What If Cloud Storage Were an Octopus?
Think about entering the sea to see an octopus sitting in front of you with eight legs and organizing your entire digital life.
One of those eight legs has all your family pictures. Another has your work-related documents. One leg is occupied with storing your videos, whereas another is busy safeguarding your essential files. And no matter how much space it uses up, this octopus never runs out of space.
Doesn’t that sound weird?
But if cloud storage were to be compared to an octopus, it would make perfect sense. Just like an octopus uses eight flexible legs to do things differently at the same time, cloud storage helps you store, organize and access your pictures, videos, documents, backups, and other files from different gadgets.
So what if cloud storage were an octopus?
Eight Arms, Eight Different Folders
The first noticeable thing you would see about our cloud octopus would be its eight arms.
While these arms would not be used to hunt fish, each one would have its own task.
An arm could deal with photos, an arm could contain videos, an arm could have work documents, an arm could keep school assignments, an arm could have music, and yet another arm could back up all of your stuff.
The rest of the arms would then just store everything else you want to put into the cloud.
This cloud octopus would essentially become your personal digital assistant, only it would have eight arms and most likely be very confused.
The Photo Arm Never Sleeps
Consider all the photos people capture each day.
Selfies, screenshots, vacation photos, food photos, family photos, pets, and even those random document photos you have stored away since three years ago.
The octopus would require one whole arm for photos alone.
Each time you add a new photo, the octopus would immediately capture it and deposit it into your photo storage.
"Yet another 200 photos of the exact same sunset?"
No big deal.
The octopus would just extend its arm and store it away.
The Video Arm Would Be Exhausted
In the event that the photo arm is occupied, the video arm would surely be exhausted.
The storage requirements for videos are huge compared to the storage requirements of regular files or photos. It does not take many good quality videos to fill up plenty of storage space.
Our octopus friend would certainly be shuttling lots of videos around.
One person uploads a 4K vacation video.
The octopus checks it out.
“Really?”
And then another person uploads a long birthday video.
The octopus sighs and places it in the correct file.
By now, the video arm would definitely need a break.
The Documents Arm Gets a Dedicated Octopus Arm
Cloud storage isn’t just for pictures and video.
Many people use cloud storage to store documents, presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, assignment documents, CVs, and many more important documents.
Therefore, an octopus arm would be assigned to just documents.
- Your CV goes here.
- Your university assignment goes here.
- Your business proposal goes here.
- And that PDF you have downloaded but forgotten about?
Yes, it goes here.
The best part is that you don’t have to lug around a USB thumb drive everywhere.
The Backup Arm Is the Safest
One of the primary responsibilities of a cloud storage system is to create a backup.
Imagine accidentally deleting some crucial folder on your PC.
Usually, at such a moment, you would experience panic.
But our cloud octopus will coolly lift its backup arm and tell you:
"Nothing to worry about. I've got a backup."
This is one of the main advantages of having your crucial data backed up.
In case your PC fails, your mobile device gets broken, or something happens to your files by mistake, you can recover your data thanks to cloud backup.
The octopus does not forget.
Or at least we hope so.
Get Your Files From Anywhere
Yet another way our octopus would help us is because it can reach everywhere.
For example, what if you have left your laptop at home, but you suddenly require some documents?
Instead of making a U-turn back home, all you need to do is log onto your cloud storage using another device.
The octopus extends its arm in the direction of the documents and gives you the file you require.
- Do you have a phone?
- It can reach it.
- Do you have a laptop?
- It can reach it.
- Do you have a tablet?
- It can reach it.
And Now for the Octopus Dilemma!
There is one downside.
What would happen if you uploaded everything without any organizational scheme?
An octopus would get confused.
- Pictures end up in the videos folder.
- Documents end up with screenshots.
- Important files get buried in tons of unnecessary downloads.
Suddenly, eight tentacles don’t seem like much anymore.
Organizing cloud storage becomes necessary due to that reason. Filing all the documents, using appropriate names, and removing unimportant files will make your life much simpler.
An octopus needs organization too!
Well, Could an Octopus Function as a Cloud Storage System?
Absolutely.
With its eight arms, an octopus would make a surprisingly competent multi-tasker.
One of its arms would take care of your photos. Another one would organize your videos. A third one would secure your documents. And a fourth one would take care of your backups. The rest of the arms would be for everything else.
Just like any other cloud storage system, the octopus could also help you access all of your digital content without having to carry all those files with you physically.
However, there is a single drawback here:
You'd have to feed it each time you uploaded a large video.
That said, the whole idea helps us to look at cloud storage systems from another amusing angle.
Surely, the cloud storage system wouldn't have eight arms, but it does provide you with the means of storing, organizing, protecting, and accessing your digital files.
So, the next time you upload your files to the cloud, think of a little octopus somewhere that tells you:
"Never mind, I've got eight arms for this."