Learning2.0 : Journey to about2findout.com

Google is rapidly expanding its empire (just today I heard it purchases jotspot.com, a wiki application). One of the previously acquired companies was writely.com, which is now available in the online word processor and spreadsheets application at http://docs.google.com. All you need is a free google account to start working.

The functionality of both the spreadsheet program and word processor are basic : text, formatting, images, etc. But the great benefit is you can access your documents from anywhere and don't need to worry about the right version of the document or where you stored it. The latest version is always on line, accessible via any browser. You can import/export to a variety of file formats such as MS Office and OpenOffice. I'm currently using it to store my blog preparations, the financials of the about2findout.com project and as a notepad for anything interesting I read or see in the field of learning.

But the advantages go beyond: online applications allow for easy collaboration. You can invite friends and collegues to co-author or view your online documents, leave their comments and even work in real-time on the same document while chatting or talking (Google talk) to eachother! I used this feature once to prepare a questionnaire. It also maintains a version history that you can rollback to.

Technically, the applications showcase some AJAX such as dialog boxes, popups, etc.
I haven't explored all possibilities yet of the tool, but I'm sold already. O yeah: another web2.0 thingy: it's in 'beta'. All web2.0 sites seem to be in perpetual beta. The other option is to keep delaying your products until the complete package is good enough I guess (yes MS, I'm talking about you!)

Labels: google