Working with a UK search engine optimisation JV partner on a new class? Editing a document for a client and have some questions? Maybe you are co-authoring an information course or an e-book. You could take turns working on a Word document, relying on the “show edits” function to keep track of what’s going on. Your partner might lose the file, though. From time to time you might need to access the document at the same time as your partner is working on it. Or if you want to be able to annotate your additions and changes? Then you need a collaboration tool so you can work with your UK search engine optimisation partners quickly and easily. When choosing a collaboration tool, you want to ask yourself these questions:

* Am I willing to pay or should it be free?
* How many people will I be working with?
* Will this be a one-off situation, or will it be ongoing?
* Will we be mainly writing, brainstorming or working on a different kind of project?
* What programs will we be using?
* Will we be working simultaneously?

When you have answered these questions, you will know which solution to choose. Here are a few popular collaboration tools that many online entrepreneurs have used with great success:

Google Docs

This is a web-based solution that allows you to share files and work on them at the same time. You can choose this option for Word documents, spreadsheets, presentations and drawings. All you need is an Internet connection to your computer and if you have a Google account already, you can be asked to input to this project. You can also chat if users are online at the same time. Go to Docs.Google.com

Acrobat

Most people are familiar with Adobe Acrobat, having used it to read or share .PDF documents. There is more to Acrobat though, with some good collaboration solutions. Using Acrobat, you can share a set of documents in one place, collaborate with several people at once, and access your files from anywhere. You also get web conferencing and many other options. While you can get a simpler version for free, Acrobat is normally priced between $14.99 and $39 per month. Find out more at Acrobat.com

Google Wave

On the cutting edge of this industry is Google Wave. Cross Gmail with Twitter and Wikipedia, and you’ll have an idea of what Google Wave is. Its greatest strength is its users’ ability to see edits in real time. The formatting leaves a little bit to be desired, but there are some good social media tools and if you like to be “in” with the latest technology, this is for you. Google Wave is still in private beta, so even though it is free, you must still be invited and need to have a Google account already. Wave.Google.com is the place for more information.

Writeboard

A subset of 37Signals’ Basecamp, Writeboard is a free service that enables users to collaborate on sharable, web-based text documents. You can make changes easily and compare your results. You can also make comments and track authorship, as well as subscribe to the RSS feed so you can be notified any time someone makes changes. This is the perfect solution for those one off, or individual documents. You can learn more at Writeboard.com

Since most of these options are free, you can test them out on a variety of projects to see what works best for you. Whichever you use, it’ll be sure to make your joint projects easier.