I’m always advocating the use of the tools Google offers, specifically Gmail, Analytics and Docs. I think these are really useful tools, and the price is definitely right. I usually set up new clients with Analytics and Gmail. I myself use Docs a lot myself to collaborate with them.

Today I read about Loren Baker having his Google account disabled without being given any reason. That’s pretty scary. It turns out that he eventually got his access back by contacting Google. It looks like it was a simple misunderstanding, but the damage has been done. It really made me ask myself what I would do If it was my account that was disabled?

Protect yourself by making a “Plan B”. Challenge yourself to operate without any of the tools you currently use. Pretend your laptop crashed hard, pretend that Google kicked you to the curb. What if both happend? Life goes on and so does your need to do business.

The first thing you should understand is your email is your identity. Who should own your identity? YOU SHOULD. Any name@gmail.com is not owned by you, so dont’ rely on it.

Do this:

1. Register a domain name
2. Set up hosting
3. Set up your email account (cpanel tutorials)
4. Set up your Gmail account to use this linked account

Then, if you ever have difficulty with Google, you remain in control of your mailserver. If you have cpanel hosting, you should have an email client already installed on your host. Or you could download thunderbird, and use it to access your mail. Because you own your mail, you have a ton of options, for very little cost.

I’ll follow up this post with more “Plan B” ideas.  Specifically for Analytics and Docs.