5 Cool Things You Can Do with ShareNow.Com

It's Social Networking and File Sharing, but Not as We Know It

A quick look at some of the things you didn't know you could do on ShareNow.com

I've been following ShareNow since its early days (when it was called izimi), through its troubled days where it lost one of its treasured team members - Stephan Miller to Rocky the Bear, right up to the uber.com-saving present.

One thing's for sure, there's always something going down at ShareNow and it never stops evolving; it's becoming a cool place to be, partly thanks to the Internet celebs (especially Chris Crocker) who seem to have found their way there, and partly because of the neat things it can do for you. Here are my Top 5:

1. Somewhere to put those files that others may need

Every user has a Media page on ShareNow and onto this, they can put an unlimited number of files of any type. If they click the 'Downloadable?' tick box when uploading, then others can download them whenever they need them. This really is SO much easier than sending e-mails with attachments. It's free file hosting really. When they say, "I've lost that file you sent me - can you send it to me again?" you can just say, "It's on my ShareNow media page." Nice!

In fact it goes one better because you can even arrange your files into folders. ShareNow folders don't function like Windows folders in that each file can appear in more than one folder simulataneously i.e. all uploaded files are permanent members of the (unfoldered) Media page which could be considered the root folder, but then each file can be a made to be a member of any number of folders. So you could put that photo you took of your dad in New York during his birthday party into your 'Family' folder as well as your 'New York', 'Dad's Birthday Party' and 'My Dad' folders simply by making that file a member of those folders. And there's no limit on the number of folders you can create AND each folder has its own URL. This is very handy when you want to, for example, show others your collection of files from an event. Since ShareNow allows you to share any type of file, it also has great business application e.g. you can upload all the files others need for a project such as videos, Word doc, PDFs - anything, all in one place ready to be downloaded when needed. It is also very handy as a media tool for anyone sending press releases. The release can include a link to a folder comprising a selection of photos, videos and reports referred to in the release - far too much data to attach to an e-mail - that the media may need. This link, for example http://www.sharenow.com/relations/folders/176/ is where its owner (Miracle Drywash) directs the media for its high res product shots.

2. Group-level security

If you have some files that are not for public consumption, but are just for certain friends or work colleagues, ShareNow offers a group-based security level that is really useful. "What's wrong with just the 'friends-only' permission tag you can give files in ShareNow?" I hear you ask. Well, due to your gregarious nature, in all the social network sites you have accounts, you've already accepted friendship requests from all sorts of people, even those you don't know from Adam, right? Well, that's where ShareNow's group-level permission setting comes in very handy. You can create an unlimited number of groups, and each file can simultaneously be a member of several - so, for example, the files you put in both the 'Staff' and 'Management' groups become viewable only by Staff and Management, but those files in the 'Management' group alone are only viewable by Management.

3. Auditions & competitions

Want to launch a competition or hold an audition? ShareNow has the perfect tool built in - called a Sharewall or Casting wall. They provide a place where others can submit their files as their competition or audition entries. Here are some notable examples:

• Kings of Rap - http://www.sharenow.com/graffiti/wall/1276/
• DJ David Rolas - http://www.sharenow.com/graffiti/wall/9712/
• The Other Hef - http://www.sharenow.com/graffiti/wall/378/
• International Model Search - http://www.sharenow.com/casting/detail/1/
• Mode Models - http://www.sharenow.com/casting/detail/4/

4. Bookmarking embed code

A new feature that has just appeared in ShareNow is the ability to bookmark the files you find in ShareNow in Digg, StumbleUpon, Delicious, MyWebYahoo and GoogleBookmarks. The copying and pastung of the URL is no longer needed.

That's going to save me some time!

5. Full Customization

When you want to show your real identity on your page, with ShareNow, you can really go to town! Here are some highly customized examples:

• Somaya Reece - http://www.sharenow.com/relations/profile/missreece/
• Kings of Rap - http://www.sharenow.com/relations/profile/kingsofrap/
• Curtis Young - http://www.sharenow.com/relations/profile/mrcurtisyoung/
• Christian Audigier - http://www.sharenow.com/relations/profile/christianaudigier/ 

What don't I like about ShareNow?

I think it could do with a gallery view and slideshow for images, but that looks like it's already on the way, according to http://www.sharenow.com/blog/post/2149/

Verdict: I would keep an eye on this emerging site if I were you as I think it has a lot more in store.