How to Use Quip in Your Daily Routine
Quip launched yesterday with the goal of creating work products that people actually enjoy using every day. Founded by ex-Facebook CTO Bret Taylor and co-founder Kevin Gibbs, they've created an app that they call “a modern word processor that enables you to create beautiful documents on any device”. As a writer who spends equal lengths of time typing on both a laptop and tablet, Quip is a great alternative to other word processors and note-taking apps, including Google Drive, Evernote and Microsoft Word. What makes Quip unique is its design. The app reminds me of blogging platform Medium, where collaboration and simplicity are large focuses.
After tinkering around with Quip, I've come up with 4 ways that Quip can be used in your daily routine.
- Distraction-free writing — it’s a joy to write on Quip’s interface. Minimalist, speedy and aesthetically pleasing. I can see myself using Quip to write blog posts, papers, plans, and anything else requiring concentration.
- Create and share documents with others — I currently use Google Drive to make and edit documents. Although powerful on a desktop, Google Drive for tablets and mobile phones has weaknesses that Quip resolves. For one, you can access your documents offline, and then sync it when online. Next, its responsive interface allows to create and edit documents without the need of pinching to zoom in and out of the screen.
- Taking notes on the go — did an idea pop into your mind while you were on the subway? Jot it down on Quip. Although I’m a fan of Evernote, I’ll be testing out Quip as a way to write down all my random ideas.
- Keeping a journal — I’ve been using Day One as a journal to chronicle my day. As a PC user, the only way to write in it is on my iPad. Quip makes it easy by being accessible across different platforms, and I can also see myself making use of lists and other formatting in journal entries.
Of course, not everything is perfect. Here are my suggestions on how Quip can be improved:
- An option to hide or minimize the thread — I like the thread. It makes it easy to track edits or leave comments on a document. However, when wanting to focus on writing, I would like to be able to focus solely on the writing area. This exists on mobile devices, but would like to see it implemented in the desktop app.
- Notifications — If the above suggestion is implemented, there could be an option to add a notification when new changes or comments by collaborators are made. However, this could be distracting, and there should be an option to turn off notifications.
- Install a web clipper — pasting content from the web is simple, but it can also be tedious switching back and forth between tabs. An option could be to create a web clipper, which would extract the text from a page. By doing so, it could make it easier to cut content, then edit on the go.
- More formatting options — Quip has the basics down: embolden, italicizing, underlining, linking and different fonts. However, some formatting options are still missing. Personally, I prefer keeping things simple as it is, but I’d like to be able to change the alignment, review the word count and highlight text.
You can sign up and use Quip on your desktop browser on quip.com, or download the Quip app on your iOS device.
Have you tried Quip yet? What are your initial impressions? Do you see it replacing Microsoft Word, Google Drive or Evernote? Let me know your thoughts.
As for me, I wrote three quarters of this post on my iPad, during my commute to and from work. I’m liking the simplicity, beauty and speed of Quip.
This post originally appeared on my blog at buizachristina.com
