Have you personalised your Google Page?

I have always seen the little link in the Google Search Engine page - "personalise your google page" - or some such remark and pretty much ignored it. The thing that attracted me to Google back in the mid 90s was the fact that it provided a clean page - unlike Yahoo at the time - and listed only links you asked it to list without adding a bundle of flashing light advertising. So personalising my Google page (which has always been my home page) gave me images of flashing lights, inane advertising, and clutter - and worse still - its self imposed!!

During the recent storm and between the episodes of power failures, with nothing better to do - I thought I would have a look at what a personalised Google Page offered. I have to say - as I have chosen the items on my Google Page - it is all rather handy. I have place on my Home Google page a small window with the days top news items, along with our current hobby - weather watching. A third small window accommodates my Google Reader account so on opening my Google Home Page I can see immediately, who of my friends and admirers, have updated their blogs.




Then I noticed that I could add permanent tabs to my Google Home Page. Google has a long list under "Add Stuff" - including (but not limited to) YouTube search engine, Google calender, animated eyes (which presumably watch your every move - scary!). YouTube is always a favourite of mine so I added a whole tab dedicated to YouTube's search engine, top viewed videos, Google's favourite google videos, etc - you get my drift.


I thought this 'tab' thing was kinda fun and wandered what other internet sites I like to be updated on quickly and efficiently - and ofcourse my addiction to FaceBook was quickly satisfied with a tab dedicated to my inbox, my friends updates, and profile page.

I looked at the idea of making my new Google Home Page 'pretty' (not usually my thing) and found that actually there are a number of attractive headers which change depending on the time of day (as I blog my Google Home Page is adorned with an attractive setting sun across a pacific beach). Maybe a bit kitsch, and you certainly have to play with different headers as some are more distracting than adorning.

I decided to visit the "Add Stuff" link one more time before the storm raging outside subsided - and to my delight I found ......... PACMAN. This game of my youth (I held the highest score in our 3rd form class in '83! - not sure if I should still be proud of that - but there you have it) now takes centre stage on my Personalised Google Home Page!