As you've probably heard by now Google has bought Writely.

The obvious question is is this an MS Word killer? Lots of people are saying no (DeWitt Clinton, ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmm). But they're wrong. This is a textbook disruptive innovation. Consider:

MS Word is the dominant word processing application. How do you dethrone any established incumbent? It's not by taking them on directly -- in this case, it is not by rolling out your own desktop word processing application. Instead, you go for a market the incumbent cannot reach: MS Word is not accessible online, and hence those seeking the convenience of online word processing cannot use MS Word. There is also the issue that MS Word can only be used on computers that have the application installed; it's less likely that you'll find MS Word on Mac computers, on Linux computers, and on mobile devices. Meanwhile, Writely is perfectly accessible to those users.

A disruptive innovation also often has three primary characteristics: cheap, convenient, and simple. Writely is cheaper than MS Word, more convenient, and simpler.

The fact that it does not compete directly with MS Word in a lot of areas -- for instance, hard cord Word users and professional writers will find its functionality sorely lacking -- is to its advantage; you simply can't attack a market incumbent head on.

Bottom line: this is disruptive, and Microsoft needs to counter, and counter quickly.

Featured Reports

• Web 2.0 and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy [1]
• Culture 2.0 [4]
• SEO 2.0 [5]
• Publishing 2.0 [7]
• Real Heroes [1]
• The Mythology of Web 2.0 [4]
• Psychological Warfare [6]
• Superhero Marketing [5]
• Inverse Universe [6]
• Platform Strategies [6]
• Unclassifiable [6]
• Searchonomics [7]
• Open Source Strategies [12]
• Google [42]
• On Innovation [124]
• My Mistakes [9]

• Yo, Peep This: RSS Feed