Box.net File Sharing and Collaboration

Here is some cool technology.

I’ve been looking for a way to put some of my many, excessive photos into a simple to use, Flash-based light box, so that I don’t have scroll down for posts with tons of pics.

The problem with a lot of the options out there right now is that they require more programming in either Java script or Flash, than I am capable of.

Then I found Box.  Box is a secure, simple tool for not only putting up your pictures, but also for some other useful stuff like document sharing and collaboration.

You can use Box in your Blogs, your ebay listings – wherever. Box claims to be used by over 1,000,000 people so far and I can understand why.

To see the tool that I’m talking about, you can check it out at Box’s site, here, which demonstrates their cool widget. In fact, this product is worthy of a coveted spot in my “Killer Collaboration Tools” sidebar link.

Here’s box’s elevator pitch:

“Box.net is an online storage and sharing service that gives you access to your files from anywhere. With Box, you can access important documents from your desktop computer, laptop, or even mobile phone. Once you’ve uploaded your files to your online storage on Box, you can also share them with anyone, anytime — Box makes online web file sharing simple.”

I signed up for the free version which gives you 1 gig of storage space.  It worked as planned and was very fast. The first thing you have to do after you create your account is create a folder:

There was nothing that I had to download.  To add pictures or files, all you have to do is drag and drop or upload old school style.

Once the file if uploaded, then you can share it or invite collaborators. A cool feature is that they offer an RSS feed for that folder.

Here’s the link to my shared folder with a picture of a 747 that I took.   Box is also set up with lots of services (like Wordpress integration) to help share the content.

I think Box is a solid answer to a problem that’s been around for years.  The difference, as with all solutions – is in the execution, which Box does well.

To get the Box you can go here.

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