Contact Info Pouring In? Time to Create the Database

Once the survey results are back and your search teams starts finding people, you need to put the information you collect somewhere. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet is an excellent tool if one person is doing all the data entry. But there are other online options which function much like an Excel spreadsheet that a number of "invited" people can use either simultaneously or individually to enter data "live." That means that several of you can share the database and enter data all at the same time. It saves itself.

The shared database we use for our reunion is called Zoho Sheet, one of many Zoho offerings available for free at http://www.zoho.com/. You can create, edit and access your spreadsheets from anywhere. And no installation is required. It allows for collaborative editing of spreadsheets where multiple users can work on a spreadsheet simultaneously. You can import existing Excel spreadsheets and also export your Zoho Sheet to Excel spreadsheets for backup.

Now don't get me wrong, this Zoho Sheet is not perfect. It's a little clunky to use and requires some patience. But the end result is highly worthwhile because it allows for shared responsibility and collaboration.

If you decide to use Zoho Sheet, keep in mind that it functions poorly with AOL. Actually poorly is too kind, it really doesn't function at all with AOL. Instead try opening it with Mozilla Firefox, and you should have no problems.

Anyone else have experience with a shareable spreadsheet? If so, please tell us.

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