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Google Docs in Plain English
Duration:
2 minutes and 51 seconds
Country:
United States
Language:
English
License:
CC Attribution Non-Commercial
Genre:
Instructional
Producer:
Common Craft
Director:
Lee LeFever
Views:
60,636
(25,677
embedded)
Posted by:
leelefever on Sep 21, 2007
A video focused on the basic ideas behind Google Docs, an easier way to share documents online. A Common Craft client production for the Google Docs team.
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Video Transcription
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- Home is where we keep the things we need.
- Whether it's a lawn mower or a coffee pot,
- it has a home in our lives.
- Of course, our documents are no different.
- For years, they lived on our computers.
- Each person has their own computer-based home for documents.
- When we need to share a document,
- We usually attach it to an email
- and send it to a friend's or co-worker's computer-home.
- Here's the problem: When you attach a document to an email,
- copies are created.
- Consider this, if you send an email attachment to three people,
- the same document will exist in four different places.
- That's a problem.
- There's a better way, and it means saying goodbye to messy email attachments.
- This new kind of home isn't on your computer.
- It's on the internet.
- And that makes sharing and collaborating on documents much easier,
- and gives you full control over who can see and access your documents.
- Here's the basic idea.
- Instead of attaching a document to an email,
- Let's switch it around, and look at how we can attach an email address to a document.
- Meet Sam, Sam is the editor of a neighborhood newsletter called the Oak Tree View.
- She works with local writers who would like to publish articles in the newsletter.
- Sam loves her job, but often feels frustrated when time is wasted managing all the articles.
- It's familiar problem.
- Each month, writers send her draft articles as email attachments.
- She reviews them and sends them back with comments.
- One article might create six different versions of the same file.
- Not to mention countless emails.
- Sam often feels buried by all the email attachments.
- She finds it hard to keep track of all the versions being sent to her from the writers.
- As the deadline looms, frustration rises.
- Something has to give.
- Sam decides to try something new: Google Docs.
- Here's what happens:
- First, she visits the Google Docs page, and creates a free Google account.
- She logs in, and because some articles were already written,
- She uploads the current drafts, right from her computer.
- With a snap, Google docs turns the offline articles into online versions.
- Now, all she needs to do is invite the writers to collaborate on the documents.
- Here's how: she clicks "share", inserts email addresses, and clicks "invite collaborators."
- Google Docs sends the writers an email with a secure link directly to her document.
- One click , and they can edit and save the document online.
- This means that when Julie edits the document, Sam sees the changes immediately.
- Since there's only one document, there's never confusion about updates or versions.
- It's all saved, along with the past versions, on the website.
- For the first time, the articles all have a home,
- a single place for organizing and editing that is accessible from any computer with internet access.
- Problem solved!
- What's really cool, is that this problem isn't just solved for documents,
- but also spreadsheets and presentations.
- All three can now have a secure home on the web that works exactly like Sam's documents.
- Sam is relieved.
- Without having to deal with attachments, multiple versions, and all that clutter,
- She can be an editor instead of a document master.
- For the next newsletter, not a single email attachment is sent, and Sam beats the deadline by a week!
- Sharing documents, made simple. And all for free.
- Google Docs rocks!


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