sergiosantos.info

blog and works

Writing on the web - Buzzword

14.Nov.2007

The web is already full with online word processors. I still hadn’t adapted to the new format. Every time I wanted to right something quickly, like for this blog or other projects, I always found myself loading this blog’s admin interface or the OpenOffice.org Writer. I’ve had already tried Google Docs, Zoho Writer and even 37signal’s Backpack, but I’d end up back to the usual places. However, Buzzword seems to be able to change that a bit.

Buzzword is a very appellative online word processor, made by Virtual Ubiquity. Later, their company joined Adobe, given to their impressive use of Adobe tools, specially Adobe Flex, in what the application was built.

After you sign up for the preview version, there’s an example document ready to open. There you’ll be able to experience the great font rendering engine and the simple (and very good looking) editing interface. It all works very smoothly and the black background seems to emphasize better empty documents. There’s no big editing features here. Just a couple of nice fonts, basic text and table formating and the ability to add comments. Those are particularly useful since Buzzword gives you the possibility to share your documents, as well most of the other similar applications out there. Unfortunately, it only supports RTF and Microsoft Word .doc format for offline saving and there’s no integration with blogging platforms for example. It could be a good opportunity to grow in other markets.

What really made me keep Buzzword bookmarked in my browser top bar, besides it’s simplicity, it’s just the inspirational feeling I get when I see the documents list, that makes me want to write the world in there. It won’t make you a better writer, but can help you with a little push, and you will surely impress others using such a gorgeous work tool.

If you enjoyed this post, consider subscribing to my RSS Feed