YouSendIt.Com- A New Way To Send Attachments- A Computer Mediated Communication Tool

YouSendIt.Com- A New Way To Send Attachments- A Computer Mediated Communication Tool

The past summer, I interned with PepsiCo in Purchase, NY. There were various tools that were used to ensure easy communication throughout the office and the myriad of other locations where PepsiCo employees operate, both nationally and internationally. One of the computer mediated communication tools that was frequently in use in our office, was our YouSendIt.com account. Have you ever had a file to send that was too large to successfully send over your regular email account? Did you ever have to disfigure your projects or presentations and send them in smaller parts in order to successfully send the materials to your desired recipient? If so, then this is a computer mediated communication tool that would be extremely useful for you.

What It Is?

YouSendIt.com is a Web-based digital file delivering company. One of this tool’s many assets is that it lets users securely send and receive large files and, also, track pending files on demand. According to Crunchbase.com “YouSendIt, Inc is the first cloud collaboration service to offer an integrated approach for sending, sharing and signing documents online.” YouSendIt highlights its assets using three categories on it’s ‘features’ page. It claims:

- Send Files: easily send and receive content with the comfort of email without the hassle of inbox limits. Simply send it- its ‘email easy’ from the web, desktop or mobile device. Big files no problem- send your big ideas without email limits on file size. Upgrade to business class- online tracking, access control and security features included

- Share Folders: Wherever you go, there they are… cloud based folders for you and your team, at work and on the go. Simply save it- straight to your cloud folders, as you work, with unlimited storage. Work where you need to- sync your files and folders for access offline and on mobile devices. Share the goodness- easily invite colleagues and customers to share and collaborate

- Sign Documents- get business done online. Sign documents online with your keyboard, mouse or mobile touch screen. Simply sign it- sign right from your Smartphone, tablet, web or desktop. Forget the fax- sign the deals wherever you are, without the print and fax-it slowdown. Fill it out- preview documents and fill out forms with typed text inserts.

This file-sharing tool is an alternate to sending attachments using FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or sending CDs, DVDs or USBs via ‘Sneakernets’. A sneakernet is an ‘informational term describing the transfer of electronic information, especially computer files, by physically couriering removable media such as magnetic tape, floppy disks, compact discs, USB flash drives, or external hard drives from one computer to another.’ This company ‘operates on a freemium basis, with basic features being offered for free and more advanced features for a fee.’ Freemium is defined according to Wikipedia, as “a business model that works by offering a product or service free of charge (typically digital offerings such as software, content, games, web services or other) while charging a premium for advanced combining the two aspects of the business model: ‘free’ and ‘premium’.” For example, sending a 50MB file is free, however with a paid account, the user can send files up to 2 GB.

Web 3.0

YouSendIt.com has reached the Web 3.0 level, building upon the advancements of Web 1.0 and 2.0, YouSendIt.com can now be accessed on mobile devices, allowing for users to access the content on the web while they are on the go. According to Crunchbase.com “with over 20 million registered users in 193 countries, YouSendIt helps enterprises and business professionals streamline collaboration by enabling them to instantly sync and access content in the cloud and easily send files, share folders and sign documents from anywhere- the desktop, Web or mobile devises. YouSendIt offers a suite of productivity tools that integrate seamlessly into common desktop and mobile environments.”

History

YouSendIt.com was “founded on July 7, 2003 by Amir Shaikh, Khalid Shaikh and Ranjith Kumaran with the goal of finding a way to send files from one entity to another. In the beginning stages, YouSendIt was using HTTP-Tunnel Corp resources, including equipment, data center and R&D to build the company.” Their funding and user following has grown massively since this website’s launch. “YouSendIt received their first round of funding due to giving presentations at TieCon 2004 in May. At this point, YouSendIt had about 300,000 transfers per day. Most individuals were sharing files through YouSendIt and it created a viral growth.”

YouSendIt has enormous funding growth as well. According to Wikipedia, this website’s funding grew massively from it’s foundation in 2004:

§ YouSendIt sold equity for $250k (Cambrian Ventures) - August 1, 2004

§ YouSendit sold equity for $5 million (Alloy Ventures, Sevin Rosen, Stanford Venture Fund, Cambrian Ventures) - SEC filing October 7, 2005

§ YouSendit sold equity for $4.7 million - SEC filing October 25, 2006

§ YouSendit sold equity for $10 million - SEC filing April 23, 2007

§ YouSendit sold equity for $14 million - SEC filing July 15, 2008

§ YouSendIt Inc. secures $15 million in Series D Financing - August 3, 2010

How It Works?

When sending the desired files, the sender can enter the recipient’s e-mail addresses, attach the file and send it. It is extremely simple and easy to navigate. When the recipient receives the e-mail, there is a URL inside, once they click on the URL it lets them download the file. “Although YouSendIt” links are frequently posted to blogs, forums and other websites, the company has recently marketed itself as a method of business communication.” This file-sharing tool offers, four kinds of plans for varying users:

- 1. Lite: free service for sending files to friends and family; supported by advertising that appears on the upload and download pages

- 2. Pro: paid service for important documents, with basic file delivery tracking

- 3. Business Plus: paid service for businesses, with advanced file delivery tracking; provides branding and password protection

- 4. Corporate Suite: paid service, allows addition of multiple users, administrative controls, reporting, payment-by-invoice, etc.

“YouSendIt also offers application plug-ins (Software plus services) for Microsoft Outlook, Adobe Photosho[, CoreIDRAW, Apple Aperture, WinZip, PaperPort, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, iPhoto, Final Cut Pro, YouSendIt Express and other programs. To deal with files larger than 2GB (a browser limitation) it offers a desktop client that lets the users send files up to 10GB in size.”

Recently In The News

On May 26, 2011 Fast Company showcased YouSendIt.com in an article entitled ‘YouSendIt Hits 30 million Users, Bests Dropbox.’ This article contends that “the Campbell, California-based company surpassed 30 million unique users in the past 12 months… the goosed growth comes on the heels of YouSendIt’s partnership with Yahoo Mail, which helped add a million users in roughly two months.” The article continues to boast about this file-sharing tool, “with 60% revenue growth in 2010, however, it appears YouSendIt is defining its market position well in the wild, wild, west of the cloud industry. Still, while YouSendIt has chosen to highlight total unique users, the real proof of a company’s success is its registered and premium usership. Currently, YouSendIt has 400,000 paid subscribers and 18 million registered users.”

Finally, I believe that YouSendIt.com is a great way to simplify communication between co-workers, friends and family. This company has advanced and evolved greatly since it was established in 2004. I believe that there are various benefits to using this website and if you find yourself sending large documents frequently than this website could definitely help you to send your attachments in one piece.