Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Rethinking writing - Writely.com

Here's the first of my thought-bubbles on web-based-collaboration-apps, or simply put, web 2.0, to use a much abused cliche, sites.

I signed up for a Writely account a few days before Google somehow came to know that I did and bought them out. Don't make the mistake of thinking that Writely is simply a browser-based replacement for the ubiquitous word processor of our time. Honestly, Writely doesn't have many of the so-called advanced features that big M's killer app does.

But it has a surprisingly nimble and responsive interface. If you're one of the skeptics that think a browser-based app can never replace a standalone app, try this one. Writely is extremely responsive, more so than Gmail, heck more so than Outlook, that a few minutes of playing with it convinces me that there is something here. A tangible, perceptible, seemingly tiny shift. Inspite of using the same keyboard. Typing the same thoughts. The paradigm has changed.

Working on a server can change the game. A little bit. I can invite someone to watch me write. I can invite someone to write for me. Write with me. Edit with me. Let me be the first to coin this crappy verb - co-write. In fact, I can invite more than one someone to co-write with me. The changes are reflected instantly, almost like desktop sharing, but much more efficiently. I can instantly see a world of browser-based presentations, spreadsheets, this and that. Google probably saw this coming and promptly bought Writely for small change.

Web-based-collaboration-apps. Ugh! Co-write wins, hands down.

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