Drop.io Archive

I participate in a good number of “virtual” conferences mainly software demos from companies that either want some feedback or are pitching a story. Most of the conferences use either WebEx or GoToMeeting. Today on the nextNY list, David Reinke from StyleHop asked for some alternatives that are either free or lower cost than GoToMeeting and/or WebEx. The group provided a few suggestions and they are listed below.

Adobe Acrobat Connect Now

Hank Williams suggested Adobe Acrobat Connect Now which provides a free service up to 3 participants. For over 3 and up to 1,500 the Pro version is available for $0.32/min/user. The tools include remote control, whiteboard, desktop sharing, video conferencing and unique meeting URLs. I’ve only used the tool once and if I remember we had some issues getting the meeting running but after it started all went smoothly.

Yugma

Yugma was my suggestion and an application we reviewed back in January 2007. Yugma offers Skype integration, desktop sharing, teleconferencing, file storage and meeting recording. Yugma runs using Java. Up to 20 participants is free and Pro plans start at $15 and go up to $180/month. I like Yugma because there’s no app to install unlike WebEx and the various times I’ve used the service, it’s worked well.

DimDim

Peter Chislett offered up DimDim as an alternative suggestion. Peter notes, “All features (video, screen sharing, voice, document sharing, whiteboard, etc.) are no-fee for an audience of 20, pro-version
thereafter. Webcam is limited to one in the free version.” The Pro version is available at $20/month for meetings up to 50 people. DimDim offers a slick widget to allow site and blog visitors to participate in a conference call or meeting. DimDim is available as open source so you can add it to your own applications.

Do you use one of the three above or another solution? Leave your thoughts in the comments and I will add them to the post.

Late last week I was contacted by Drop.io co-founder Sam Lessin to check out their newest launch. Today their updated file sharing platform went live — you can read about the updates on ArsTechnica and on the Drop.io blog. The basic idea is that files you upload are available to people you’ve shared the "file drop" with instantly along with the ability to chat on any file drop.

As I was sitting in the barber chair this morning reading the various posts on the launch, one thing appeared to be missing from every post. The missing piece in all of the posts is that Drop.io’s business model is based on upgrades. For drop.io, more drops is really meaningless except for a stat to share with the media. The key is getting people to either pay to upgrade the size of their file drops or get companies into their "manager" program which is also fee-based.

I am curious as to whether today’s updates will push people into either paid option listed above. The more I thought about it on the subway, I couldn’t find a solution that pointed to yes. The new features will certainly be used which is great for overall system usage.

When you offer a freemium model, the key should always be to push users into the paid options. Conversion is of utmost importance. Unlike most services, Drop.io isn’t showing ads to their free users making those accounts completely free of revenue.

I am sure that Sam has a plan with regards to pushing people into upgrades that will generate revenue for the company. I am sharing my thoughts here because getting users moved into paid plans is a question I am often asked. I continue to believe that if you are offering a freemium model, you need to offer as little as possible to keep people using the service for free while always trying to push them to upgrade. At the same time, you should always give your free customers a taste of what’s available behind the pay wall.

NY-based private file sharing service Drop.io has announced the launch of geo-location based drops. The concept works like this — you upload files into your drop. Once uploaded you can tag the drop with a location. Users can search on locations and drops that are set as public will be returned. Some examples would include: "Grand Central", "London’s Speaker’s Corner" or "Berlin Ubahn". For this new location service to be effective, they will need a large number of drops to identify their location so searches return actual results.

The Drop.io Location functionality utilizes Skyhook Wireless’ Loki JavaScript API for the location detection services. Drop.io’s CEO Sam Lessin says today’s launch could help drive a "location-publishing platform".

This new location service is an interesting change for Drop.io. When the service launched, everything was about privacy and the private nature of drops. The idea was that the only way to find a drop was to know the specific URL. Today’s location announcement changes that - drops can now be indexed…will they be indexed in Google next?

