Threadbox is a service that claims to help workgroups “increase productivity by harnessing conversations, files, dates, and opinions.” Most of our daily communications and collaborations go through email and many existing solutions for collaboration don’t seem to take this into account, sometimes making them difficult to learn and adapt to.
The real time discussion tracking, file sharing, schedule coordinating, project managing, decision making tool that works right alongside email – and just might replace it.
It Starts With a Thread
A thread is simply a collection of all the items related to a discussion within Threadbox. They are in essence the same as a thread on any other communications platform, except for including features like file attachments, to-do lists, conference calls, events, and group opinions.
Anyone can start a thread and then invite others to it via email. Anyone on the thread can post messages and other items. A unique posting email and email notifications for new items in the thread make it easy to add content and integrate Threadbox with your existing email workflow. The posting address for the thread can be customized so that your participants can easily remember it.
Threadbox takes a page from the Posterous book, allowing you to start a thread simply by emailing start@threadbox.com in addition to starting a thread from the website. In either case, you get a link to your shiny new thread and the option to add participants. While Threadbox can be tightly integrated with your email, you still have the option to work from the web inbox and forego emails entirely.
Privacy
Threadbox threads work just like mailing lists. If you have been invited, you can see what is being posted. Only participants of the thread can see the content, but this does not prevent this content from leaking out of the system. This isn’t a major concern for most individuals and organizations, but is worth noting given current privacy concerns around Facebook, Twitter, and Buzz. In short, Threadbox is probably no more insecure than the email you would otherwise be using anyway.
Other Features
Threadbox keeps to it’s word in providing a simple interface for complex communications. Other services do have a similar layout, but Threadbox has done a good job of keeping the focus on the threads in their user interface and documentation. Once you’ve got the basics of creating and interacting with a thread, the rest flows as naturally as posting a status update.
Threadbox is free to use with up to 1GB of storage. For some organizations, you may want to investigate Threadbox PRO for 20GB of storage, enhanced security, data exporting, custom URL, and conference call recording.
Threadbox promises more features in the future, like SMS and IM notifications. Definitely an awesome tool for independent professionals and organizations with clients and partners to collaborate with.
What do you think about Threadbox?