Web 2.0 works to solve problems

Every marketing firm must have the same set of buzzword stamps they use, inking every product with Green and Collaboration and Easy to Use and Do More With Less, often tagged additionally with the ever popular Web 2.0. Since the Web 2.0 buzzword long ago became so vague as to be useless, let me introduce you to three companies that solve Real World 1.0 problems with the help of Web 2.0 technology: YouSendIt, EchoSign, and Casdex.

Let's start with YouSendIt, in Campbell Calif., although being Web 2.0, “where” doesn't really matter. YouSendIt focuses on one function: sending large files you can't send via e-mail. Just about everyone has tried to send some file, maybe a bloated PowerPoint file with too many transitions and added sounds like a cash register ca-ching, and had it bounced back by an e-mail server.

“From the very beginning, there are three things users try to do with those files before they find us,” said Ranjith Kumaran, CTO and founder of YouSendIt. “First, they try to chop the file up, but then the recipient has trouble putting it back together. Then they try to use an FTP server, but either they or the recipient has trouble. Finally they give up, burn it to a CD or DVD, and FedEx it.”

YouSendIt allows people to send files up to 2GBs in size and tracks the delivery of those files to all their recipients. You fill out the e-mail address of the recipients, your e-mail address for the delivery notification, and upload the file or files.

YouSendIt sends an e-mail with the download details to your recipient. They also encrypt the connection during the upload and download process. Using the “freemium” model (oops, another buzzword stamp), you can try the service free for files under 100MBs.

“Our slogan is send, receive, track,” said Kumaran. “Rather than approach this from the storage and security angle, we approached it from the ease of use angle.”

So far, YouSendIt has over 100,000 paying customers and over 8.5 million registered users. In true Web 2.0 fashion, news spread virally. Mostly, the news spread because every person you send a file too discovers how well the system works, and they sign up as well.

“We have over 800 corporate customers since we started YouSendIt Express,” said Kumaran. “Every one of those customers came to us because employees used us and spread the word to their companies.”

Rather than try to add bells and whistles, Kumaran focuses on adding ways for users to more easily access YouSendIt. Their desktop-based Express software bypasses the need to use the browser and connects directly to YouSendIt servers. Express adds some other features, like automatically compressing files and better network interruption recovery. Over a million Express downloads tell Kumaran customers like the feature.

“Our Outlook plug-in is the second most popular feature,” said Kumaran. “Over half of our corporate customers use this.” Companies can set the file limits for attachments and automatically route files via YouSendit rather than trying to e-mail them. Users don't have to leave Outlook, and they don't have to decide how to handle large attachments, because the system takes care of it for them.