Friday, October 25, 2013

Issue 192 Cloud Computing on the cheap October 25, 2013


Popular Mechanics has provided an interesting guide on how to create your own cloud based collaborative file sharing website. So let’s get right into it.

What to do first: You need to grab online memory for file storage. This memory is used to store any and all information that you need and/or want to share with the other members of a team. DropBox, Box, SkyDrive and Google Drive (listed in the article) give out free space for file sharing. Things like Facebook also provide a certain amount of space for all the information that you may want to share.

Next step: Now you need a group website. There are free templates that offer such a service like Moonfruit, and Weebly. The ones listed here can be used to make an entire website, so Popular Mechanics recommends sites like these being used to support a business or a movie.

If you just need to post text, videos, and photos, Popular Mechanics suggests using a blog type format. So things like Google Blogger and WordPress would be prime examples. Each one supports the ability to allow multiple authors, and have an administrative hierarchy. The WordPress site has a paid version that also grants even greater control.

Wiki's also count as a tool for cloud computing as anyone can add to it, or edit it. So they are to be used for knowledge based, community website or a private site or basically anything that requires constant changes. This format differs from a blog which uses a time line as it instead represents the last user’s way of thinking. Using Wiki's you can create dedicated sites to any particular topic. Wiki can be downloaded easily for free to your computer or server. Add-ons can be applied to allow the installation of various types of programs. Then all you have to do is grant people the right to edit and modify the pages. Popular Mechanics suggests that you can keep the information relevant by hosting group discussions while another person searches the site to look for errors, and maintain style and consistency.

Final Step: Once the site is made, you must find people who will help contribute to it. In the article it says to look for people with similar styles of writing or creative styling. From there you may branch off as the site grows. In general, an individual will take charge when needed to get whatever projects need to get done. So forcing yourself to be a project leader is not necessary.

Conclusion: There you have it, simple ways to share information. Such information may be specialized or be restricted to say music or photos. Other times it can be broad like an encyclopedia (like Wiki). The sky is the limit when it comes to topics or applications, so it is up to you to take advantage of the system. Google Blogger which we are on right now is free. So is Facebook, its competitor. Both have the capacity to share endless amounts of information, but it is up to you to decide what, when and how. Good luck in your own website building and endeavors.

No comments:

Post a Comment