It is a search

Google isn't known for having a great User Interface, but I'm often pleased by the intuitive options presented through some of their interfaces.

I use Google Docs somewhat regularly and I have a hundred or so documents created going back almost four years.  One thing I don't like about the Google Docs interface is that the default view is All Items.  That means when I share a bunch of documents with someone I'm collaborating with I pollute their default view with a bunch of recent documents.  That means that my collaborator needs to manage my documents in her view.

This has led me to use the Folders more heavily.  Folders are really Tags, but the Google Docs team had decided to name them Folders since most users know what to do with a folder but don't understand Tags.  This means they have the extended functionality of Tags (you can put a document in multiple "Folders").

So I have started sloshing through all my documents in order to put them all in Folders which means I'm scrolling through the All Items view in order to do this. Then I think, Wouldn't it be nice if I could do a search that shows me ever document that isn't in a folder?  Yes it would.  So while I'm trying to decide how to do this search I stumble upon the More Searches... option in the list and I find an Items not in Folders.  Then I discover a way to Save Searches.

This leads me to realize that all of the options including Owned by Me, Starred, and Hidden are all searched on the metadata associated with the files.  Quite interesting and intuitive.  And probably not easy to understand.

Scriptfrenzy

During November 2009 I wrote a novel.  51,185 words.  No, you can't read it.  Yet.  It is in severe need of editing and a rewrite.

Starting in just a few days I will be attempting Scriptfrenzy which is a challenge to write 100 pages of a script.  I am looking at a couple of different options, but at least part of what I plan on writing will be a script for a murder mystery.

Meetings

Meetings have long been thought to be necessary in most organizations, but they are used too often.  With the great tools that technology offers we can be more effective using Wikis, Microblogging, or other asynchronous methods.


Meetings have the advantage of

• Providing a set time and/or venue where items can be addressed
• Allowing synchronous communication (although this isn't always used effectively)
• Some meetings allow for collaboration which is sorely needed in most organization

I expect the list is longer and I will add to the benefits throughout the next weeks.

The downside is that it takes a lot of time and often the results don't warrant all the attention.

Downsides

• Everyone is committed for the block of the meeting and cannot do much else.  This is inconvenient at best and possibly very disruptive
• If the meeting is face to face there is often a fair amount of overhead such as travel to the meeting site, coordinating schedules, and waiting for the participants to arrive

What is it you like or hate about meetings?

Life is a Dance

I watched my son's Ballroom Dance Team last night as they performed for a small church group. The dancers are learning completely new dances and only have a few hours of practice into the new routines so there were quite a few missteps. The dancers recovered quickly, mostly with smiles on their faces as they struggled to get back in step.

As one would guess, these teens and pre-teens are dancing to have fun and improve their abilities. Some dancers are more confident than others but all are improving and hopefully all are having fun.

Life is like that. We are improving and having fun. If we aren't then we are doing it wrong.