Google Drive Features – Screencast
Google Drive has more features than I could possibly list, but when it comes to using it for freelancing, there are certainly some highlights. I use Google Drive daily for key tasks that make my life a lot easier and my work more efficient. In this video, I’ll show you how I use Google Drive to:
- Backup my files in real-time
- Share my work with team members
- Collaborate efficiently when needed
- Search for files fast when I need to quickly update or share
Also worth mentioning here is that Google Drive is device agnostic – I can open and edit most files on my phone, laptop, desktop – accessing them from anywhere I have an internet connection. This comes in very handy as a freelancer who has to travel regularly and who has a terrible tendency to lose or break my gadgets.
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anyone have a concern over google taking over nearly every aspect of our work? i’ve not gone through the t.o.s. thoroughly, but is there a possible privacy/ownership issue?
maybe i’m just being paranoid – but i’ve always been hesitant to release sensitive stuff to a third party.
thoughts?
Only problem with google drive is it doesn’t accurately sync items that have bracket symbols in the same. (1) (2) [1] aren’t sync’d as the same file on different computers. Been a bug for over a year now with no fix in sight.
I’m definitely a fan of Google Drive.
As anyone ever used it to share documents with clients? I am curious to see how well it works when working with clients.
James G – there are definitely some privacy issues since you’re entrusting your documents to a service that can be accessed by third parties. However, I’d be less concerned about Google and more concerned about government agencies requesting access to our files in the guise of combatting terrorism. This is of particular concern to those of us outside the United States, as the majority of backup / sharing / collaboration services are US-based and thus under US jurisdiction.
Brandon – I think the fact that Drive is accessible via a web browser means that there are fewer technical barriers to sharing with clients than with a service like Dropbox where you do need to install software in order to use it fully. That said, I expect you may still need to do some hand-holding for less technically-minded clients.
Just another example of why Google+ is going to be the big winner – everything is integrated at an organic level with Google – + is the means by which you will eventually end up sharing and talking about it.
I said this to a friend at #SoCon13 this weekend – if you are not using or investigating Google+ right now you’ve commiting Social Media malpractice.
I use both Google Drive for work stuff and then Dropbox for private stuff. Helps to keep my roles separated.
Alan – Dropbox will let you share stuff with people over the web as well and has it’s own web based interface as well.
One tip I’d recommend is getting “Multi-Factor” authentication working and maybe Justyn might want to demo this. Passwords just aren’t enough to protect you on the web these days.
@Richard – I use two-step verification and a VERY strong password – it’s 99 characters (the max Google lets me use). Totally agree that you should safeguard your info. I’ll look into making a video showing how to set this up.
@Alan and James – you will always have these risks, period. The only solution is to build a private system or buy into one and manage it in-house. For some firms, this is the best solution. Most, like me as a Freelancer, just can’t afford a big system.
@David – I’d recommend not saving files using brackets
But I do no some software packages and OSs do this automatically, so it’s a manual process in those cases. Keep bugging the Google Docs team about it and they’ll get around to it.
Thank you, Justyn! Great videos, you helped me so much!