In a comment on a previous post, which was an introduction to Google Docs, Jay Rosen offered a good suggestion that I address the issue of document security. Journalists of all sorts – from those who are super techie to those who rely exclusively on paper notebooks – may justifiably wonder about the safety/privacy of Google documents. I have three thoughts about this.
When you start using Web-based software, suddenly all of the material you gather is accessible online from wherever you are. If you’re used to using a Google search to find info quickly on the Web, just imagine how convenient it can be to be able to find something from within your own past reporting and writing just as easily and quickly. No more digging through old drawers trying to locate a piece of paper with a number scrawled on it. Just open up Docs and search for any word, name or date range to find anything you’re looking for.
Google Docs is a suite of free, browser-based software that includes easy to use word processing, spreadsheet and presentation tools akin to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The big difference between Docs and Microsoft Office is that your Google documents are stored online, so they’re accessible from anywhere you have Internet access.