Dropbox’s “Project Harmony” Draws Comparisons to MyCrowd’s Freelancer App

Written by Brandon Ernst

“Project Harmony’s” realtime collaborative chat functionalty

Recently Dropbox announced their plans to launch “Project Harmony” which brings collaborative functionality and tools to Microsoft Office. The new functionality will allow Dropbox users to see when people are editing shared documents or viewing them. “Project Harmony” sounds very similar to Google Docs but for the Microsoft Office suite of applications. One of the big differences, however, is that “Project Harmony” will also allow users to chat with each other in real time. This will help people to collaborate more efficiently and avoid creating different versions of the same documents. The announcement of Dropbox’s efforts couldn’t help but make me draw comparisons to Silicon Valley tech start-up MyCrowd.

Project Harmony and MyCrowd, Similar Approach to Different Problems

With the announcement of “Project Harmony”, Dropbox is the first tech giant to validate an emerging trend of collaborative applications. One such app that comes to mind is MyCrowd which gives users the ability to hire and manage freelancers without leaving the app they are working in. As work environments that span cities, states and, countries and even continents increasingly drive the world; apps that make you more efficient and support remote collaborative workflows will become the norm. When Matthew Cordasco, CEO of MyCrowd, was asked about his thoughts on the “Project Harmony” announcement he said, “When I read the article I was wondering if someone at Dropbox was reading my mind. Our vision at MyCrowd is to provide users with in-app experiences that naturally integrate with their current workflows. We believe that people shouldn’t have to constantly jump from app to app throughout their day. I think Dropbox’s announcement is a confirmation of what we are doing.” Being able to combine the power of your apps into integrated user experiences can have dramatic affects on your productivity. Leaders in this trend like Dropbox and MyCrowd understand this and it is easy to see why! Imagine a world where your favorite apps team up- the possibilities are endless.

MyCrowd’s New Chrome Extension opens up a new world of inter-app connectivity.

MyCrowd is already demonstrating the power of using apps collaboratively and the recent launch of their Chrome Extension in the Google Chrome Web Store takes that reality one step further. MyCrowd’s Chrome Extension essentially allows MyCrowd to function on top of any website or web app. This feature gives users access to MyCrowd’s 10 million freelancers on the fly. While MyCrowd can work as an overlay on any site, the company is focused on productivity software and project management applications like Asana, Basecamp, Office 365 and Google Docs as their entry point into the market. However, MyCrowd isn’t just limited to productivity apps, they also integrate with AB Testing apps like Optimizely for users that rely on freelancers as part of their A/B testing team.

Much like “Project Harmony”, MyCrowd gives users the ability to collaborate more efficiently and better manage iterations. Not having to leave the web page or app the user is working in is a big time saver and promotes faster communication. Below is a list of some of the top apps that the MyCrowd Google Chrome extension works well with:

Asana

• Save time and launch MyCrowd directly over top of Asana

Launch MyCrowd from inside Asana

Launch MyCrowd from Asana

• Import Your Asana Projects into MyCrowd. Hire and Assign Tasks to Freelancers Quickly. Easily Assign the Ones You Don’t or Can’t Do.

Your Asana tasks are imported directly into MyCrowd

• View your Asana tasks in MyCrowd. One click to search and hire workers to do them.

Basecamp

• Launch MyCrowd directly over top of Basecamp
• Import your Basecamp projects into MyCrowd. Search, hire and assign tasks to freelancers quickly
• Access your Basecamp tasks within MyCrowd. Quickly recruit workers to help projects get finished faster.

Office 365

• Launch MyCrowd directly over top of any Office 365 application (Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Excel)
• Hire and manage MyCrowd freelancers to assist with copy editing, creating PowerPoint graphics, or Excel help from within Office 365

Google Drive

• Launch MyCrowd directly over top of any Google Drive application (Google Docs, Spreadsheets or Presentations)
• Hire and manage MyCrowd freelancers to assist with copy editing, creating graphics, or spreadsheet work. You don’t need to leave Google Docs to hire someone to help!

Optimizely

• Launch MyCrowd directly over top of Optimizely
• Select sections, whole pages or code in Optimizely then send directly to Freelancers from your Optimizely Drop-down menu

Example: A/B Testing Experiment of the Engineyard homepage using MyCrowd launched overtop of Optimizely

• Hire and manage MyCrowd freelancers to assist on graphic design, copywriting, coding, or creating A/B Testing experiments.
• Build your own freelance A/B Testing team

MyCrowd’s Chrome Extension makes it easier than ever to hire and manage freelancers by connecting apps to the crowd. As both MyCrowd, Dropbox and other companies explore the potential of interconnectivity between different applications; it’s clear the way we use web apps looks to evolve and for the better. While this vision is just starting to take root in Silicon Valley, companies like MyCrowd forge ahead exploring new and innovative ways to make you more productive and streamline workflows. Check out the new MyCrowd extension at the Chrome Store, the functionality is quite impressive! What apps would you like to see connected? How do you think announcements like “Project Harmony” will shape our working future?

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