Introducing Graphite V2

Until now, Graphite has been built entirely on the Blockstack platform, and Blockstack has been phenomenal. However, it’s always been a goal of mine to make an app that is as cross-compatible as possible. This is why I built the Graphite API for importing and exporting your data. It’s why I built integrations with traditional cloud apps. It’s why you can create public documents and files and collaborate with those who don’t even use Graphite. And it’s why, as of today, Graphite now supports the top-two decentralized identity providers: Blockstack AND uPort.

Version 2 of Graphite is for everyone. It’s not just for developers. It’s not just for decentralization advocates. It’s not just for writers or attorneys or accountants. It’s for everyone. I’ll have a series of posts talking about all of the changes and what these changes all mean (including the updated branding), but I want this post to focus on the core reasons for change.

Something I’ve believed in from the start was that anyone signing up for Graphite should be able to store their data wherever they want, not just where I tell them. V2 of Graphite takes a big step toward making that a reality. While this newest version of Graphite doesn’t offer simple connections to every possible data storage provider, it does provide a one-click connection to what I think are the top options:

1) Google Drive

2) Dropbox

3) IPFS

I believe these providers give users the flexibility I’ve always wanted for Graphite. Cloud providers with name recognition or true decentralization with IPFS. Of course, users can still sign up with Blockstack and use Blockstack’s Gaia storage.

With V2’s release, Graphite becomes, as far as I know, the ONLY decentralized application that enables collaboration across multiple protocols. IPFS and Gaia, Dropbox and Google, uPort and Blockstack, and everything in between. When we in the decentralized web space talk about data portability and user ownership of data, this is what I think we mean.

But this release is not just about decentralization and protocol variance. It’s about focus. It’s about building toward something bigger. You may notice when logging in, or you may have read the blog post — Graphite Sheets is gone. Those of you who had created Sheets can still access them and download your data, but no one can create new Sheets. This frees me up to focus on Graphite’s enterprise features. It frees me up to focus on additional offerings I’ve long wanted to build:

• Forms
• Presentations
• APIs
• More integrations

V2 of Graphite is so many things, but most of all, I hope it’s fun to use. It’s built for you, and if there’s anything I can do to make it better, I hope you’ll reach out. If you’re an organization looking for unparalleled security without trading your convenience, Graphite has a solution for you too. Schedule a demo here.

Thank you to everyone for all the support in Graphite’s first year-plus of existence. Here’s to many more!