A highly esteemed colleague in another state recently suggested that we use FolderShare as an alternative to burning and sending a CD or using file transfer protocol to share documents. I had never heard of this free online tool provided by Microsoft, but I like trying new things, so I took it for a spin.
The good news is that it works. The bad news is that it needs a lot more tweaking before the user interface is intuitive and seamless enough to be used by technophobes in the nonprofit sector.
FolderShare is easy to download and install, but using it can be a disconcerting experience to anyone who routinely handles sensitive information and has little intrinsic interest in networks. It's difficult to tell whether FolderShare has been established on the proper drive on one's home network, and which documents are visible to other users. Social workers and other case managers will probably want to hold off for now. When FolderShare has been redesigned for real human beings, it will be a powerful tool.