Check out our video interview with the Drop.io team along with all of our Drop.io coverage.

Update: Drop.io CEO Sam Lessin left a comment which I thought those of you on the feed might be interested in. "just to clarify, drops cannot be indexed by search or otherwise… we have measures in place to block that from http://location.drop.io just as we do on the core site. Users don’t need to set a location, so the total privacy/publicity of dropped content remains 100% at the users control across the full spectrum.

the feature will be live momentarily and a full explanation is at http://drop.io/dropiolocation/

we are very very excited about this new feature and it will become an interesting new flexible way to use drop.io simple private sharing platform"

NY-based private file sharing service Drop.io announced today the launch of a new view into the files you upload into "drops". The new view is called system view and allows for a variety of new file viewing options. The new system view interface includes: thumbnail and details views,shortcut keys, and multi-select functionality.

Drop.io also integrated PicLens for immersive gallery view. PicLens creates a very slick image slideshow. Check out the PicLens review on ReadWriteWeb from earlier this year. 

Drop.io also launched a variety of new features including: multi-asset moves, mp3 updates and a business card creator.

Check out our exclusive video interview with the Drop.io founders. Here’s a screenshot of what the new Drop.io system view looks like:

Tuesday morning - last slots open now - see details for registration below.

I am very excited to announce that the next CenterNetworks party will be held on June 26, 2008 at Drop.io’s brand new headquarters right over the Brooklyn Bridge. The party is a joint production of CN and Drop.io and is sponsored by RRE Ventures.

It should be a great evening of networking with some of the top names and talent in the NYC Web scene. There will also be mood rooms including a Wii room with bowling contest (ya’all are going down), a Rock Band room and a karaoke room.

No demos, and no cover charge - just fun. Oh yea, and the best part - Grimaldi’s pizza! 

To RSVP, send an email to rsvp@dropio.com and include your name and company. We are opening 75 slots today and will continue to open more over the next few days so everyone has a chance to get in.

Details:

• Date: June 26, 2008
• Time: 6-9 pm
• Location: Drop.io HQ
• Directions: http://drop.io/worldhq

The drop.io team and I look forward to seeing you next week!

This morning I headed down to DUMBO (a neighborhood in Brooklyn) to check out the new Drop.io office. It’s a great loft-style space that looks like the team can easily expand past their current headcount.

CN was the first media outlet to cover Drop.io on their alpha launch last November. Drop.io is a private, discreet file sharing service. This means you can share files with only the people you want. The most simple example is a designer who wants to show his or her sketches to their client without putting them on a public file server. Drop.io handles nearly all media types and offers a variety of methods to view the files including rss, mobile and a new embed option for videos.

Drop.io uses a variety of Amazon tools on the backend and in the interview below they note that Drop.io users have already stored several terabytes of data. What makes this even more significant is that Drop.io expires data — so the reported figures are "active" stats.

One of the issues Drop.io faces is gaining brand awareness. Drop.io may have trouble getting brand recognition becuase its content is all private unlike other file sharing services which promote themselves as people share the content stored on the service.

Darshan and Sam have provided CN with ten free premium upgrade codes. Leave your information in the comments (do not leave your email in the comment, just in the email field) and I will send you an upgrade code.

Check out my interview below with co-founders Darshan Somashekar and Sam Lessin.

Last night at a secret location in NYC, file sharing service Drop.io held their launch party. The biggest names in NYC tech came out for the party which was held on the snowiest day in NYC in years. Mashable’s Pete Cashmore and CNET’s Caroline McCarthy were part of the all-star jounalists to show up as well. There is a drop setup for the party with photos, videos and other media. Check out all of our previous drop.io coverage.

Here are some photos from the evening (all photos):

Huge banner outside at the secret location

The Drop.io Team - love the 80s Sheena Easton headbands!

McCarthy, Cashmore and some Random Dude