JotSpot Introduces Flagship Product, Delivers on Do-It-Yourself Application Publishing Vision
JotSpot Tracker marries wikis and spreadsheets to create
collaborative interactive Web applications
PALO ALTO, Calif., January 9th, 2006 – JotSpot today introduced JotSpot Tracker, a Web-based service that transforms an Excel spreadsheet into an interactive Web site that anyone on a team can view and edit. Marrying the convenience of a spreadsheet with the collaborative power of a wiki, JotSpot Tracker allows users to create an application from spreadsheet data, breaking free from the cells by integrating calendars, maps, file attachments, sharing and permissions. With one click, users turn their tracking spreadsheets into a dynamic Website that centralizes information and solves the problem of ‘versionitis’, the multiple versions that get created when a group collaborates on spreadsheets over email. JotSpot Tracker is a hosted service that is available in public beta today at http://tracker.jot.com/
“This is a product for anyone who has ever put information into an Excel spreadsheet and then emailed it to someone else”, said Joe Kraus, CEO and co-founder, JotSpot. “What groups really need is a shared web site that resembles a spreadsheet, but behaves like a true application, where everyone can update dynamically online.”
Excel spreadsheets were designed for accountants, but today are commonly used to organize, track and update a wide range of information that does not include calculations. Spreadsheets are used for tasks as diverse as project release schedules, sales pipelines, tracking recruiting and planning a wedding. But tracking this information with a traditional spreadsheet poses distinct problems; the only way it can be shared with others is by emailing the static document to the intended group, asking for changes and receiving many different versions of the document in return. In addition, spreadsheets only track information that fit in cells, leaving related documents or images isolated on various hard drives and unassociated with the tracking spreadsheet.
MARRYING THE POWER OF WIKIS WITH THE FLEXIBILITY OF SPREADSHEETS
To create a JotSpot Tracker, users simply copy a spreadsheet from Excel and paste it into JotSpot Tracker online. With one click, Tracker turns the spreadsheet into an interactive website. Centralizing information that previously was stored on one individual’s computer, groups, individuals or guests can make changes online, apply formatting, do sorting and add notes without creating multiple versions. By transforming each spreadsheet row into a wiki page, users can add information that doesn’t traditionally fit in cells, such as file attachments, notes or any information on the Web.
The newly created Tracker then lets users go far beyond the traditional spreadsheet grid view providing a dynamic view of data including calendars and maps. For example, the “maps” view in JotSpot tracker automatically plots any addresses in your spreadsheet on a Google Map. To make the product even more extensible, Jotspot will offer developers an easy API to plug any Web data source into Tracker.
Uses of JotSpot Tracker are expected to vary as much as Excel spreadsheet uses vary for tracking information today. Some examples could include:
* Keep a handle on a project’s features, change requests and bugs
* Log employees’ vacations, salaries and sick days
* Keep track of recruiting candidates with a team
* Log personal fitness and nutrition milestones
* Make a shared company directory with contact information
* Build out and share wedding plans and gift registry
* Build an inventory of items to sell at a charity auction and share it with volunteers
* Organize group events such as college reunions or camping trips
* Broadly publish an organization’s holiday schedule
* Easily organize a non-profit’s donations and volunteers
* Manage the reading list, attendance or grades for a class
AVAILABILITY
JotSpot Tracker is available in public beta immediately at http://tracker.jot.com/ The company expects to put the product into General Availability later in Q1, 2006.
ABOUT JOTSPOT
JotSpot, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., is the first application wiki company. Founded and led by Excite.com co-founders Joe Kraus and Graham Spencer, the company is pioneering do-it-yourself application publishing to enable anyone to create, publish and share collaborative and personalized applications. JotSpot currently offers a number of do-it-yourself publishing platforms, including a customizable application wiki, a blogging application, JotSpot Live - a live group note-taking Web service, and JotSpot Tracker. For more information, please visit www.jot.com.