Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Benjamin Johnson's Blog

Data is the new platform for change.

The surprising social nature of Dropbox

I love dropbox. It's free unless you wish to use massive amounts of storage, it's simple, and it rewards you for evangelizing it. It's to the latter point that I wish to write on.

I have diligently spread the word about the greatness of dropbox and have risen from 2GB of space, the entry point for new users, to a whopping 10.75 gigs - one referral away from the maximum 11. 

Side note: upon reaching the final referral, I have voiced my wishes to dropbox that something magical occurs, involving unicorns.

As I approach the limit of bonus space for dropbox I have come to realize an amazing thing: my dropbox account forms a rather interesting social graph. 

First some facts:
* I have successfully referred 46 people to dropbox
* 9 joined but did not complete (by downloading the program)
* 6 were ineligible (their computer was recognized by dropbox)
* 80.8% of my used space is shared with others
* 8 organizations share folders with me 
* 23 people share folders with me

Here's the interesting thing about the 23 people -- no two are alike. None of them have any way of discerning how many folders I have in total, and who I share them with. We have a set of files we share, and beyond that it is total darkness. 

There's overlaps too. Some of the folders contains groups of people that carry over four out to of the five people -- almost like Google circles or more accurately reflecting the overlap of real-life collaboration -- but again, no two people I share folders with share the exact same folders. 

Add to that: those 23 people I have folders we share with no one else and they share likely share other folders with people I don't know. Or, they share with one or more of the other 22 and not with me!

The greatest part is -- unlike Facebook and other blatantly social applications -- dropbox does not reveal my social network -- even if you're a part of it.

Dropbox is great. And, the world is becoming much more social and collaborative in ways you probably haven't sat down to think of.

PS - Join dropbox and become my final referral by clicking here.

Working from the iPad

I've spent parts of the past two weeks exclusively using the iPad for work. Once for an entire day, several times for four hours at a time, and a few more times while travelling (ferry and airplane). This is my review of that experience.

Tools & Apps used:
~iPad 2
~Miniot iPad cover (for stand)
~wireless keyboard
~wired headphones (for music)

Apps used for work:
~Docs2go 
~Dropbox                      
~Pages (Word alt.)        
~iA Writer
~Numbers (Excel alt.)  
~Analytics 
~Teux Deux 
~iRdesktop
~Calendar  
~Evernote
~Safari 
~Mail

Work done:
~Writing blog posts
~Lots of email 
~Access and edit Google Analytics/Adwords
~Access Fundraising databases via remote server
~Do A/B tests on web pages (using Safari browser)
~Writing business proposals
~Present and review marketing materials (mostly PDFs)
~Review and edit excel files

The short of it: it was great. I was able to work entirely from the iPad with some soreness in my shoulders from looking down on the table and had some difficulty adjusting to life without a mouse. I never need a laptop, but I'm happy to have a desktop computer still.

The long of it: it was an enlightening experience that told me that I can work well on a mobile device and not lose functionality. I was also given a glimpse at a post-mouse world, though it did feel awkward to use the wireless keyboard and then reach to the screen to maneuver around a document. Writing (either emails, notes, or more formal documents) was dead easy, and thanks to apps like Dropbox, Docs2Go, and iRdesktop, I was able to do more complex work with ease. In a couple years I can imagine mobile computing to be significantly more popular than it is now. Next year I expect to  do remote days from the iPad up to once a week. That, and I will  have more expectations of what can be accomplished while I travel from now on.

Biggest benefit: I felt that it was much easier to focus with the iPad since I couldn't have multiple programs on the same screen.

Biggest drawback: the world still has flash so Analytics (the app) does not do Google Analytics a justice. That and I couldn't find a great angle for the iPad to be perfectly comfortable.

Social Mentions

How are you tracking your reach (or popularity) on the internet?

# of followers on Twitter, # of likes on Facebook...

(Audible sigh) You are not alone if you track like this. Short of throwing out too much as an alternative lifestyle of stat crunching, I'd suggest two things:

1 - Social Mention & Other Third Party Sources

Take a look at the screenshot below (of OpenMedia.ca), do you see some fun stats like "unique authors" and "minutes avg. per mention" or even more mundane, but vitally important, retweets. Or, moving over to Facebook (no snapshot) there are stats like "Post Feedback" that show you what the previously mentioned do for Twitter: engagment. Please tell me engagement matters more than anything. If not, please click here.

Screen_shot_2011-10-24_at_9

2 - Google Analytics

This one is likely more advanced, but it's much more important. If you're website isn't the centre of your organization's digital universe then this won't be nearly as applicable (if so, please click the link above). Features like Advanced Segments, conversions, and ecommerce will help you assess the power your tweeting, posting, and such has. 

In short, social websites aren't about having a Posse, it's about moving large or small groups of people with a similar interest to acheive a common goal. Please make your goal something substantial.