TechCrunch reader Nicolas Hoizey noticed a blog post on the official Google Docs Blog today written by Andrew Cheng, a Google Marketing Manager. Hoizey sent us the NetNewsWire screen shot above (click for large view).
The post, based on the screen shot, appears to be a simple to do list. But the post was removed from the blog and the feed, and that means it’s time for conspiracy theories to blossom.
It is certainly reasonable to assume Google would consider launching a simple to-do list product to complement its office suite, and would post about the new product on the official blog. One reason to remove the post - they may have simply posted too early and pulled it down because the product wasn’t ready to launch.
But the post itself is literally nothing more than a list of things to do over the weekend. No additional features or functionality, or any description of the product, is mentioned in the post.
So maybe Google is doing it, maybe they aren’t. Or maybe Hoizey just had a little fun with photoshop this evening and sent over the results of his work. Can anyone out there confirm that this post was published?
We wrote a post comparing various to do list applications back in 2006, and added to it in 2007. But really, how much can really be done to create an even better way of creating a list, organizing it, and removing finished items? Perhaps this is yet another niche market that Google intends to dominate, and I’m not sure anyone will really care.
Update: Nevermind.
Good God! A To Do list!
That’s what I like about Google… always innovating.
I need this… I keep my to-do list by emailing it back to myself in GMail
I’ve been using rmilk.com for the last several years and have been very happy with it. I always wondered if Google would acquire them …. still hopeful.
i still write things down on a piece of paper. works for me.
I, and most of the guys at UGAME use googles ToDo list on the google desktop APP. Maybe its some progression on that?
What I’ve been dying for is better synching off this todo list between my computers, but also available online in case I wanted to check it from anywhere.
But tbh the beauty of the product is its simplicity :D, I don’t bother with the outlook todo list simply cause its to much work to maintain your list through it, isnt the point of a todo list to maximise your efficiency?! I dont want to be waisting time preparing it.
You can do it through google sites too. Call me old fashion but I still use tadalist
I recommend a sleek Moleskine notebook.
I’ve tried numerous todo list solutions (including one I made myself, which is still out there online, and still has people using it…) but frankly I don’t see the point. Task list creation is inherently a more organic process than you can emulate on a computer - you can *try*, with your sub-tasks-of-task functionality and your email reminders and your add-task-via-mobile feature and whatnot, but by the time you’ve faffed around setting all that up (after forgetting your login info and having to reset your password, of course) you might as well have just scribbled it down into a notebook in 10 seconds, leaving you more time to, you know, actually get your tasks done.
We wanted to acquire them too. But unfortunately they declined our offer.
Now I´m using paper again
We also thought, that google could be interested in rmilk. Maybe they don´t like bob?!
OMG, and now ToDo lists, too?! Does it never end?! Just don’t tell the 37Signals guys…
On a more serious note; I’d love an app which actions items, or changes their status, upon receipt of a response from an email contact. Maybe Gmail and ‘GooToDo’ could make this a reality.
There’s huge need for todo-list kind of service as a product (or whatever x-as-as-y cliche).. If from Google.. would be very successful… cf. Gmail. Applause!
@Michale
You seem to be missing the point here. It is not about google creating a to-do list. It is about google’s now obvious strategy of backward integration.
Google already controls the front gate of the internet super mall i.e traffic. It knows what all products sell well i.e the popularity of different sites. And now it is gradually replacing those stores with stores of its own.
I was expecting you to be more critical of this move of google.
And the 37 signals guys who no doubt is convinced they invented the whole concept of a todo-list will start bitching about this in 3… 2…. 1….
The post should have been published. It is indexed by Google Search. Here you can see the proof: http://www.fxcomponents.com/te.....dolist.gif
Or he could have just accidentally sent his to do list for that weekend to the wrong email address (or something similar) and ended up with a blog post?
Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence…
I think this model could have been worked well if launched earlier, it is too late now.
I confirm that I still have this blog post in my Google Reader. The screenshot is NOT PhotoShop’ed.
Call me old fashioned by I keep a ‘to do’ list on my desk on paper.
BinaryDay - you’re right! Google MUST BE STOPPED. Sure, its just to-do lists today. But tomorrow, who knows? I get shivers just thinking about it.
The post has been removed simply because someone from Google accidentally posted a personal document. They use Google Docs to write blog posts and other documents, so it’s easy to explain the mistake. That document doesn’t look like a blog post and doesn’t deserve any attention.
I have GTDInbox for Gmail, a Firefox addon that provides task management for my inbox. It’s not really a to do list - I use it alongside RememberTheMilk - but it makes a huge difference to how I use Gmail.
And you do realize that Google Task List has been rumored several times before earlier in the year? (e.g. http://voyagerfan5761.blogspot.....-list.html) Some Google blogs even said they had screenshots.
Doesn’t anyone use the to-do list feature on their phones?. If you do, is there a need to maintain one more on a website.
Could it have been talking about this Google App Engine example? http://to-done.appspot.com/
My first, last and only item on my Google To Do list would be:
FCUK Google (very urgent.)
