How Google Docs Proved the Power of Less

To me, the clearest example is Dropbox. I’ve used Dropbox since the earliest days, and I love it. Nothing has ever come close to providing the speed, reliability, and cross-platform compatibility for file synching of Dropbox. Even though I technically get iCloud File Storage “for free” as part of some broader package, I still pay for Dropbox with a... See more

Take the humble “document” as an example. For decades, document editing programs like word processors effectively emulated a printed sheet of paper, onto which the user typed with an emulated typewriter. Other software tools like spreadsheets did better, managing to escape complete skeuomorphism in favor of an infinite canvas. Notion is another goo... See more

Today’s document tools aren’t built for discussion. We’ve seen so many improvements in how you can write docs like collaborative editing, relational tables, fancy blocks, and more. These features are powerful but they incentivize us to polish and present our ideas. We should spend less time writing documents and more time discussing the ideas.