Google Docs began as a hacked together experiment, says creator

Google Docs began as a hacked together experiment, says creator Jul 3rd 2013, 14:30, by Ellis Hamburger If Google Docs is the mother of modern word processing, Sam Schillace is probably its father. Back in 2005 he built Writely, a web-based text editor, which Google acquired in 2006. One month later, 90 percent of the company was using it. Writely formed the foundation of Google Docs, a product Schillace led for years before heading to Box to be its senior vice president of engineering and take on the next age of online collaboration. He took a few minutes to talk to The Verge about the building blocks of Google Docs, the persistence of email, and why killing the Save button still freaks people out. You can find him on Twitter at @sschillace. Continue reading…