Showing posts with label file sharing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label file sharing. Show all posts
While writing our final research paper for another class this week, my group members and I decided to use an application called "Dropbox" to share files and edit our paper. Dropbox allows users to "drop" any file or document into a designated folder that is then synced with Dropbox's internet service and to any other of the user's computers/devises. These files can also be shared with other users who have Dropbox, and are invited to join a "folder."
I had never heard of this before, so I did some digging to find out how it was started. The story is rather interesting. The founder, Drew Houston, used to forget his USB drive when he was a student at MIT, and therefore never had everything he needed for class. So he tried to solve his problem. Once he figured out how to share files through an application, he decided to market it to other people with similar problems. In its infancy, Steve Jobs tried to buy Dropbox, and Houston actually declined his offer, even though Jobs was his hero. Steve Jobs was bitter, and told him that Dropbox was "a feature, not a product," and would therefore need to be backed by a large company or it would fail. Houston was determined to make his startup work, and he succeeded, as Dropbox is currently valued at over $1 billion. There is also Dropbox applications for smartphones, and you can access the application from any computer by going to its website.
This story illustrates how companies were not addressing a user need - a way to share files between computers or over the internet in an easy way - and how an individual took it upon himself to develop the next big thing while solving a problem through user-innovation. Houston made his product simple enough that the average person could use it, and helped solve many frustrations with file sharing. I am very thankful for his wonderful invention and how it is helping me with my class projects!
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