Welcome to the wonderful world of Google!
It truly is wonderful. Having been a former programmer I'm in a good position to sing their praises. Their design team is top-notch and they work hard to provide applications that are fun and easy to use. (This is also referred to as "user-friendly apps" so there's your first lesson on tech-lingo.)
I like to think of Google-world as a great big mansion with gazillions of different rooms. There's a room for email (Gmail) and a room for calendars (Calendar). There's a room for creating and editing different kinds of documents (text, spreadsheet, presentation). And there's a room called Blogger that's for... you guessed it - BLOGS!
I've blogged for years and use different blog platforms, but I start all my baby bloggers here using Blogger.
All you need to get started is a Gmail address. If you already have one, you're ready to progress to Step 2. If you don't have a gmail address, let's get started!
Go to www.gmail.com and click "Get Started"
Create an Account
Enter your information in the name fields -
First name:
Last name:
Now we'll choose a unique name. Think of this as your own individual key that opens the door to your very own Google mansion! For example, susanr.stilwell@gmail.com gets me into my mansion so I can arrange and personalize my rooms: the room that has my email (Gmail), the room that has some of my documents, the room with this blog (blogmamasusan.blogspot.com). In fact, I can (and do!) have several blogs, and my gmail address is all I need to access those!
So what should your Gmail address be? Something specific to YOU.
(FYI - Creating a gmail account doesn't mean you HAVE to use it as your primary email address. In fact, you don't ever have to open your gmail inbox if you don't want to. You just need it to open the door to the Google mansion. If you ever decide to make it your primary email address, it'll be there waiting with open arms.)
The first thing you should try is your first and last name. So in the Desired login name box you would type firstnamelastname (like darthvader) and click "check availability"
If it's available and you're happy with that, GREAT!
If not, keep trying things until you find something you can remember. Google will make suggestions for you, or you can do logical things like:
firstnamemiddleinitiallastname (e.g. darthqvader)
firstinitialmiddleinitiallastname (e.g. dqvader)
Or get really creative:
darthvaderdarkside or dqvader0001
Whatever you choose, be sure it's something you'll remember.
Once you find something you're satisfied with, set a password and finish creating your account.
Now you're ready for Step 2
(Remember, your gmail address is just the key that opens the door to the Google mansion of applications. It is NOT your blog address or your blog title.)
