Drop.Io Unveils Next Generation Interface Make a Drop
NEW YORK (November 24, 2008) – Drop.io, Inc. (http://drop.io), the simple, private online sharing solution, just became even simpler to use. The company today unveiled a completely overhauled interface, which enhances the user experience, improves functionality and makes drop.io the simplest way to share what you want, how you want, with who you want.
Drop.io has quickly become the web’s most convenient way to privately share images, video, audio, documents and other digital content through unique, user-created and controlled sharing points, called “drops.” Users upload content to drops via web, email, MMS/SMS, Facebook, phone, fax or with the Drag & Drop.io Firefox add-on, and then share the content with friends, family, colleagues, or the general public. Content can also be pushed to various websites, email, MMS/SMS, RSS, Twitter, Facebook, iTunes and fax outputs.
“With drop.io’s private, easy to use inputs, outputs and various modes of access points, sharing is deliberate and thereby frictionless,” said drop.io’s CEO and founder Sam Lessin.
Since its introduction in 2007, drop.io has been adopted by a broad spectrum of users. Drop.io is used by consumers to privately share pictures, videos and documents; teachers and students utilize drop.io to distribute and collect homework assignments and religious groups use drop.io to record and share choir music.
Businesses rely on drop.io, using it as a quick and nimble alternative to cumbersome FTP systems, as well as to quickly create collaborative online workspaces. Creative services, professionals, event planners, news and media organizations use drop.io as a convenient solution for quickly organizing, sharing, and exchanging files with their clients.
Drop.io’s improved interface is in addition to the existing customization feature that allows the appearance of drops to be personalized with custom logos, background patterns and richly formatted text.
The site’s redesign comes on the heels of the release of drop.io Location, the first location-based sharing and publishing platform to provide users the ability to assign digital content in a drop with a physical real-world location (e.g., Times Square). Users can then locate and access available drops via drop.io’s integrated map controls. With drop.io Location, drop.io has linked the physical world with the digital world. Consumers can now locate and access any drop via their desktop, iPhone or BlackBerry device using drop.io’s drop scanner.
Recently, drop.io introduced a Facebook application, called “Files,” that provides users with the ability to easily and privately share all types of digital files with friends and groups without ever leaving the Facebook platform. Harnessing the power of the web’s most expansive social networking site, Files, powered by drop.io, complements the Facebook experience and gives Facebook members the option to control the sharing of photos, videos, audio files and documents with friends, family and like-minded professionals.
Drop.io’s recently released Firefox 3 add-on enables users to instantly create new drops and upload assets by dragging files directly into the browser, bypassing the traditional file upload procedure. Tens of thousands of people have already downloaded the Firefox add-on, which improves the speed and convenience of using drop.io.
A redesigned web uploader feature recently launched, improving performance and allowing users to cancel individual file uploads as well as view their individual progress. With drop.io’s hidden upload feature, files can be added to a drop without revealing the drop’s name. This new feature is especially useful when a one-way private file collection system (drop box) is needed, such as a recruiter collecting resumes from job candidates. Additionally, hidden URLs can now be used to share individual files in a drop without exposing the drop itself.
Improving drop.io’s functionality as a content publishing platform, the subscription management feature provides users with the ability to keep track of which subscribers are following each drop and manage their e-mail, Twitter, and SMS subscriptions accordingly. Customized notification messages are sent when files are added to a drop and email addresses can now be tied to a drop, which helps if the drop name or password has been misplaced.
“I believe we are building the ultimate sharing system, for both personal and business use,” remarked Lessin. “Our goal is to get people to rethink the way they share data and information and to make simple tools to do this in an efficient and private manner.”
Join drop.io CEO and founder, Sam Lessin as he discusses the drop.io redesign and many of the recently released features on a conference call scheduled for Monday at 4 pm EST. More information about the redesign and the conference call can be found at http://drop.io/redesign2008. />
Drop.io would like to thank Roundarch for their assistance in conceptualizing the enhanced interface and user experience.
About drop.io
Drop.io is an easy to use, online file sharing service that provides users with a simple and private way to share images, video, audio, documents and other digital content through unique, user-created and controlled, sharing points called “drops.” In just a few clicks, users are able to seamlessly create personal sharing points, upload content via web, email, mms, Facebook, Firefox extension, phone and fax inputs and then share it with friends, family, and colleagues through drop.io’s various web, email, Twitter, SMS/MMS, iTunes and fax outputs. Each “drop” is non-searchable, non-networked, does not require any type of account registration and can be password-protected and set to expire after a period of time. Drop.io is used by a wide range of users seeking a convenient and secure method for sharing all types of digital content, ranging from mothers sharing baby photos to large companies using “drops” as collaborative workspaces. The company was founded by Sam Lessin in 2007 and has raised $3.9 MM in financing from RRE Ventures and DFJ Gotham.