Thing 13: Google Docs, Wikis and Dropbox

Time to try and catch up this afternoon, so this is a brief post on Google Docs, Wikis and Dropbox and my first impressions of these (well sort of!)

Google Docs

I’ve used this tool before and it worked really well for that purpose – a joint piece of work with a colleague elsewhere.  If unable to attend a meeting and the minutes are typed up in Google Docs I like that I can drop in and out of the minutes to see what’s happening – really useful at times.

This isn’t something I’ve used regularly, but I am sure it will be something I’ll use again in the future for either of the above purposes.

Dropbox

The need to download Dropbox meant that the work firewall/IT systems wouldn’t allow it.  As I’ve mentioned before if I can’t use something for work purposes it’s probably unlikely I’d use it much at all.  So therefore I probably won’t take a look at this at home, but instead stick to using Google Docs for this purpose if needed.  A cop out I’m afraid, but it’s one of those weeks where I’m not sure I’ve got the time!

Wikis

I’m sure the majority of us have looked at Wikipedia at some point in our lives – ‘Google’ anything and its bound to link to Wikipedia at some point!  I know of references to Wikipedia in a Thesis, degree essays and reports to our management team – its uses are endless!  The reliability of such sites will often be questioned, but given a dedicated use for a Wiki I think it can be invaluable in collaborative working.

So a brief out pouring of my thoughts, rather than anything too in-depth for Thing 13.  I’ll try to make up for it with thing 14 maybe!