I’ve gotten a couple of variations on this question recently:
I’ve been invited to use a Google Group, but I want to use a different email address than the one used to invite me. Can I change my email address in my Google Group profile? Or add a different address?
The short answer is yes.
The long answer is that the way you accomplish this depends on the way your addresses are viewed by Google.
This post should help those of you with more than one email address. Especially since you probably have a darned good reason for having multiple email addresses (to filter specific types of email to specific accounts, for instance), and right now Google seems to be messing you up.
There are two scenarios that could give rise to this situation.
Scenario 1: You just want to add another email address to your existing Google account
You can add an alternate email address to your Google account (here are Google’s help pages for alternate email addresses), and then choose which of those emails to use for your Google Group stuff. Here are the steps to follow:
- When logged into any Google service (gmail, Groups, Blogger, Reader, Calendar, etc.) look in the top right corner of your screen. Click the link that says “My Account.” It might also be in a drop-down labeled “Settings.”
- Under Personal Settings (right column) of the Google Account page, you’ll see your email address. Click the small blue link below it that says “Edit.”
- On this page, you can enter an additional email address (it won’t replace your existing email address) to use with this Google Account. You could also change your address, but I’d recommend keeping the same main address and adding an alternate address as saner in the long run.
- Google will send a verification message to this alternate email address, containing a link you must click.
- After you’ve clicked the link, you should be able to log into any Google Group, click “Edit my membership,” and choose from a drop-down menu containing your verified email addresses to use for all notifications etc. for that group. Don’t forget to click “Save these settings.”
That should do it for most people.
Scenario 2: You have more than one Google account
You’ll know you fall into this category if you followed the Scenario 1 steps, but got stopped at Step 3 by Google telling you that you can’t use the additional email address because it’s already associated with a Google account.
This also happens if you try to use a gmail address as an alternate email address — because a gmail account is automatically a separate Google account. Gah!
Most people don’t need more than one Google account, but it’s quite easy to get there by accident. I’m actually one of those myself — I have an “old” Google account that I used to create blogs on Blogger long ago, and then somehow I ended up setting up a totally new one so I could use gmail. So if that’s what happened to you, rest assured, you’re not alone.
Google does not provide a way to merge two Google accounts. Here’s their official help page saying there’s no way to merge accounts.
So you can either choose to use the invited address for your Google Group (see Google’s help topic on using multiple Google accounts simultaneously), or you can join the group again with your preferred Google account (this might involve asking the Group administrator to re-invite or re-add you with a different address, if it’s an invitation-only Group).
Hope this helps!
Google is huge and mighty and sometimes quite confusing. Got more Google questions? Leave a comment here, and I’ll see if I can point you in the right direction!
I got this question in my email box last week:
Hi Wendy,
I have a question about the Atahualpa theme and spam. I just saw a google alert for my blog, and there was a mysterious reference to, uh, I don’t want to get caught in your spam filter, but let’s just say there was spam in the header. Do you know if this is a ”legitimate” part of the Atahualpa theme, or is it likely that my blog got hacked? Aside from upgrading WordPress (did that) and upgrading Atahualpa (reluctant until I understand this better), is there anything I can do to prevent further problems? Thanks!!
–Worried about hackers
Dear Worried,
Atahualpa definitely does not do this — your website content is totally determined by you, and Atahualpa never inserts content or links (the legitimate exception being the link to the theme’s author in the footer area). I hate to say it but it sounds like Intruder Alert time.
Here are a few quick tips to make your blog more secure:
- Back up your stuff. The WP-DB Backup plugin backs up your database and the WordPress Backup plugin backs up your images, theme, and plugins. Use them both to get a complete backup of everything. Bonus tip: Give yourself some additional peace of mind by having these plugins schedule automatic weekly (or daily) backups. Then you’ll always have the ability to restore a damaged site if necessary.
