Technology for Collaboration

GroupLoop.com received its first reviews from DoRealTime.com and Screeniac.com. Both sites specialize in posting information on real time collaboration and Web 2.0 tools, tips and reviews. The reviews were very favorable, stressing that our application is very easy to use, has a great interface, and perfect for low tech people (such as families). My wife and I have been using GroupLoop for over a month (pre-launch) to upate our friends and family on our premature baby. I have to say it has been working quite well for this purpose. Like everyone, we have a few computer "challenged" people in our family and even they were able to use GroupLoop. This got me thinking, what other web based applications are out there for collaboration among families?

After a quick Google search, I found MyFamily.com which appears to be owned by ancestry.com. They didn't tell me much about their service from the homepage or provide me with a demo, but I figured something from a large company like this had to be good. I was able to view their pricing page, which cleary stated that they didn't have a FREE plan. I filled out the registration form for a 30 day trial and was up and running in a few minutes. I have to say that I was disappointed with their overall product. Upon first login, I was horrified as to the complexity and lack of organization. Here's a screenshot:

As you can see, there are so many options that you don't even know where to start! Even worse, all of the features are given the same level of importance on the page. They should have drawn my attention to those features which are most important, like where I should begin. Too often, software is designed with the intention of trying to do everything for everyone. Any service that is geared towards ordinary individuals has to be keep simple. If your product is too complex, most people will give up before they even get started (as I did). Less clutter, less features, more whitespace. I might be a bit biased, but I'd have to say 2 points GroupLoop.

Filed in: web2.0, collaboration, grouploop, myfamily, calendar, family