Online Office Tools

Is this the future of all software products? What do you think?

This week we're working with online office tools. I stuck with and tried various Google applications. Partially because I already have a Google account and partially because I love all things Google. I know as a Librarian that's a terrible thing to say and I could be burned at the stake for such talk, but I'm also a young librarian. I grew up with technology(my father helped to introduce computers into the Kansas City Star newsroom in the 70's). My sister, husband, brother-in-law and numerous friends are in the business of creating websites and online applications. My job actually includes me working with and finding applications for these new technologies(lucky me huh?).

I enjoyed using the online office tools. Although in this short class time, I didn't have a chance to use them in more that one location ( a functionality I was really looking forward to) I can still imagine how they might benefit many projects. I have been working in the drudge of a SHARE drive. In the middle of re-creating a 6 week summer course for pre-college students, I have forgotten what version I have, what's on the SHARE drive and what my partner has. So, I decided to start my next document in Google docs send it to my partner that way. While we haven't gotten to the editing stage yet( and I'm not entirely sure I've sold her on the idea) she liked the ease of accessing the document and that we could both see what the current version looked like. No need to make sure the version I updated was in the SHARE Drive.

Is this where all software will go? Probably. Will it happen tomorrow? No. It seems that the more we advance our knowledge and the more we bring applications and work online the more (and less) we worry about security. I admit, I'm one of the non worriers. I lead a fairly simple unexciting life. The new puppy is my highlight for the next month. When my father(very seriously) told me that my new phone had a GPS chip in it and the government could track my every move, I laughed. "Great dad. They can see I drive to work in the morning, then back home in the evenings, and sometimes I even venture to the next town over." Maybe I'm an optimist, or maybe I'm sure of my obscurity. I don't believe many people have interest in where I am or what I do. I'm not doing anything illegal, so I have nothing to worry about right?

OK, so I can see dads point on some level. No, I'm not doing anything illegal, does this mean I don't care if someone is listening into a conversation I'm having? Heck no! I want to be secure as anyone else, but not at the price of my privacy. Certainly, our world and our country has not become so dangerous that we all need to be assumed guilty. This is where I don't see online applications as flying too far too soon. It seems that no application has been build that hasn't been cracked. Now, I have no plans of using online applications in Google for sensitive information, but that means I miss out on many potential applications for this technology.

I think that we will see a move towards greater usage of this type of technology and with it we will see more companies using the software which allows organizations to interact within their walls and protect themselves form the rest of the world. I also see many people informally using Google docs and other free online applications to share, edit, and collaborate.