After reading through a blog post written by Mimi Foster today which can be found here: “You look so UNPROFESSIONAL,” and reading through many of the comments it became clear to me that there are many people out there that have a misconception of email domains, or are simply doing everything they can to not change with the times and technology with excuses. As I’ve seen over the years this is primarily caused by lack of know-how and not knowing where to start......so I decided to take it upon myself to write a step by step post on how to do the following to help everyone on ActiveRain out:

1. Purchase your own domain name.
2. How to setup your domain name so that it is being hosted by Google’s Gmail servers for FREE.
3. Point out a few other cool features such as Email and Calendar syncing with Outlook and Smartphones!


Step 1: Okay, on with business! I don’t want to steal Mimi’s thread so for Step 1 I will direct you to her post to describe the Domain name buying process. For those of you that don’t know what a domain is it’s the part of an email address after your user name.

Example: JohnSmith@johnsmith.com This is your email address.
@johnsmith.com This is your domain portion of your address.

• A couple things to consider. If you have your own domain for your website and would like to use that as your email domain as well you can!
• Try to keep your domain relevant and easy to remember, an easy to remember and short domain name is much more important that jamming it full of SEO type keywords. An example of a bad domain/email address: Brian@BrianBlackSellsHomesInIndianapolisIndianaAndIsReallyGoodAtItToo.com

Step 2: Alright hopefully by now you have a quality domain chosen and purchased. On with the fun part!

1. Log on to Google Apps Domain Setup
2. Follow on screen direction and enter your domain name. Do not add the @ symbol when entering your domain.
   

1. Fill out this form.

1. Pick your user name that you want for your primary email address (You can have up to 10 other usernames for other agents or whatever under the same domain for free...anything more and you have to move to Google Apps for Business which does cost money, not a lot, but Free is good.
   1. Example: My name is Brian...so If I pick “Brian” as my username my email address in this example would then be “Brian@foresalebyownerindy.com” (Yes I know its a weird domain, but I had it for another site and just used it as an example).
   1. 
   2. Congrats you now have an account. This is the screen you should get.
2. Here is where things get a little more involved. This is where you verify that you own the domain and get the server settings setup to where the system works.
   1. Follow the tutorial on this page to verify ownership of the domain. Click next once you are on the “Verify domain ownership” tab.
   2. Click next again
   3. Begin to verify your account by following steps on this page
   4. Click on “Add DNS record to your domain’s configuration”
   5. Click on drop down menu and select your domain host (GoDaddy.com in this example)
   6. Follow onscreen instruction for your selected domain host
3. Once you have your DNS verified you can then start to configure and specific settings for your email account and start enjoying having your own domain name on a gmail server.

This instruction is a quick version of what it takes to get your own domain running through a gmail server. I will make a few more posts over the next few days of how to sync your new Domain on Outlook, Smartphones, and a number of other items.

You can even sync your Google Calendar under your domain between your web based email login, outlook, and your phone all at the same time. Basically this can function like a Microsoft Exchange Server (which normally costs a lot of money). The options are limitless.

For some of you, this may seem very complicated, but rest assured once you get into it and try, you’ll find google does it’s best to make it easy for you.

If you find any holes or errors in this post please let me know and I’ll do my best to correct them! I have no doubt there is some formatting error on here, but nobody is perfect!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to write a quick post here to inform everyone that Kucic Associates Realty has moved to a new location! We've moved about 300 yard further up Fall Creek to our new office above Scotty's Lakehouse and Mama Bear's.

Our new address:

10142 Brooks School Road, Suite 209

Fishers, IN 46037

We are still getting settled, but come stop by any time you like!

Recently, I just launched my Indianapolis, Fishers, Carmel, Geist, and Greater Indianapolis area Facebook Real Estate Business page. A new blog post outlining links to both my Business page and the new Kucic Associates Realty business page can be found at the following link.

Indianapolis, Fishers, Geist Local Realtor and Brokerage Facebook Business Page Article

What's in it for you, you ask? Check out the page and hit the "Like" Button and you will have access to a pretty lengthy home buyers guide, home selling tips, FREE CUSTOM TAILORED BANK OWNED HOME LISTS (It's a link on the welcome page), Local news and events, and much much more. Naturally, we will keep real estate news, new listings, vacant lots, and even resources for custom home construction contractors available as well. Area's included will be Indianapolis, Fishers, Carmel, Geist, Broad Ripple, Noblesville, Westfield, Zionsville, and almost all surrounding Indianapolis suburbs.

Check it out and let me know what you think! If there are any improvements that you can think of let me know.

Also if you prefer a direct link to my facebook business page just click this link!

Brian Black - Professional Realtor, Indianapolis, Fishers, Carmel, Geist Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

Thanks again!

Hey Everyone, I just wanted to make a quick post giving an update on the new traffic signal that is being constructed at a Fishers/Indianapolis intersection at Fall Creek Rd and Geist Road.

As of 2/23/2011 the stoplight was activated to start blinking. I've written a blog post with more information at the following link. Fishers - Indianapolis Traffic Signal Construction Update - Geist Road and Fall Creek Rd. Intersection.

Thanks for stopping by!