15 years of Google Docs, and where the next 15 might take us

guest · Oct 13, 2021

15 years of Google Docs, and where the next 15 might take us
Turns out when Google sticks with a product, it can get pretty good.
October 11, 2021
https://www.engadget.com/google-docs-turns-15-190050626.html

15 years ago, if you were writing a document, chances are you were doing it in Microsoft Word. Part of the company’s wildly successful Office suite, Word was the de-facto option for drafting text, whether you were an author, an office worker, a student, a teacher… you get the point.

But on October 11th, 2006, Google officially launched Google Docs and Spreadsheets in beta. As with everything Google, Docs and Sheets were cloud-based applications that also let you collaborate with others in real time. It’s easy to forget now, but this was completely different from how most people worked on documents at the time.
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As for the next 15 years, it’s all but assured that collaborative and remote working will continue to be hugely important.

No one can really say what other cultural workplace shifts, like those brought on by COVID-19, will happen in the next 15 years. And those shifts are probably what will drive the most significant changes in products meant for work.
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Google: 15 milestones, moments and more for Google Docs’ 15th birthday

In 2005, an easy-to-use, online word processor called Writely launched. A year later, the collaborative writing tool became part of Google, and over time it evolved into Google Docs. Officially launched to the world in 2006, Google Docs is a core part of Google Workspace. It’s also, as of today, 15 years old. But it wasn’t always so obvious how useful — and loved — Docs would become.

Jen Mazzon was part of the original Docs team, or the Google Writely Team as it was then called. “Everyone told us it was crazy to try and give people a way to access their documents from anywhere — not to mention share documents instantly, or collaborate online within their browser,” she wrote in a March 2006 blog post. “But that's exactly what we did.”
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NormanF · Oct 13, 2021

If it wasn't for Google Docs, OnlyOffice would never have been born.

And the notion of free office software was a mere possibility in a world dominated by Microsoft Office.

Here's looking ahead to the 15 years!

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15 years of Google Docs, and where the next 15 might take us

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NormanF Registered Member

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15 years of Google Docs, and where the next 15 might take us

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