Every new tool for circulating information used a mental model similar to the previous one. Check it out:
- The typewriter was a replacement for writing. Both output to paper, but typing was neater. Memos were created and paper was pushed from desk to desk.
- The original computer + printer combination was a replacement for the typewriter. Both created typeset neat text onto paper, but computers allowed you to save and recall files at will. People still used the “memo” template in Word.
- Email took over from the internal memo. You had an inbox and outbox, same as the physical boxes that used to sit on a desk. Most people emailed a short note and attached a Word file, in the same way they would with real paper – a cover sheet plus a document. ((In the mind of the user, the document attachment is where the information is. Ever seen emails where someone attached a screenshot that’s contained in a Word document? That’s this mental model in action.))
For the non-dinosaurs amongst us, the paper model is obsolete, and we have a new mental model – the data was produced on a screen and will be consumed on a screen. Most people consume massive amounts of data from the web – that’s what we’re used to. By comparison, Microsoft Word is a poor tool for the job.
- It pointlessly splits up a document into pages. ((It can however be useful as a reference, i.e. “it’s on page 4”.))
- It loads a document very slowly compared to a browser (which is probably already open.)
- One can only consume information on computers with Word installed. Browsers are installed on almost every computer.
- Smartphones are fairly bad at reflowing or even viewing text from a word document. However, they’re phenomenally good at doing this for a web page.
- Extending a document with active elements (e.g. a stock quote) is unusual and hard, so Word documents are almost never used as an up-to-date reporting tool. On a web page it’s bread and butter.
A solution
What will replace Word? I’d argue that the wiki is a natural successor – a collection of web pages (instead of documents) that can interlink easily and be read anywhere using the same technology we use to read everything else.
Why hasn’t it happened yet?
- Making a Word-like interface that creates documents is a hard problem – hard enough that noone has really solved it yet. ((Solutions like CKeditor exist, but they don’t work well enough. It looks lovely, but try living with it and you’ll see where the paint comes off. The only consistently good editors are very basic, like the text editor built into Basecamp.))
- It’s impossible to get off Word, because work gave you a copy, because you’re used to it, or because you’re expected to read / create .doc files.
These problems won’t exist forever. We will get closer to solving the rich text web editor problem – it just needs to be good enough. We will have fewer people to send .doc files to, as products like Huddle and Basecamp become more popular. Most of all, the size of the opportunity provides massive incentive to anyone who can solve this problem.
Leave a Reply