Cloud computing is a pretty catchy word to throw around these days, and you hear companies talk about it all the time. Though the term might still be new to many, the idea is actually a simple one in concept. The evolution of accessibility and the social media revolution demands that we share our life and experience with others. In simple terms, cloud computing allows you to access your files no matter what computer or potential mobile device you are using (though of course, there can and will be limitations. While all of your devices might have access to the pictures, your iPhone obviously won’t be able to open up a Photoshop file).

Currently, most cloud-computing services are based on the cloud-above-all concept. This means that your files don’t reside on your machine and are instead hosted on the company’s server where you can access them. This fairly standard practice also entails monthly costs for the service as well as storage size limitations which, of course, you can purchase more of.  Enter Pogoplug, who has a different take on the cloud-computing concept. Instead of making you buy set amounts of space from a company and pay for that hosting service, Pogoplug offers an ethernet-enabled device which allows you to plug in as many hard drives as you want to it and, in turn, gives you web access to them. This simple concept means that you can change and grow your storage solution as you see fit while the Pogoplug, through a web portal, gives you access to them with no monthly fees.

Hit the jump for a video walkthrough of the Pogoplug from SGNL, Sony’s internal video blog staff and to see how Sony plays into this.

How does Sony play into this equation? Sony, who is no stranger to social media with their personal blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube channel, has long been advocating different ways to share content. One way that Sony helps you share your content is by the simple virtue of using the open DLNA standard within the household which allows your devices to talk with one and other and share media. Another take is represented by the Bloggie series which come with Mac- and PC-friendly software which enables you to plug in your MP4 camera to the computer and, within minutes, publish your videos and photos to Facebook and other social media avenues. Now, Sony has teamed up with Pogoplug to make sharing of large, more advanced HD footage, specifically the AVCHD format, easy to share as well.

The two companies have taken the same concept that Pogoplug uses to turn your hard drives into a cloud solution and added an optimized streaming codec which allows you to plug your camera into your computer, drag the video you want into your Pogoplug app (Mac and PC) and copy your file over. Once this is complete, you can log into your Pogoplug web portable and indicate who you want to share the file with. Or, if you want, you can give others access to it and they can instantly begin watching your AVCHD files over any web connection. Now, with your own personal cloud, you will have access to these files and, in this case, AVCHD videos from any device. So whether it’s Grampa Jin on a local island or your friend Jack who wants to access it from his iPhone at the hospital he works at, the videos will be there and ready for consumption. Best of all, there is no monthly fee for this service. Another noteworthy thing is the reason why this is different than publishing it to YouTube or Facebook: you can control who has access to it but more importantly, if you are not familiar with AVCHD, this is not a file that any web site supports. This is because of its higher file size due to the much higher quality video and sound that is recorded. Anybody who owns an AVCHD camcorder will note that sharing the videos you’ve recorded has not been easy in the past, due to the reason I just mentioned, until now.

So what do you guys think? Is Pogoplug something you would use to share your files with? How about those of you who are AVCHD camcorder owners. How have you shared your files in the past?

[Via Sony Electronics Blog]