If L.L. Cool J were a geek like me, that’d be his new anthem. Web based programs are a new trend that will continue to grow. While the little web apps I mentioned last month: Box (box.net) for file sharing, and Picnik (Picnik.com) for image editing make your life easier, that’s only the beginning. In today’s information age, internet enabled phones are becoming the norm – so not only are we accessible from anywhere, but we are expected to be checking our email on the run too. What happened to technology is making our lives easier? The next leap isn’t connecting to each other – it’s collaborating with each other. Virtual offices and online collaboration will be the next standard for startups and established businesses alike, especially as the global market evolves.
Free online collaboration tools like Google Docs as well as Microsoft Office Live Workspace allow you to post your files online and share them with whomever you like – a few people or the entire online community. The key word here is collaboration. Posting files online isn’t a new idea, however having the ability to edit a document via a web browser – with multiple people – at the same time is a brilliant innovation. Your document changes are even logged for reference later. How Cool is that?
While the purpose of this article is not to illustrate the differences of Google Docs and Office Live Workspace, let me say that they are very similar. There are specific advantages to each, so please do a Google search to check out the differences before selecting a platform – research will save you time in the long run, rather than switching mid-stride. Personally, I prefer Google Docs for my own purposes, but your results may vary.
The main controversy about web based programs revolves around security. While we may not all be entrusting our detailed medical history records with an online database anytime soon, that used to be the widespread mentality about online shopping and banking. While I would not vouch for any online tool’s security, let me just say that even national banks have had compromised online security – “Oops, thousands of names and account numbers somehow got leaked”.
Local server-side applications (like an intranet) alleviate any “Big Brother” concerns, but are still not immune to hackers if it is connected to the internet. Microsoft’s One Note allows for a centralized database of notes that is often used for collaboration, both from people locally in an office, and for those dialing in remotely.
Many online applications have some sort of encryption or security features in place, but suffice it to say that it probably isn’t any safer than a web-based email account. For the sake of argument, if we were to put it on the same pall other things being equal, the bottom line is that you can grant other people access to your document, and have a teleconference where you both edit the document and see it updating real-time. I’d like to see your email program do that!
The internet is maturing from a “Broadcast Yourself” mentality to more of a “Selectively Share Specific Information.” I am excited to see these advancements in online applications come to fruition, and if you can fit online collaboration properly into your workflow, you just may find out that you are “Doing it Web” too.
