Collaborative Talks and Google Docs!
Never underestimate the concept of thriftiness and ingenuity. Most small businesses are looking for solutions that allow them to run lean and mean. Google Docs (now in beta http://docs.google.com) meets a very practical need. Google Docs allows users to have a central web based location for word documents and spreadsheets and also allows collaboration from multiple editors all from the comfort of your favorite web browser.
Sure the functionality is simple but how much functionality do you really need to write a letter, proposal or contract. When was the last time you used formatting or themes in Microsoft Word?
Another nice feature is its ability to interpret HTML. You can make really attractive pages with a well placed image and text wrapping and this can be accomplished by pasting the code from any HTML editor (you will need to host the images and point to them of course)
Another smart productivity tool is the Calendar function. This allows you to set appointments, invite users, connect to Google Maps, Write a description of the event and invitees can reply with comments. Couple that with three ways to be notified when an invitation is accepted or a comment is made (I choose to have Google email me) and you have a practicable collaboration tool to ensure that everyone has access to important documents.
K-I-S-S = Keep It Simple Stupid. Sure you heard it before, then you went out and bought a gold dipped smoke alarm blender only to have it malfunction in the first week right?
Google Docs does what you want it to do. Its simple, intuitive, gets the job done and FREE!
I set an appointment for my business partner who owns a Mac. When the email arrived his iCal software recognized the appointment and updated itself. (I don’t now if that is a testimony to the brilliance of Apple or the foresight of Google but what I DO know is “It Just Worked”! No time wasted…Next!
I have been using the Google Personal Page (http://www.google.com/ig) because it offers a slew of widgets that do everything I want. Now I can add Google Docs to this decent mix of tools that make my life easier and did I mention they are FREE? Hard to argue with free isn’t it? Microsoft seems a lot softer these days.
Tom,
Your post regarding the tools available online and FREE is a great testament to the evolution of the internet, technology and the user community’s desire to share efforts, develop products which address usability issues and spare us from dropping several hundred dollars for the on ubitiqous product that everyone needs to conduct business.
I myself use Google’s Personalized Homepage, Feed Reader, of course Search and Maps, plus on my PC I use Google Desktop, which I would be lost without, Google Earth and the great image application Picassa - for organizing and locating photos. I’d be lost without Google it’s safe to say.
iCal and other open source technologies will come to replace the proprietary standards of today - even this blog is running on an Open Source application, operating system and modules!
Ed