- Upgrade WordPress, all plugins, and your theme. Upgrading WordPress is a one-click process (assuming you are all backed up as Step 1 suggests). Upgrading plugins is even easier. Upgrading Atahualpa can feel really scary (depending on what version you have — recent versions have the ability to export and import Atahualpa settings files, which lends extra safety and security to the process) but I’d do it (or have someone do it for you).
- Change your username. If your login username is still “admin,” use the plugin WPVN Username Changer to make it something different (because the easiest hacks are on accounts where the username is known, and most people leave it “admin”). New WordPress installations allow you to set a custom username with no need to use this plugin.
- Change your passwords. At least change your WordPress login password and make sure it’s secure (at least 8 characters, with a mix of upper and lowercase and a few numbers or symbols). You may also want to change your FTP password, and even your email password (since hackers can send password-change requests to your email account).
This list is not comprehensive — there are many other safeguards, plugins, and security tricks that exist to protect your website. But these four tips will put you ahead of the pack.
If you want a professional hack-cleaning service, I have heard positive recommendations for Sucuri (not an affiliate link, since I haven’t actually used their services). Sucuri also offers a hack-monitoring service to alert you if anything suspicious is added to your site (and since sometimes these suspicious additions are invisible, unlike the header spam you immediately noticed).
Hope this helps!
Or even a website that’s not bloggy at all? Or a website that has a tiny sweet thing of a blog in its own tucked-away little back bedroom?
I’ve reserved eight slots in August for WordPress installations.
I handle the tech stuff (installing, configuring, plugins…if your eyes just glazed over then my services will probably help you a lot), and you get to come home to a cozy new just-for-you website and start bringing your smartnesses to your right people. You know, the ones who are out there hoping to find you and will be thrilled when they see that you have a website.
Call me during Open Office Hour any Thursday (from 10am-11am Pacific time) if you have questions or want to know if I can help you. I might even be able to give you a (free) solution right on the phone!
Here are my packages (links take you to pages that describe the packages in detail):
Basic WP Install: $99
Blog Move-In Special (Basic WP install by me, plus copyediting by Michelle Russell): $199
Bonus WP Install (includes theme customization & extra tweaks): $299
Bonanza WP Install (includes custom header and art by Amy Crook): $599
If you know someone who deserves a blog of their own, or want to tweet (I’m @wendycholbi, just @ reply me to say hello!) or send a friend to this blog post, that would be super-nice of you. And I would be way-more-than-happy to send you appreciation monies if you are one of my affiliates.
August is going to be a good month (I’ll be fresh off the train from Jen Louden’s Taos retreat!). A busy month (that’s why I’m setting aside this limited number of slots now!). A fun month (classes, ebooks and good times ahead!). A month when eight new blogs will see the light of day.
I’d love for one of them to be yours.
Today at 1pm, I’ll be doing a free teleclass with artist Amy Crook of Not Dead Yet Studios and Antemortem Arts. Amy’s years of experience in graphic design and fine art are a perfect complement to my WordPress geekery; between the two of us you get beautiful form and flawless function. And that goes for our website work, too 
In this no-cost one-hour call, we’ll tell you how to choose (and more importantly, how NOT to choose) a color scheme for your website, give you some solid design principles to help you use color effectively, and offer recommendations for upgrading and fine-tuning your website’s colors. Got a question about color? Join us and ask it live!
Amy is going to announce a special deal just for callers, and this call is also the official launch of our joint WordPress packages, but this is not a sales call. We’re going to have fun picking apart some websites we know and love, and learning to see web colors with a designer’s eye. We’d love to have you join us!
We’re publishing the dial-in number and access code so that you can join us easily. No strings attached, no reservation or registration required.
Free teleclass details
We’ll be recording the call, and we’ll be happy to send you a free copy of the recording plus a 5-page PDF handout on using color effectively online. For that, we’ll need a way to contact you. Sign up here to get on the mailing list for the call recording and handout (this handout was designed by Amy, and she’s an artist — trust me, it’s gorgeous!).
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