Check out the research tool in Google Drive. A huge help to citations, hyperlinking sources, sourcing images and creating footnotes. All automatically in a Google Doc.

Google Drive Research Tool Full Length from Jac Calder on Vimeo.

I’m an idiot. And so are you. I tried to cancel one of my two google accounts because I only really used one. So, I logged into it and removed the account. Then I went to log into the account that I do use. It was deleted!!!! GASP! The horror. I quickly did an inventory. These are the things I’ve lost:

• all my google docs
• all the forms I have active links out there for to collect info periodically are now dead (work related)
• all my RSS feeds I read every night before bed – how do I remember hundreds of blogs to repopuate?
• my entire youtube collection – mostly a collection of how-to videos used to quickly support teachers
• my gmail
• my google plus
• my calendar and everything in it
• my maps and places that were hyperlinked to from all over the place

After deleting the account I quickly went to the google restore account tool (awesome) and entered my info and verification code. They approved the restore and restored my account. Upon checking my account I quickly found that they restored the WRONG ACCOUNT!!! They restored the account that I do not use. So, I entered the form a few more times trying to figure out how to explain that they had restored the wrong account. There is no place to enter random facts like that. There is no email address. There is no phone number. Eventually they booted me and will not accept my forms to request the account be restored anymore. I filled out too many. How do I contact them to get the proper account restored? I tried their help forum. Left a post explaining. Nothing. Nada. Still no account.

So… what have I learned? Google wants to be a productivity and collaborative power house. Google tries to link every app they can get their hands on to one account. They want us to put all our eggs in one basket. What happens when that basket is dropped? Everything is lost. Everything. Google – you need to rethink your ways. If you want me to use your programs for work and productivity then you need to have someone I can call when things go wrong. Even if its a paid-for service or a pro service, or something. There has to be a way to get support when something goes wrong.

I will certainly stop using Google forms for work. Stop using youtube for hosting my work related videos. Stop using Google blogs. Stop using Google RSS feeds. I have learned. I will spread my use of the “cloud” out. There are other options for every google app I use. I will use different hosts. I will research those hosts and what happens when something goes wrong. I will no longer put all my eggs in one basket.

I created the problem, which really kills me, but I need you to help me solve it. You haven’t been there for me. In the meantime when working with teachers and students I will suggest we look at all our options and research the support options before making decisions I made blindly before. Thank you for the learning experience.