Word Processing Has Become a Commodity

I recently started a new Google Docs, and as part of my drafting, looked up a few things online. When I was ready to go back to my document, I habitually looked for the Word icon. But I’m not using Word at the moment, I’m using Google Docs.

Because I’ve spent the summer doing quite a bit of writing on my iPad, using Pages, Documents to Go, Evernote, OpenOffice.org, and various plain text editors. I have developed the ability to switch quite seamlessly between different keyboards, different menu configurations, and different editing methods. 

Of course, if I were collaborating, or formatting a page for print publication, then the specific details of which program I use, and where, would matter.

But in general I have reached the point where it really
doesn’t matter to me where my files are, or what program I use to access
them.

The moment when I looked for the Word icon, and saw that I wasn’t running Word at the moment, felt quite freeing.

Of course, if Google should decide to block me from my account, or Apple should kick me out of my iTunes account, or my university login should fail, my ability to access my work would suffer. But since I don’t put all my eggs in one basket, I’ve usually got several alternatives.