A real treat

Posted by: Jen

Anyone who has ever helped to launch a new beta product knows that the team obsessively seeks out every article or review, wondering, "Will it be a TRICK or a TREAT?" Happily, we got a big treat last week when PC Magazine gave Google Docs & Spreadsheets 4 out of 5 stars.

The part I love best about that article is that it says we're "bug-free." Wow, a beta product that's bug-free! (That would be a first, wouldn't it?) If you ever run across what you think might be a bug in Google Docs & Spreadsheets, please first check out our searchable Help Group where outstandingly helpful users like Gill and ahab share their opinions and expertise with other folks, including those of us on the product development side. If you don't see the topic of the issue addressed there or in the Help Center, please contact our support team.

Speakout gears up

Posted by: Jen

We now have lots of schools participating in our Global Warming Student Speakout from each of the locations listed below. We just extended the deadline for participation to this Friday -- November 3rd -- and we're hoping to get participation from even more locations this week.

• Australia
• Bangladesh
• Canada
• India
• Indonesia
• Philippines
• Romania
• Saudi Arabia
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• USA: California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia

It only takes 1-2 hours to do the student-teacher brainstorming about ways to fight global warming and idea sharing via Google Docs & Spreadsheets. So please pass the word along to a teacher you know!

Student Speakout Announcement

Posted by: Jen


November elections in the U.S. are right around the corner - November 7 is just a few weeks away. One issue that transcends any particular election and any particular country is global warming - it happens to be an issue that Google cares a lot about. It's also an issue that affects younger generations more gravely than older ones. But what (you're asking) has any of this got to do with Google Docs & Spreadsheets?

It turns out that lots of students use Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and most of them aren't old enough to vote. So we've come up with a project, in partnership with Global SchoolNet, that gives students a voice on the critical issue of global warming. We're inviting teachers and students to brainstorm strategies for fighting global warming, and have their ideas published in a full-page ad in The Washington Post following national elections.

We're hoping that this project (which is running October 17 to November 3) both helps students learn about global warming and gives them a fun brainstorming and idea sharing experience using Google Docs & Spreadsheets. If you are interested in participating, check out the project announcement and details on the Google for Educators web site.

New Beginnings

Posted by: Jen

I'm pregnant with twins. Twin boys, that is. At first, I was pretty terrified at the prospect. I'm already a mom - I have a 3 year-old girl at home - so I have an inkling of the sleep deprivation and domestic chaos that awaits me with the birth of these boys. But then I got to thinking -- ultimately, it will be fabulous! The boys will have each other throughout their lives. They'll be thick as thieves, blood brothers, constant companions. They'll look out for each other and help each other out of (hopefully minor and infrequent) scrapes.

Odd how one's personal life and work life sometimes mirror one another, isn't it? I've been working on two product teams here at Google: Writely, the Web word processor, and Google Spreadsheets. Writely was born as a start-up in August 2005 and joined the Google family in March this year. And Google Spreadsheets was born in Google Labs this past June. Today these two products begin a new life together as Google Docs & Spreadsheets.

The combination of documents and spreadsheets is a natural one. I think of documents as right-brain (a blank canvas for free-form writing) and spreadsheets as left-brain (a structured framework for lists and data). Different people use one or the other for the same thing. For example, if you were compiling a shopping list, would you prefer to do it in a document or a spreadsheet? I'd use a document ... you might use a spreadsheet ... it just depends on which format feels more comfortable and better suited for the task at hand.

We've completely re-jiggered Writely and Google Spreadsheets so they're more identical than fraternal, and unified the two with one login, one help center and a joint list that shows all your documents and spreadsheets online. I hope you'll find these changes as useful and exciting as we do!