Google actually announced their intention of adding a to-do list into Google Calendar last fall. This was posted in the Google Calendar Group:
Google Calendar Guide Google employee
Oct 12 2007, 12:44 pm
From: Google Calendar Guide
Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:44:24 -0000
Local: Fri, Oct 12 2007 12:44 pm
Subject: Re: Petition for a ToDo List
Hey everyone - thanks for the loud and very clear feedback on your
desire for a to-do/task list feature. We’re pretty passionate about to-
do lists here as well, and we’ve got something in the works. Of
course, we’re working to add our special Google secret sauce to the to-
do lists space (which can take some time to get right,) so we don’t
have something to announce just yet, but the entire team is listening
to these threads closely.
Please be patient - we’ll have more to talk about soon.
There have been rumors about Google adding a to-do list into Gmail which would make a lot more sense than having a standalone product. For now, at least we have the Remember the Milk plugin for Firefox that works just fine.
A to do list is the no.1 power tool for any start up CEO. Period.
As ToDos go, I highly recommend: http://www.toodledo.com/
Much better and more complete then “Remember the Milk”, which I’ve also used. Toodledo already has integration with Gmail, Firefox and Mobiles.
As for the usefullness of tools such as these, although it may seem simple, they can be a very nice tool to manage work within a small team. SO, I guess it does make sense to invest on it.
Michael Arrington - ditto. We used to joke saying “google is the internet”. The scary thing is that it is becoming fact and their analytical data coupled with their audience makes them almost impossible to compete with when they decide to branch into new markets.
Everyone is happy, until it is the market in which they operate.
I had read the blog post but did not find it important enough to take a screenshot
I’ve drunk the Google Kool-Aid. Sign me up.
I trust them to make a list with check boxes (and potentially date fields) better than anyone else … and of course integrate it with all other Google-ized aspects of my online life. Hurry up Big G!
i use Remember the Milk and integrate it with my gmail via firefox. it works. it would be nice to have this fully integrated, and a part of the Google Apps Suite.
Hey Guys,
I’m using ToDoList from http://www.abstractspoon.com/ and it’s amazing.
Trust me.
I read that post last night on the Google blog. It was about 7:00 cst. I thought it was odd when i read it.
There’s a lot of good to do lists out there already…maybe they should just buy one.
The site I like is http://www.taskanyone.com because they allow me to assign tasks to other people and then nag them until they finish them.
If they can integrate it tightly, across docs, gmail, calendar, and then mac it go offline with gears, then it might be a game changer. But, vaporware is always a concern…
Looks good to me. Keep it comming.
ToDoList Product? is it a product? may be Google Docs is product or Gmail is product but is a simple todo list app is not a product. It is a basic script of few hundred lines of code. If Google is the producer it does not mean a shitty app is a ‘PRODUCT’.
really want to see to-do lists in gcal as well as better to-do gadgets in igoogle. will someone create a simple to-do “table” that includes basic math functions without the baggage of a full spreadsheet? this should be so easy but somehow it hasn’t happened yet …
I’m with mike on this…. With all of the sticky note applications and online to-do list applications, i still find it far more efficient to write my to-do lists down on a legal pad….
That’s funny I thought Google already had a ‘To Do List’ application….it’s called Google Notebook and I’ve been using it for my to do lists for ages.
This post was added to http://www.tectrnd.com!
set your own trnd!
best regards
Wow, people are debating a to-do list?!?! Some of you guys need to get off the computer and get outside.
I’m with you Mike, my notepad works great.
I love Google Notebook, but I’ve been hoping for a true task list that integrates with Google Calendar, which I’ve been using everyday for the last two years.
is would be a good idea if we can integrate it somehow with Gmail and its other applications… we shall see!
I use pen and paper. I’m not always around a computer when I want to make a to-do list. Somehow, I don’t have the desire to forget how to write in my own hand.
I use remember the milk with a firefox plugin that integrates into gmail. Works well, this is for my long term todo lists, still use a text file or pen & paper for quick todo lists. I see why google wants and integrated todo list. Wish they would have just bought remember the milk.
-Jeff
http://edmodo.com
The funny thing is, Google will have no advertisers left if they continue to try and be everything to everyone. They have completely lost focus and it is only a matter of time before this starts to negatively effect thier market share. It simply is not good business sense to compete with your paying customers.
With the incredible pace of Google’s work on their To Do list service, they might work their way up to building an e-mail system and maybe a search engine next. Oh.. wait.
Is Google the only company that developed their biggest, most lucrative product first, but then effectively stopped doing anything useful to it in order to focus on trivialities that make no money? Even Microsoft has the argument that they’ve kept on “improving” Windows year on year.
For all you guys that use normal sticky notes for your task lists… good for you. For those of us who have co-workers that share and delegate work, the Google To Do List is the best thing possible! Our entire company operates using the big 3 (GCal Gmail and docs). If we could get a nice shared task list we wouldn’t to make ghetto documents of things we’re working on or send stared emails to ourselves to keep track of what is going on in our business. We’ve all been begging for a Task list for the last 5 years only to be let down by Google notebook. We just want a tool that takes features from all the tools of today and puts check boxes to the left of whatever comes out of the mix.
OMG! They better check with Jason and the guys at 37 Signals since they had the idea of To-Lists first: http://www.tadalist.com/
It would be embarrassing if they had to take it down as well after Jason complains.