There are so many things I need to learn that even my What I Want to Learn list takes a sideroad.

  • That’s what happened when I wrote my Cloud Computing post
  • It’s how I ended up with the following guest post

Being the smart person I am, I jumped at Sharon Hurley Hall’s offer to write a guest post about how she uses cloud computing.

Sharon is one of the most gifted, generous writers I know. She is another of my treasured social media friends.

While I’m off walking 60 miles to stomp out breast cancer, please welcome my friend, Sharon, and enjoy her excellent guest post.

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Working in the Cloud: A Case Study

by Sharon Hurley Hall

 

When I read Cathy’s recent post on the pros and cons of working in the cloud, it made me think about how much my life as a writer has changed in a few short years, because I couldn’t operate effectively now without the cloud.

Before I explain my setup, let me say that I don’t just work in the cloud. In fact, I have a physical desktop PC where I do most of my work when I’m at home and a laptop for use when I’m on the road.

For me, the cloud is useful in three main situations.

1. As a backup

Is anyone old enough to have worked in an office where you had to run a backup machine to tape every night?

Blog Owner’s Note: Good thing I’m not around or I would have to answer that question.

In the old days, backing up your writing was pretty much like that, if you substituted a range of media for the DAT drive.

I’ve backed up to –

  • Floppies
  • CDs
  • DVDs

Each time it was a pain in the rear, because it was one more task to add to my day. Enter the cloud and that hassle is a thing of the past.

Here’s how it works.

  • Download a cloud backup desktop application – I have used Syncplicity and am now using SugarSync – both are good
  • Select the folders you want to backup – I include my client folder as a priority
  • Backup – set it and forget it – Every time you change a file the updated version will upload automatically

A Question of Trust

People always wonder about data security and whether it really works.

Being a paranoid sort when it comes to data (a crashed laptop is what led me to my current cloud backup situation), I periodically check to make sure it is working by navigating to the web interface and looking at what’s in the desktop section.

I use my desktop as a temporary holding pen so if those files are uploaded I know the cloud backup is ok.

That said, anything can fail, so I also backup my backup with a weekly backup to a portable hard disk. Again, I’ve made it easy by using a Clickfree cable.

And in terms of security, here’s what I do:

  • I make sure that my cloud backup has a unique password, generated by a program (I use LastPass)
  • That means it will be hard for anyone to guess – and I couldn’t reveal it even under duress

That’s it.

In five years of using online backup, no-one has ever accessed my data.

I like those odds. :)

2. When moving computer

Sometimes you have to change computers because of a hard disk failure or an upgrade. I discovered that using cloud backup makes it easy to move all your files over.

I haven’t tested this with SugarSync, but I have tested it on two computers with Syncplicity – and it works.

  • Set up your new computer
  • Install the backup software
  • Login and it will restore all your files to the right place (in the background while you work)

Never has changing computers been so hassle-free.

3. For working on the road

When you work on one main computer and travel with another, there’s always the chance you will forget a file you need. With cloud backup, it’s always available.

I put this to the test recently – with my mother, of all people.

She had gone abroad to deliver a presentation. She took a typed copy with her but then wanted to make some changes.

  • We logged into her Syncplicity account
  • Located the file
  • Made the changes and reuploaded it

When she returned home, the changed file was on her desktop.

I have done this many times with my own client files – as long as the file has been backed up, it always works.

4. Other cloud applications

So far, I’ve talked a lot about backup, because for me that’s the major priority. When it comes to working on documents in the cloud, I mix and match.

Here are some of the ways I operate:

  • At the start of each year I start a new business spreadsheet. I usually set it up on the desktop (because some of the things I want to do I find easier to manage in Excel) and then upload it to my Google Docs account.
  • For the rest of the year, I access it there. That’s because it’s a file I always need access to, and working in the cloud keeps it accessible. Once every so often, I download a copy so it can become part of the backup process. Redundant backups are the name of the game. :)
  • Sometimes clients share documents with me. I work on those in the cloud to keep collaboration simple. Google Docs is robust enough for most tasks, though there are features I need in Word (such as the ability to switch among US, Canadian and UK English depending on the client).
  • Sometimes I need to share documents with a colleague. In that case, I also work in the cloud.

Do I do everything in the cloud? No.

I haven’t yet made the switch to sharing all my files via Dropbox, though I am using it for some ebooks and PDFs.

I don’t run my music in the cloud (probably because I find it distracting when I work, so there’s no reason for it.)

But I think that more and more the cloud will become a bigger part of my working life.

When I started writing, there was no such thing as cloud computing and I managed fine, but today my office has less paper (kinder to the environment) and I’m never in any danger of losing access to a file I need.

And that’s the best bit of working in the cloud for me.

BigStock Photo Credit

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Sharon Hurley Hall has almost 25 years of experience writing professionally – as a journalist, an academic writer, a blogger, a ghost writer and an online copy writer.

She is the author of a Kindle ebook titled Getting Started in Blogging and has been running Get Paid To Write Online since 2005 to help other writers improve and build sustainable and successful writing careers.

 

 

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