Thing 9: Online Collaboration Tools

Because I use Google Docs extensively (for letters, resumes, spreadsheets, etc), I took a look at Zoho to compare how it stacks up against Google Docs.
The word documents were almost a tie--they both worked well, although they each have idiosyncrasies. When I printed my husband's resume using Google Docs, it printed on two pages--unless I clicked on "file" and "print as webpage" then it printed on one page. Zoho printed a header and a footer and also printed on two pages; but only if you didn't read or understand the pop-up command and clicked "ok". If you read and follow the directions in the pop-up command (which says something similar to "print option, defeault header/footer value, print as PDF, click Page View Link, Print using PDF", etc) then the resume will print on one page without a header or footer. Overall, I could use either of these word document applications. But, because I am most familiar with Google Docs, I think I will stick with it.

Spreadsheets, however, are a whole different story. I frequently have difficulty sorting with Google Docs. Sometimes all the information is sorted, sometimes only part of it, sometimes information sorts according to a strange configuration only Google must understand. I have found it easy to put my info into Google Docs (I love that Google Docs is almost portable--you can access it from almost any computer!) But, when I have to sort it, I copy and paste the info into an Excel spreadsheet, sort the info, then copy and paste it back into the Google spreadsheet.

My trial of Zoho spreadsheet was far more challenging than using the Google Docs spreadsheet. I could not paste information from Google to Zoho nor could I paste information from Excel to Zoho; but, I could import data from Excel to Zoho as long as the information was saved first on my hard drive or a disk. When I tried to sort the information in Zoho, it froze! I logged out, then signed back in, but discovered the information had been lost (beause I didn't save it before sorting). Given a choice, I would chose Excel spreadsheet first because of its functionality, Google second because of its "portablity", and I wouldn't use Zoho spreadsheet at all.

Regarding sharing or collaborating with these tools, I will repeat the advice my e-democracy instructor gave in his class How to Use Online Tools for Communication, Collaboration and Advocacy: "if these tools are going to work, everyone must use them and know how to use them". I once tried to share my husband's resume with a potential employer using Google Docs. Either I didn't "share" the resume properly or the recipeient didn't know how to access it or use Google Docs because we received a reply that he could not view the resume. (The fact that the person replied was amazing in itself because most potential employers probably would have just deleted the email and went on to the next applicant.) But, we re-sent the resume, both as an attachment and with a web link to his e-folio page where we had hastily posted his resume. The employer (or at least, the interviewer) was quite impressed with my husband's ability to use the internet. (Keep in mind, my husband, who has attended a couple of computer classes, still can't access his email without help and thinks shutting down a computer means hitting the "off" button or pulling the plug out of the wall socket.) Alas, he did not get the job. Apparently, the world just isn't ready for internet savvy house painters.