PenFlip – Write It Down

Distractions are the enemy of any writer. PenFlip is a web-application that people can use to overcome that obstacle, with a clear, clean interface that’s void of any clutter. The collaborative writing platform offers markdown support, version control, and a host of other useful composition tools.

Put down the pen, and open up PenFlip. The application works on your desktop, smartphone, or tablet device. Once you’ve signed up for an account, you can start writing from inside your browser. Add formatting to your document with markdown. Quickly send a link to your document to share it with friends or collaborators. Each collaborator will work on his or her own version, as opposed to overwriting the version you’ve created. When the time comes, you can review your collaborators’ changes and decide which to edit accept or reject.

Publish your private documents automatically via PDF, HTML, text, or ePub. You can also make your projects public and share your writing with the world. PenFlip hosts a popular writing community, where users can browse through each other’s work and host discussions about the content they’ve read and created.

Practical Uses:

• Collaborate with friends on a group writing assignment
• Work on a text document on your desktop and your tablet
• Review the changes to a proposal your manager has requested
• Post your writing publically for anyone to view

Insider Tips:

• Download files as PDF, Word, ePub, HTML or text
• View all the recent activity in a public document
• Bookmark your favorite projects from the PenFlip community
• Each collaborator works on his or her own version of a project

What we liked:

• PenFlip’s writing interface is clean and clutter-free
• Writers can choose whether or not to accept the changes their collaborators have made
• Commenting features make it easy to discuss potential edits with collaborators
• Users can post their projects in the PenFlip community

What we didn’t like:

• Nothing

Alternatives:

• Draft – https://draftin.com
• Evernote – http://evernote.com
• notepad – http://notepad.cc
• Textbox.io – https://textbox.io

Company Info:

• Privately Held
• Headquarters: Los Angeles, California
• Founded by: Matt Boyd, Eric Bieller, and Tom Moor
• Web site: http://www.penflip.com

Costs:

• Free