Skip to Content

Submit your nominations for the Luxist Awards' Best in Decor
AOL Tech

DocStoc posts

Filed under: Web services, Social Software, Web

Docstoc leave beta, launches API and revenue sharing

DocCash
Document sharing service DocStoc is coming out of beta today and the company is launching three new features:
  1. Revenue sharing with members
  2. An API for develoeprs to build applications based on Docstoc
  3. A new "blog-like" homepage
Revenue sharing is accomplished through Google Adsense. Existing Adsense users can associate their accounts with Docstoc to begin sharing the revenue brought in by ads placed next to their documents on the site. If you don't already have an AdSense account you can sign up through Docstoc's DocCash program. Docstoc takes a 50% cut of any revenue generated.

The new DocStoc homepage is designed to make it easier to find documents related to the day's news. Docstoc has hired a full time conetent editor to make sure the documents on the front page are up to date. There will also be links to outside news sources. While this is a nice touch, I'm not sure that people will start coming to a document sharing service for the day's news.

On the other hand, some of the early examples of applications built on the DocStoc API do make a compelling case for how existing news sites and other web pages can interact with DocStoc to offer access to related documents.

For example, the MashLogic Firefox extension lets you find related information on any web site by hovering over links to specific terms on any web site. The new MashLogic DocStoc Edition adds links to related documents stored on DocStoc to the mix. For instance, say you're reading an article about home loans. You could hover over the word "loan" in the article to see a list of available loan agreements uploaded by Docstoc users.

Filed under: Blogging, Web services, Web

DocShots makes it easier to share documents on your web site


The folks behind online document sharing service DocStoc have released a new product called DocShots. The new tool is designed for web publishers who want to be able to share Word, Excel, PDF, or other documents with their readers without redirecting visitors to a new page or pasting a huge embedded document viewer on a web page.

Here's how it works. You install a bit of code on your site and whenever someone hovers their mouse over a document link you've placed on your site, a preview window will pop up showing the document. You can customize the size of the preview document and you can decide whether the documents you upload will be marked as public or private.

Readers will also be bale to find a list of related documents and other documents uploaded by the same user, all without navigating away from the web page.

Overall, I can definitely see this service adding value to some web sites. On the other hand, I can also see it annoying the bejesus out of some people who accidentally hover over the wrong links, much the way that pop up windows from Snap or Vibrant Media ads do.

Filed under: Internet, Office, Web services

Docstoc Sync makes automatic backups of your docs online

DocStoc Sync
Online document storage and sharing service Docstoc has rolled out a new desktop application for Windows and Mac users that lets you automatically upload documents to the web service. Docstoc Sync stuff scans a group of selected directories for new files and uploads all supported file types to Docstoc where you can access them from any computer with a web browser and share them with other users with a link or by embedding a document on your web site.

By default, Docstoc Sync will scan your My Documents folder and upload your documents to a private folder. The program also creates a folder on your desktop for public documents. You can drag and drop any files you want to share with the whole world to this directory and they'll be available to anyone searching for similar documents. You can find all of your uploaded files in the new Docstoc My Docs section.

Docstoc provides unlimited file storage, but you can only upload .doc, .pdf, .xls, .ppt, .ppt, and .txt files.

Filed under: Internet, Office, Social Software, Search

Zoho Share takes on Scribd, DocStoc document sharing services

Zoho Share
Zoho officially has more online office applications than most people could ever possibly need. But the latest addition makes a lot of sense. Zoho Share lets users upload documents (PDF, DOC, XLS, etc) and share them with other users either via the Zoho web site or by embedding docs on another page. In other words, Zoho Share doesn't do much of anythin gthat Scribd and DocStoc don't already do. But Zoho will also let you import documents from Zoho Sheet, Zoho Writer and other online office docs, which means you can easily create and share your files using the same service.

Zoho Share is available as a public preview, and is still pretty rough around the edges. For example, I was unable to upload any documents, and thanks to the lack of a FAQ, it took me a while to figure out how to import docuements from other Zoho services. Eventually I figured out that by marking a Zoho Writer/Sheet or other document as public, it would show up in a Zoho Share search.

If you're looking for PowerPoint style presentations with pictures of cute kitens, or sample resumes, you can find them at Zoho Share. But like any YouTube-for-documents style service, Zoho Share will only really be useful if the company can build a strong enough user base to ensure that you'll always find what you're looking for -- or if Zoho decides not to emphasize the search and find functionality of the site as much as the fact that you can use Zoho Share to embed documents you upload yourself on your own web site. You know, if the company ever fixes the upload feature.

[via CNET]

Filed under: Internet, E-mail

Send large email attachments with Docstoc Oneclick

Docstoc OneClick
Online document sharing service Docstoc has launched a new product that lets you email files that exceed your email service provider's file size limits. Docstoc OneClick is a desktop application that lets you upload files up to 50MB to Docstoc with a little right-click magic.

