This won't do anything for the people who are still waiting for a Google Voice invite, but those who already have one will really appreciate it. Back when Google announced that they were going to start inviting more users "soon," they also announced a nifty new feature. You can pick your number by searching for text and number phrases.

I'm sure I wasn't the only person who suddenly eyed this new feature with envy. Back when I got my account, you had to go through a long list of numbers and hope you could find something memorable.

You are no longer stuck with your original number. Go into Settings: Phones, and you'll see an option to change numbers. It costs $10 to change, but your old number will still be forwarded for 90 days. You pay the fee through Google Checkout, and you're not obligated to pay unless you find a number you actually like. I found one that spells my name. How awesome is that?

A lot of people criticize Gmail for using labels instead of folders. Google's justification for labels is that you can give an email more than one label, but you can't put it in more than one folder. Many of us were just annoyed that labeling items wasn't as easy as putting them in a folder.

Well that problem is solved. Now you can drag labels onto messages or drag messages onto labels. You can also hide labels you don't frequently use by dragging them below the "more" cutoff on the bottom of the list.

• 10 Things You Didn't Know Gmail Did

Google launched a new channel on YouTube aimed at encouraging average users upload content about current events. This new channel for "citizen reporters" is called the Reporter's Center and shows videos from well-known journalists offering tips and tricks for better news reporting.

Katie Couric talks about what makes a good interview, Dean Wright from Reuters talks about online journalism ethics, and others give advice aimed at average YouTube users who happen to be catching news events on their cell phone.

• How to Embed a YouTube Video on Your Blog
• How to Link to a Specific Time in a YouTube Video

Google isn't opening the service up completely, but they are starting to send invites out to their waiting list. What's more, they've introduce a cool new feature to help you find the perfect permanent number.

Back in the ancient days of two years ago when I got my GrandCentral account, the only way to pick a number was to browse through a long list of numbers and hope to find one that was easy to remember. Now you can search for words or letter-number combination. It almost makes me wish I could get a do-over.

If you haven't done so already, you can sign up for the Google Voice waiting list at www.google.com/voiceinvite.