File Sharing and Storage for Real Estate Agents: Google Docs vs. Dropbox
| February 11, 2011 | Posted by Sandie under Real Estate |
The real estate business has changed. With the development of the internet, smart phones, and the jumble of web sites and services meant to make life easier, the hard part becomes figuring out which site, service or device is worth using. This post will compare two file sharing services, Google Docs and Dropbox.
Google Docs: If you already have a g-mail account, you don’t have to sign up again or create any kind of account in order to have access to Google Docs. Google Docs is free. Need extra storage? It’ll cost you just 25 cents per GB per year. To use Google Docs, you must manually upload or download files from your hard drive. The lack of a syncing feature is its main drawback. The Google service does offer several useful features for sharing and editing documents including the ability to invite others to view, invite others to edit, email the doc as an attachment, and get a link to the file to share with others.
Dropbox: It’s easy to create a Dropbox account, but it does require that you take the time to do so. With Dropbox you get 2GB free storage. Go beyond that and you have to pay. There are options for upgrading your storage, including a monthly fee of $9.99 for 50GB and $19.99 for 100 GB. What Dropbox does that Google can’t is automatically sync the content of a special folder on your hard drive with the web and any other folders. There is no need to manually upload and download files like with Google Docs. When you start your computer, Dropbox automatically syncs it all.
So, which service should you use for file storage and sharing? It really depends on how you’ll be using it, how much you think you’ll be using it, and how much money you’re willing to shell out to get the service you desire.
If you’re an agent who has a preference for either of these services, feel free to comment on our blog and share your experience with other readers!
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