Just select the file you want to email and Docstoc OneClick will upload it in the background and open up an email window complete with a link to the file. The recipient of the email will be able to either view your file online using the Docstoc viewer or download the file. You can make any file public or private.

Right now Docstoc OneClick is Windows only, but a Mac version is coming soon. There doesn't seem to be a way to configure OneClick to work with a web-based email service like Gmail or Yahoo! Mail. So when it launches an email Windows, it will load up whatever Windows thinks is your default email application, which might be Outlook, Outlook Express, or Thunderbird.

Docstoc OneClick doesn't work with all file types, just documents like Word, Excel, or PDF files. You cannot upload media files. File transfer service YouSendIt offers a similar application, but without the limitations on file types, and with a higher file size limit. But the advantage to using Docstoc is that users can view documents without downloading them.

Filed under: Internet, Web services, web 2.0

Issuu: Turn PDF files into online flip books



While there are plenty of services out there that let you embed a PDF file on a web page, Issuu has to be the prettiest we've seen. When you upload a PDF document, Issuu converts it into web-based document that looks more like a book than a text document. The PDF can then be embedded on pretty much any website, including Facebook, MySpace, LiveJournal, or Blogger pages.

We submitted the Brooklyn Area Guide from the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, because it just happened to be the first PDF we could find. We don't know what that says about us, but you can see the result above.

The text is a bit hard to read, but you can click on the file to open up a larger player in another window, complete with a full screen mode.

[via Digital Inspiration]

Filed under: Internet, Web services

DocStoc user generated document directory opens to the public

DocStoc
Looking for a sample invoice, lease, will, W-2 or pretty much anything else that can be saved as a document? Online document sharing company DocStoc has emerged from private beta. We got our first look at DocStoc last month, and the service is easy to use, and most importantly, useful.

There are over 12,000 documents online so far, and they cover everything from business plans to software tutorials. You can easily read documents online, download them, or embed them on a web page.

Like other user generated content sites, you need an account to upload content. But anyone can browse, read, download, and share documents that other users have uploaded.

Filed under: Internet, Features, Web services, Social Software, Beta, web 2.0

First look at Docstoc online document database


If you'd asked us a few months ago whether we thought there was room for two Youtube-for-documents style sites, we probably would have laughed. But then Scribd came along and showed that people really are interested in perusing interesting documents online and embedding them in blogs and other websites. And then Docstoc decided to tease us with a similar site geared more toward professionals.

While you can find pretty much any sort of document at Scribd, Docstoc has a focus on documents that can help with work. For example, users have uploaded forms for calendars, budgets, leases, invoices, and tax preparation.

We first got a sneak peek at Docstoc a few months back. But now that we've had a chance to peruse the site ourselves, we have to say, it's incredibly useful for anyone who needs a ready made form or two. Need to send an invoice for work you've performed, but don't have a template handy? Docstoc users have already uploaded dozens.

There's also a social aspect to the site. Users can create profiles and leave comments on documents uploaded by others. You can browse through the most popular documents overall or within various subcategories.

Docstoc is still in private beta, but we've got a few invitations to give away to the first 5 people who respond to this post. The invites are time sensitive so you'll have to respond and sign up today.

Update: Congratulations to our 5 quickest commentors! We're all out of invitations. But stay tuned, we'll be giving away invitations to a few more cool services in the coming days.

Filed under: Business, Internet, Productivity, Web services, Search, web 2.0

Docstoc, part social network part document database

Docstoc, part social network part document databaseDocstoc is taking aim at finding and sharing documents through its free online document exchange system. This social networking site will allow users to store, share and search any type of document. Whether it's a Word, Powerpoint, Illustrator or PDF document, users will be able to post, categorize and also rate documents.

The service is said to be similar to Flickr or YouTube in concept, but targets three applications, namely Business and Legal, Educational, and Self Expression.

Docstoc is currently in beta testing mode, we are trying to get in to take a peek, and will see whether they want to be a part of our Free Invites program.

Check out a Docstoc tour.

Featured Time Waster

The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

View more Time Wasters

Featured Galleries

Defective by Design, London: Protest Pictures
Microsoft Security Essentials
Chromium Pre-Alpha on CrunchBang Linux
Safari 4 Beta
10 Firefox themes that don't suck
IE8 RC1
Download Squad at the Crunchies After-Party
Download Squad at the Crunchies
WordPress 2.7
Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals
Windows 7 Hands On
Comodo Internet Security
Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store
Android First-look: Twitroid
Google Reader Android
Android Hands-On
Twine 1.0
Photoshop Express Beta
Mozilla Birthday Cake
Palm stuff
Adobe Lightroom 1.1

 


Follow us on Twitter!

Flickr Pool

www.flickr.com

More Tech Coverage

AOL Radio

Joystiq

TUAW

Daily Finance

Autoblog

Urlesque

Engadget

WoW

Switched.com

FanHouse