Google Buys Zenter To Beef Up Presentations App
Google announced that it has bought Zenter, makers of software for creating online presentations. Google is nearing the release of it’s web-based Presentations software (today was the first day of Summer, and they said it would release this Summer) so Google’s got to finish the damn thing and ship it. Looks like they hit something they could either code or buy, and being in a rush, they chose buy. Google gave themselves a deadline, and that leaves little time for building the entire product yourself.
Funny story: Evan Williams, who created Blogger and sold it to Google (and theoretically made a lot of Google-bucks in the process) gave Zenter it’s domain name in exchange for stock. So he gets even more money from a Google acquisition! Small world.
This recent acquisition is just another proof that Google is getting more and more focused on targeting the web office dream. I learned about Zenter through a print magazine that was discussing Y Compinator (the startup fund group that gave birth to Zenter). What’s important to note here is Google is not falling to the common trap of web app companies just trying to replicate the desktop experience. The fact that Google recognizes the concept of a web-native application which is a completely different experience from the one on the desktop is a big plus. And Zenter’s community and sharing function fits very well with this way of thinking. I would guess that Powerpoint or Impress (open office presentation app) files in your computer can be soon opened online using Google’s office apps. (http://www.googletutor.com/2007/06/18/launching-local-word-and-excel-files-with-google-docs-and-spreadsheets/)
Comment by GT Staff | June 23, 2007