Using a single account for all the Google has a lot of advantages but if, for some reason, you can't access the account or Google temporarily disables it, you lose a lot of important data. Fortunately, you can set up a Google account that should give you access to some of the information from your account. (You should also backup important data in other ways: download Gmail messages using POP3/IMAP in a mail client, export your documents from Google Docs, back up your Blogger blogs etc.)
* If you use Gmail, you could create a Gmail account whose only purpose is to fetch messages from your main account. Set up mail fetcher in the backup account and add the main account as a custom From address. This way, you'll be able to read all the messages from your account and even send mail.
* Add the backup account as a Google Talk friend from Gmail Chat or from other Google Talk interface. As a side effect, you'll have access to your shared items from Google Reader.
* For Blogger, add the backup account in the blog authors section: Settings > Permissions > Add authors. The account should have admin privileges so that you can create, edit and delete posts.
* In Google Analytics, go to Access Manager and add the account as an admin. You'll have access to all reports and profiles in the backup account.
* Google Calendar lets you share the main calendar with other people and even give them the right to edit events. Click on "Manage calendars" at the bottom of the window, share the main calendar and add the backup account. You should select "make changes and manage sharing" from the drop-down.
* If you're the owner of a group in Google Groups, go to the member invitation section, select "Add members directly" and add the backup account. Then change the membership type of the new account to "owner". It's also a good idea to select "no email" in the subscription type.
* Add the backup account as a collaborator for some of the most important Google documents and notebooks.
* Other Google services only allow you to export your data: Google Reader (Settings > Import/Export), iGoogle (share each tab with the backup account), Gmail contacts, Google News personalization (scroll to the bottom of the homepage and click on "Share your personalized news with a friend").
The backup account will not have all the data from your main account, but you'll still be able to read your email, send messages, post blog posts, check your calendar, add new events, access important documents etc.
Labels: Tips
said on December 27, 2007 2:33 PM PDT:
Backup or export of data should be centralized for all services, especially for Google Apps domains.
Recently many users of Google sticky notes, lost all data, and it seems Google doesn't have reliable backups.
http://www.google.com/ig/directory?&url=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/sticky.xml
http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Gadgets-API/browse_thread/thread/0e5eb1b7e4b62be0
Jaymstr said on December 27, 2007 4:28 PM PDT:
I tried to set up mail fetcher to fetch mail from my primary account. I checked to leave the mail on the server, and it said that Gmail will not do that. I can't have it remove the mail from the server, that would kind of take away the purpose of a backup. I think they did it so that you couldn't use the accounts as backups. If you have a workaround, I'd love to know.
Well, mail fetcher from Gmail works fine and it doesn't delete the messages from the original account. In fact, to control this you need to go to the original account and make sure that in Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP > POP Download, you've selected:
"When messages are accessed with POP... keep Gmail's copy in the inbox."
macbeach said on December 27, 2007 5:00 PM PDT:
I have my gmail automatically forwarded to another non-gmail service (just in case all of gmail goes down).
Requires no action on my part other than to check the mail on the back-up account often enough so that it doesn't get deleted.
Using POP to fetch your mail as a back-up is fine, as long as you do it often. If you haven't done it in a week, and gmail goes, how useful will it be to you?
The bigger problem if gmail cancels your account for some reason is that you won't be getting any NEW mail.
Best solution for this of course is to own your own domain and manage where it points to by using some service you can get to independently.
<< If gmail cancels your account for some reason... >>
In the post, I mentioned that Google might disable (!=cancel) your account, but this could also work if the original account is removed. For example, I'll be able to post to Blogger from the secondary account and even send messages telling my contacts that I have a new mail address (I'll use the custom from feature, so I'll still be able to send messages from the old address).
I don't have any problem accessing my gmail account since day one.
Bill said on December 28, 2007 7:51 AM PDT:
I lost access to my Gmail for two days earlier this week and I have no clue why. All of my other accounts worked just fine. I could sign into Google but not into Gmail. Any emails I received during that time did not come through. Not sure if setting up a backup email account would work for this or not.
trungson said on December 28, 2007 11:06 AM PDT:
I would not call using another Google user as a backup for Google since it's still Google and they have control over your data. You should try to use something other than Google to backup your Google account. Forwarding emails to a non-Gmail account, exporting Google data to off-line files, etc.
Yes, you can use any mail account, but you still need a Google Account to login to the different Google services. I didn't suggest to use Gmail, it was just an example.
I have Thunderbird running in the background all the time. I have uptodate backup of all of my gmails.
Bob said on January 26, 2008 10:10 AM PDT:
> "Other Google services only allow you to export your data: Google Reader (Settings > Import/Export), iGoogle (share each tab with the backup account)"
It's incredibly annoying and self-defeating that I can't import data to iGoogle (I want to import OPML from Netvibes, for example). The thought of having to manually recreate my Netvibes feeds doesn't exactly encourage me to switch!
iGoogle will have to wait until the option is available.
Bob, iGoogle is not a feed reader, so it's not designed for handling a lot of feeds. That's way importing from OPML wasn't a priority for Google. Most iGoogle users don't use a feed reader and don't subscribe to a big number of feeds.
On the other hand, it would be useful to export your feeds (and maybe the list of gadgets) from iGoogle.
Bob said on January 26, 2008 10:51 AM PDT:
Thanks ionut
Despite your reply, I think that iGoogle -- given that it is a "Personalized homepage" -- should be flexible enough such that it can be used in different ways by different people. I.e. we should be able to personalize it somewhat.
My idea of a good personalized homepage isn't just one that can handle a few feeds and gadgets. It's one that doubles as a way of
visually laying out a spread of RSS feeds like newspaper columns. I.e. it should be able to read lots of feeds (even if this doesn't technically make it a feed reader in the same way that Google Feed Reader is a feed reader).
Netvibes has a very similar brief to iGoogle and yet its superior capacity to handle many feeds is part of why I use it. It has that
flexibility which I choose to take. "Personalized homepage" applies much more easily to a service which offers this greater degree of personalization.
I suspect that, in reality, a big part of the reason why mass feed importing is unavailable in iGoogle is because iGoogle still has some technical improvements to make (unlike Nevibes it seems to have to reload the content on every tab every time you switch, for example).
Linda said on February 1, 2008 12:23 PM PDT:
Hello, About a year ago I had an iGoogle account homepage. I would like to use it again but do not remember userid, password. Is it possible to locate it or do I need to re-create another Home page? Thank you...
said on March 5, 2008 8:58 PM PDT:
Afew days ago I paid about 50.00 to get special acces to various programs , I put in my name I used and my pass word and they say it is not recognized, can you tell me have I lost my money
David said on March 12, 2008 11:03 AM PDT:
./mailutil transfer "{imap.gmail.com/ssl/user=id@gmail.com}" mailarch/ -v
Alpine is awesome!
David said on March 13, 2008 4:17 PM PDT:
And for the Calendar, downloading the *.ics file works very well for me. If I make major changes to my calendar, I download the current ics file to my thumb.
Personally - if there were a way for me backup my entire iGoogle account - gmail messages, calendar calendars, doc & spreadsheets - I would us it exclusively. No that I have a means for calendar & mail , I still dont use the Docs or Spreadsheets. say-la-ve =)
