5 ms·

I love dropbox, but if google release basically the same thing, how are dropbox going to survive?

mikebo 18y ago
I agree with you in some ways. When it comes to online storage/sync, there is a significant element of trust involved. I wonder both about security of the data and whether or not the company itself will be around in several years.
GavinB 18y ago
1) Be a better piece of software 2) Get acquired by someone who wants to compete with Google 3) Have enough customers to stay profitable even if Google has a larger userbase. Google doesn't have a monopoly, even in its core offerings like search and e-mail. There will always be space for other players.
unalone 18y ago
I would suspect that Dropbox has a pretty fanatic group of fans out there. I'm one: Dropbox saved my ass when Boot Camp wrecked my hard drive. 7 years of documents were all saved, even though I'd deleted them from Dropbox previously. That's an incredible service. I recommend it to everybody who needs a good way to store stuff online, or share stuff. Google isn't omnipotent. Orkut was a terrible social network because they just didn't get what to do. I'd guess same goes with that animated world they made that just recently closed. While they're powerful, it's really hard to beat out a truly stellar product, and Dropbox is one of the best I've seen.
- lacker 18y ago
  Not that I like or use Orkut, but keep in mind it's the #1 social network in some countries. The story has to be a bit more complicated than "it's terrible, they just didn't get it."
  - unalone 18y ago
    I've never understood why it's so popular in those countries. It really is an awful site, and they really don't get it. Given a choice between Orkut and MySpace, most people would go for the featureset in MySpace first. Orkut v. Facebook is a goodbye-Google slaughter.
    - owkaye 18y ago
      I've never understood why it's so popular in those countries. That's probably because you don't understand the cultures of those countries. Just because something is attractive to an American does NOT mean it's going to be attractive to everyone else in the world. When a specific social networking site becomes popular somewhere, it may just be that it provides a user experience that the folks in that place truly value.
- nickb 18y ago
  It's hard to compete with free. Google can afford to undercut Dropbox.
  - run4yourlives 18y ago
    Many people view free as a reason not to use a service. Clearly, if I was going to use the service as disaster recovery, I'd pay for dropbox. (I use dropbox for free right now)
    - nickb 18y ago
      Google's services are synonymous with free. I don't see many people freaked out by it. Competing with Google is like competing with MS in '90s... a really hard proposition.
      - run4yourlives 18y ago
        I don't see many people freaked out by it. Depends on your circle really. For personal stuff, I make full use of google. However for anything business related my leash of trust would be a lot shorter. I'd feel much more comfortable to pay for a service that gives me someone to blame/sue should the response to a disaster be less than adequate. You really just don't get this with google.
  - unalone 18y ago
    I don't pay for Dropbox. Its free service is more than enough for me.
    - nickb 18y ago
      Will you switch if Google offers you more space and better integration with their apps? Imagine being able to access & edit your Gdrive files from Google Docs and Gmail, for example. I think this is where Google's going with this.
      - unalone 18y ago
jamesbritt 18y ago
Whichever has the better, broader Linux support gets my business. Last I looked, Dropbox required I use Nautilus, whereas I prefer Konqueror (I'm running Kubuntu).

I agree with you in some ways. When it comes to online storage/sync, there is a significant element of trust involved. I wonder both about security of the data and whether or not the company itself will be around in several years.

GavinB 18y ago

1) Be a better piece of software 2) Get acquired by someone who wants to compete with Google 3) Have enough customers to stay profitable even if Google has a larger userbase. Google doesn't have a monopoly, even in its core offerings like search and e-mail. There will always be space for other players.

unalone 18y ago

I would suspect that Dropbox has a pretty fanatic group of fans out there. I'm one: Dropbox saved my ass when Boot Camp wrecked my hard drive. 7 years of documents were all saved, even though I'd deleted them from Dropbox previously. That's an incredible service. I recommend it to everybody who needs a good way to store stuff online, or share stuff. Google isn't omnipotent. Orkut was a terrible social network because they just didn't get what to do. I'd guess same goes with that animated world they made that just recently closed. While they're powerful, it's really hard to beat out a truly stellar product, and Dropbox is one of the best I've seen.

lacker 18y ago
Not that I like or use Orkut, but keep in mind it's the #1 social network in some countries. The story has to be a bit more complicated than "it's terrible, they just didn't get it."
- unalone 18y ago
  I've never understood why it's so popular in those countries. It really is an awful site, and they really don't get it. Given a choice between Orkut and MySpace, most people would go for the featureset in MySpace first. Orkut v. Facebook is a goodbye-Google slaughter.
  - owkaye 18y ago
    I've never understood why it's so popular in those countries. That's probably because you don't understand the cultures of those countries. Just because something is attractive to an American does NOT mean it's going to be attractive to everyone else in the world. When a specific social networking site becomes popular somewhere, it may just be that it provides a user experience that the folks in that place truly value.
nickb 18y ago
It's hard to compete with free. Google can afford to undercut Dropbox.
- run4yourlives 18y ago
  Many people view free as a reason not to use a service. Clearly, if I was going to use the service as disaster recovery, I'd pay for dropbox. (I use dropbox for free right now)
  - nickb 18y ago
    Google's services are synonymous with free. I don't see many people freaked out by it. Competing with Google is like competing with MS in '90s... a really hard proposition.
    - run4yourlives 18y ago
      I don't see many people freaked out by it. Depends on your circle really. For personal stuff, I make full use of google. However for anything business related my leash of trust would be a lot shorter. I'd feel much more comfortable to pay for a service that gives me someone to blame/sue should the response to a disaster be less than adequate. You really just don't get this with google.
- unalone 18y ago
  I don't pay for Dropbox. Its free service is more than enough for me.
  - nickb 18y ago
    Will you switch if Google offers you more space and better integration with their apps? Imagine being able to access & edit your Gdrive files from Google Docs and Gmail, for example. I think this is where Google's going with this.
    - unalone 18y ago

jamesbritt 18y ago

Whichever has the better, broader Linux support gets my business. Last I looked, Dropbox required I use Nautilus, whereas I prefer Konqueror (I'm running Kubuntu).