Let me tell you a quick story and then get into where I could have used Dropbox, the ultimate free online storage resource.
So, last year at Photoshop World in Vegas I am hanging out with a great fellow photog, Eric Doggett, we are talking photo stuff and getting into and then Jeremy Cowert walks by. If you have not seen his work you should probably take a look, it is incredible! Eric stops Jeremy and starts making conversation with him, I can tell they have known each other for a while by the casual conversation they were having about business as usual. I am standing there with my hands in my pockets and Jeremy introduces himself, we exchange names and start up small talk. I mentioned I was into HDR, Jeremy seemed interested and then the kicker, he says, ” Cool sounds interesting I’d like to see your stuff, do you have it on you?”
“No” I reply.
“Aw man , that is a shame man, I would have really liked to have seen it. You should always carry that stuff on you.”
There I was with a smart phone in my pocket, but I was too dumb to use it to it’s potential!
Well I am not so dumb after all, it turns out I just wasn’t using a resource that my brother, Tim, had been harping on me for at least the last 2 years… Dropbox. It is an awesome free website that you can upload anything to for online style storage. Sounds familiar to many other storage websites right? Maybe, but check out these key points and features specific to Dropbox:
- You start out with 2 Gigs of space and can upgrade to more if you like or refer friends to get more space.
- You can download a drop box folder to your PC and dump the files directly into the Dropbox folder. At which time, Dropbox will auto sync and upload the photos to your storage on the site.
- You can download an App for your mobile device that allows you constant access to anything in your Dropbox.
- You can auto sync your phone to your Dropbox that will automatically put pictures and video into the your storage which can then be accessed by using the Dropbox or wait for to… the Dropbox folder on your PC… no more messing around with cables and cords or emails to get your phone images off of your phone.
So if you read the story, I have remedied my epic failure with Dropbox. I now have a folder on my Phone titled HDR Photos that I access through my Dropbox app. So when the next Jeremy Cowert asks me, “Hey can I see your HDR protfolio” I can reply, “Sure thing let me whip out my Dropbox!”
Thanks big brother! I finally listened to you Timmy (yes I just publicly called you Timmy)!
For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
One other quick story on the same line. Businesses will have different needs thats specific to their requirements. But in this world of content overload, do we actually manage our content effectively. No.
Businesses used to lose track of important content from time to time. Then came the above mentioned solution which was doing wonders with content. They started running for it without knowing their needs and analyzing it. Now comes the real problem, security.
They suddenly realized security issues are really important and have to be taken care. But do these solutions offer security to your sensitive content. A BIG NO.
We have been using Dropbox for a while and after realising the same way as above, we have moved to a more secure solution SyncBlaze. With syncblaze, we manage our contents and we are having a secured smile all together.
For businesses I would totally agree, but for us folks who just need to transfer stuff back and forth and have the luxury of all devices to view them on, Dropbox is great!
Hey, Blake–Good points, I’m glad I dropped in, today! One of the features I’ve enjoyed most about my free Dropbox account is the ability to share files quickly with others. Many of my relatives are getting up there in age, and if you’re not real tech-savvy, even browsing to load files is a chore. I’ve installed Dropbox on the computers of several of my older loved ones and can now share, almost instantly, the pictures that I know they’d want to see.
Some may find it intrusive that Dropbox loads the contents of a “shared” folder without both parties instantaneous permission, but for some of us, this works out great. You can teach anyone to drag and drop files into their “shared” Dropbox folder much more easily than explaining the root directory of the “C” drive. 🙂
Take care, and keep ’em comin’!……Mitch
My family and I do that too Mitch, my brother definitely more so than I, but I am getting there. It is an awesome way to share photos with families, I am surprised they haven’t marketed that avenue yet. Family Dropbox plans… I may be onto something!
I totally agree with you Blake. I meant the same way, for personal use Dropbox is great and for our business use SyncBlaze is great. Cheers.