[IxDA Discuss] Google Docs & Spreadsheet is updated

[Fred Beecher]

On 6/27/07, David Malouf <dave.ixd at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Is there something about the direction they are taking google docs
> that pushed them towards these metaphors? For example, now that they
> are trying to get businesses to use these as a replacement for office,
> are there specific aesthetic expectations around the UI Design that
> they have to meet in order to fulfill the goals and motivations of
> this new persona set?

I think we have to look at this in the context of Google Gears, which
is clearly aimed at this sort of audience. When we look at it in this
context, what occurs to me is that Google is trying to accommodate the
business behavior of interacting with "the fileserver," aka "the
shared drive," etc.

In my experience, I've found that collaboration software like
SharePoint or Basecamp is only moderately successful in getting people
to really collaborate on documentation. People tend to fall back on
their habits of either sending stuff through email or placing it on
the fileserver. I think that, combined with Gears, this sort of UI is
a strategy for adapting a collaboration platform to that behavior,
rather than the typical collaboration tool approach of encouraging
users to *change* their behavior.

If people changed their behavior easily, we'd all be out of a job. : )
So I think this is an interesting idea. I'm excited to see where it
goes.

Fred