Aliza's chronicles, part 3: collaboration and the long haul

Posted by: Aliza Sherman, author, speaker, TV and radio producer

Last time I discussed how Google Docs helped me as I migrated documents from my old computer to my shiny new one. This time I'll talk about using Google Docs for long-term collaboration.

As I prepared the manuscripts for my upcoming podcast, I started sharing them with my producer on Basecamp. She obliged me and checked them out, but commented that the “writeboard” or whiteboard collaboration feature wasn’t up to snuff because it required its own markup language.

“Try Google Docs,” she said. (She had found Docs and was a convert.) She uploaded my first manuscript. I was frustrated because I was hoping to see her previous revisions once I made my changes to the script.

“Look at the Revision History,” she said.

Revision history? I didn’t know Docs had a revision history feature! I swear a choir of angels sang and trumpets trumpeted in my head with that discovery. I'm looking for a long and fruitful relationship with my podcast producer and am grateful she told me about a new feature in Docs.

As I'm sure you know, when you're collaborating, a revision history is really critical. And of course it makes sense that the feature for looking back at previous revisions would be in Docs. I am, of course, a feature-phobe, which means:

• I'm terrified to try something that I don't need yet. I use just what I need when I use it.
• Did I mention that I hate to read instructions of any kind?
• But, each time I discover a useful new feature, it is like Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa and all the other sparkly holidays in one.

Another example of how I'm using Google Docs for long-term collaboration: Every month I send press releases for a client's workshops. To properly format the releases, I refer to a list of workshop descriptions, a list of locations, and a list of media contacts. Now instead of searching for these documents on my computer, I can quickly access Google Docs and copy and paste the content that I need.

Occasionally one or more of those documents needs updating, something that's easy to do in Docs. Then the next time I access the files, I always know that the most recent copy is at my fingertips. The collaboration comes in handy when my client wants to update the document. I have a number of ways of getting the most recent version I have to her for her edits including giving her access to my documents in Docs, emailing her a PDF for her to print and markup (yes, people still do that), and downloading to my computer and attaching to an email to her.

I love these options and so do my clients and collaborators.

Extra Tip: Make sure to name your files clearly so you always know what they contain without even having to open it.

In my next post, I'll discuss quick collaborations in Google Docs.