Blist: Making Spreadsheets Fun?

The latest to tackle online database and spreadsheet creations: Blist. Launching today at DEMO, blist is a more flexible way in which to create those dreadful spreadsheets we all have to do for one reason or another. The company’s aim is to simplify the process by tailoring the application according to your needs, as opposed to your having to configure your data according to the existing parameters of a spreadsheet.

It does so by offering an array of templates that can be selected for a variety of purposes, from wedding guest lists to fantasy football stats. Data can be viewed in multiple formats, like tables, calendars or widgets. Incorporating multimedia items like photos or videos means that users can do with these spreadsheets whatever they like, for any purpose they see fit.

With an intuitive interface, the target user is the non-technical folks out there that don’t really like the complications of a spreadsheet. Blist spreadsheets are collaborative, web-based tools, so the social aspect of sharing data is built into this application. From the looks of it, blist’s offerings also extend to the construction of queries, meaning this tool has the potential for enabling non-technical users to create tables and perhaps even mashups.

There is a handful of applications out there that are taking on the challenge of creating an easy-to-use, web-based mashup tool that will translate into a high user adoption rate based on a simplified and intuitive process, like Strata. As web surfers find more ways in which to control and use their own information (or third-party information for their own purposes), mashup tools will become an increasingly integrated aspect of our every day use, so tools that help us towards this direction will become more valuable.