Facebook Gets an Office Suite

Posted by Michael Garrett on July 5th, 2007

Facebook was originally designed around college students, and college students spend a lot of time studying and doing homework, correct? Perhaps that is the reason that Zoho, the masterminds behind online applications such as Writer (word processing), Sheet (spreadsheets) and Show (presentations), decided to make use of the new Facebook API to bring these very programs to the world of Facebook.

Zoho has an entire line of office productivity applications available at its home page, but Writer, Sheet and Show are currently the only ones that have made the port to Facebook. You now have the ability to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations right from Facebook. This allows you to view and edit all of your existing documents, spreadsheets and presentations for those who may already use these online office applications. If you would like to view what the application looks like, Zoho's blog has a Zoho Facebook App screenshot.

Will this new Facebook application be as popular as iLike's Facebook app? Probably not, but since when was productivity as popular as music? This new application opens up these three Zoho applications to the eyes of over 25 million people currently using Facebook, and I am sure that enough will make use of it for Zoho to notice an increase in its user base. It also may be just what Zoho needs to help them stand out from other online office suite offerings such as Google Apps and ThinkFree.

The new Zoho Facebook app does not come without it downfalls, however. Facebook users who decide to implement Zoho into their profiles must still either login to their Zoho account or register for a new Zoho account. This is because Zoho failed to integrate its new application with the Facebook login system. This, in itself, brings up an important point mentioned on TechCrunch. Why would users switch from using Zoho directly to using Zoho on Facebook? It seems like it defeats the purpose of the applications which are supposed to be aimed at productivity and getting things done faster.

Would you use Zoho on Facebook even if it meant logging into two different accounts before actually making use of it? Or, would it be quicker and easier just to keep those accounts separate? Maybe the whole idea is just to be able to share the documents you create with others, since there is the option to make a document either public or private. Leave your comments and let me know what you think about this. Better yet, give Zoho's facebook app a try, use it on your profile, and voice your opinion.

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