kramitys (don't ask). OK let's cut right to it, how to set up and go?

Setting it up in your Gmail Page

If the Google Chat option isn't already enabled in your Gmail (it would appear on the left hand side of your Gmail page), you can set it up by following these instructions:

• First, click on the Settings button in the top right-hand corner and then click  "See all settings."
  
  
  
  
  
• Then click on "Chat and Meet" on the top and all you have to do is click "Google Chat" and then hit "Save Changes."
  
  
  
  
  
• Now you should see the Chat boxes on the left side of your screen:
  
  
  

OK - it's enabled, now what?

Now just click on the plus button to the right of the "Chat" label and type in the name of the person you want to chat. Everyone within the District system will show up (even students). Now you can have quick, synchronous, and ongoing chats with people without having to keep sending them email after email for every exchange. A chatbox will appear on the bottom of your screen

Happy Chatting!