The availability and use of online productivity web-based applications (think word processing and spreadsheets) has exploded over the past two years and for good reasons! These powerful applications provide users with the ability to create and share documents over the internet without the need of installed desktop applications. Some experts speculate that this emerging trend may mean the death to Microsoft Office and other software-based productivity tools, while others think web-based applications have their place, but not in the office. But no matter which side of the office suite platform you side with, on this both sides seem to agree; web-based apps have their place.
One large benefit to web-based applications is that they eliminate the need to worry about different software versions or file types as you email documents or move from PC to PC. Another bonus is that they easily accommodate collaboration by allowing multiple users to edit the same file (with versioning) and provide users the ability to easily save and convert documents as multiple file types (including HTML and pdf). And, you can even use many of these tools, such as Zoho Writer and Google Docs to author and publish posts to your blog. It’s this type of integration with other web 2.0 tools that also makes web-based apps so appealing.
For this discovery exercise, participants are asked to take a look at a web-based word processing tool Zoho Writer or Google Docs, create a simple document and then record your discoveries in your blog. If you're up to the challenge, you might even export your document as an HTML file or publish it through Zoho to a Blogger account.
With Zoho and web-based applications, the possibilities are endless. Here’s a document (viewable as a webpage) mocked up in Zoho about some of the features that may be beneficial.
Discovery Resources:
A short list of web-based productivity applications – Note: I authored this list in ZohoWriter and exported it as HTML.
Discovery Exercise:
- Create a free account for yourself in Zoho Writer or use your Gmail account to access Google Docs.
- Explore the site and create a test document or two.
- Try out Zoho Writer’s or Google Docs features and create a blog post about your discoveries.
