From Zero to Hero, by Google

I feel that I should explain why I said that the service was flawed or else you'd probably want to crucify me without prior notice (that is the best way to crucify somebody, else they tend to run and hide if warned beforehand). The initial purpose of Google's Spreadsheets and Docs was to replace document attachments, especially in a collaborative environment. That it did not do, as GMail is still sending .doc attachments and not links to editable files available online, as Ionut Alex. Chitu underlined.

Becky Bitzenhofer, of compete.com, noted that in the past year since Google Docs and Spreadsheets were launched, she's been receiving more and more invites to view a Google document rather than a Word document; so, she decided to make an analysis of the traffic to the service that the Mountain View based company rolled out in October 2006. You can see the picture that resulted of it on the left.

It was a perfectly timed launch, back then, because of the launch of Microsoft Office 2007 that came with a big interface upgrade compared to the previous versions that mostly frustrated the veteran Office user. Google Docs quickly slid into that niche of unhappy users and grew in one year like other web-based services in ten, to paraphrase a traditional Prince Charming children's story. The application gained more than 500 thousand users in a year, you've got to admit that's a lot.

Much to my surprise, it wasn't the Docs that attracted the most attention, initially, but the Spreadsheets. The two, one on the rise and one on the decline in numbers of users accessing them, met in July this year, but since that point they've split up and are currently both on the rise.

"Google will probably try other ways to introduce Gmail users to Google Docs, including an option to upload files to Google Docs instead of adding email attachments. Another important integration could be with Google search results, especially with .doc/.xls files, that should become easier to read online," Ionut Alex. Chitu thinks.