Seems like some folks are getting bent out of shape about YouTube policies. (We heart YouTube as a viewer, but haven't really published much there.) Here's what going on with PodServe, one of the Big in Japan tools.
The podcall feature is getting play in the media and from potential clients. Frank Barnako @ Marketwatch said this:
Your podcast is calling
PodServe.com, a quick way to create standard, social or public podcasts is working on technology that you might call "going retail, door-to-door." Brian Oberkirch and Alexander Muse, founders of Podserve, said their free hosting service for podcasts is going to offer production tools, too.
One of them will let you type your phone number on a Web page and Podserve will call and allow you to record. Podserve will then create and upload the file to the Web.
"I am so frustrated with these stupid microphones and Skype and Audacity and Gizmo … if I could just pick up a phone and make a podcast, that's what I want to do," Muse said.
Oberkirch and Muse talked about Podserve, and their other free software applications, on a recent "Inside the Net" podcast. Listen to it.
Plus we're talking with two large companies about doing OEM installs of PodServe, primarily because of the ability to integrate VoIP telephony into a corporate podcasting program.
What is PodCall? It's a new feature where you give us a phone number and PodServe will call you at that number, let you walk through a simple phone tree and record a podcast just like you would leave a voicemail. PodServe will then automatically drop that sound file into the right podcast stream for you, within minutes of completing the call.
Also, we've secretly added the ability to add .mov and .mp4 files to your PodServe podcasts, so you can vlog as well with the service. We'll limit the files to 100MB right now.
Technorati Tags: biginjapan, podcast, podserve, youtube
Posted by admin | May 3, 2006 - 10:32am | No Comments
Category: Uncategorized | Tags: Startup, Uncategorized, Web 2.0
(Photo by Tantek)
A great interview with Chris Messina a bit ago about a lot of things. (Can you just talk with Chris about one thing? We think not.) Here he talks about microformats — a standardized approach to structuring metadata making it easier for everyone to remix & reuse stuff to further the emerging info ecosystem. It's the first in what we hope is a series with lots of folks talking about microformats. Tantek? Kevin? Ryan? We'd also like to interview other developers, designers, business guru types or anyone interested in taking up the cause of microformats.
Listen to the podcast:
Technorati Tags: brian oberkirch, chris messina, microformats, podcast, Weblogs+Work, Weblogs+Worknotes
Posted by admin | May 3, 2006 - 10:10am | 2 Comments
Category: Uncategorized | Tags: Social Media, Uncategorized, Web 2.0
We talked with Jim & Charles of Jambo before the last Refresh Dallas meeting. Check out our first vlog (look out, Irina) — at the Weblogs Worknotes page, download the file directly (~19MB .mov) or grab the whole feed.
Technorati Tags: brian oberkirch, charles+ribaudo, jambo, jim+young, refreshdallas, vlog, Weblogs+Work, Weblogs+Worknotes
Posted by admin | May 3, 2006 - 8:27am | No Comments
Category: Uncategorized | Tags: Startup, Uncategorized, Web 2.0
A few more thoughts on Sphere's launch. I'd like to talk more generally about how we think about social media and how we talk about and build the tools we need. I have a baseball metaphor, which may be appropriate, given that Sphere CEO Tony Conrad is a baseball geek like I am.
I think we are confused when it comes to social media. Even though we talk about micromedia, microbranding, getting small fast, when it comes to success metrics we revert right back to the lingo of Big. How many results returned? How many page views? How many subscribers? Downloads? Links, comments, etc. This is blockbuster thinking smuggled into a microchunked world. Even today's leading blog search service (who has done a *ton* to advance this field & spread microformats, etc.) perpetuates this kind of thinking with their Technorati 100, most favorited, emphasis on the raw numbers of the blogosphere, etc. Dave Sifry's insights about the magic middle are far more powerful than the quarterly stat pr0n around the growth of the blogosphere.
In his review of Sphere today, Steve Rubel runs a test to find the number of results Sphere returns against other engines, as though that is a useful way to figure out which has more value. Gabe Rivera once remarked about the strangeness of that: that you would measure the effectiveness of a filter by looking at what it doesn't filter out.
So, I applaud Sphere in that the focus is put on quality, relevance, connection. (That's the point of this blog, after all.)
Connection is more than a link. Or, rather, links are not the only measure of connection. Sphere starts to offer some tools to grok that dynamic.
So, we can see a bit more clearly what is actually going on. Social media engagement is nuanced, time consuming. Working the edge means doing your homework. You can't merely get a list of the top bloggers and spam them with your press release link. You have to understand the web of connections they exist in: the ecosystem. That's what Sphere starts to give us.
To baseball. To the untrained eye, baseball games are won & lost in 'key at bats.' Does the guy get a hit or not with the tying run on second? While 'true', this sort of analysis leaves out the thousand small interactions that led up to the game situation. Baseball, too, is a collection of small moments loosely joined into a larger outcome. How often did the pitcher go 3 & 1 and have to throw a hittable pitch? Did an outfielder miss a cut-off man and allow an extra base? Did the shortstop bobble a ball that made a sure double play into a fielder's choice and extend the inning? Did a pitcher go 3 & 2 and give the runner on first an extra head start? Did someone fail to bunt or hit behind a runner to move them along? Did the pitcher throw too many pitches and run over his pitch count early, bringing on an early substitution. Did a batter pull a ball away into a ground out instead of hitting it back through the middle or going the other way for a rising line drive?
You get the drift. Anyone can tell you the final score or highlight the 'big' plays. None of which really gets you inside the game, which is a game of small moments. A game of inches, as the old chestnut has it.
Social media are collections of small moments. One reader at a time. One comment at a time. One post a time. It's a microchunked world. Remixed, recombined. We are nowhere near having the analytical or technological tools to fully engage this new ecosystem. But the only way to get there is to recognize the shortcomings. Our reliance on blockbuster metaphors. Mass mediated thinking. I welcome the launch of Sphere, the next Barcamp, Umair's forthcoming book, and all your comments as ways for us to get there.
Technorati Tags: david sifry, gabe rivera, sphere, steve rubel, technorati, toni+schneider, tony+conrad
Posted by admin | May 2, 2006 - 11:28am | 2 Comments
Category: Uncategorized | Tags: Social Media, Uncategorized
I’ll be leading a roundtable discussion on social media tonight at Refresh Dallas with wicked smart boys John Keehler, Jake Mckee & Blake Burris. Starts at 7:00 up in Plano. Come hang out with us.
Here’s the Upcoming page for Refresh, which happens each month.
Presentation: Get Small Fast: Microbranding & Next Gen Social Media
We’re way beyond the blog. Not that blogging’s done. Far from it. We’re just at the beginning, but already social media means much more. Look at the growth in MySpace, YouTube, podcasting. Flickr’s on the cover of Newsweek; danah boyd is on with Bill O’Reilly (what? what?). We’re not in Kansas anymore.
This installment of Refresh Dallas is a roundtable chat with a few local social media mavens (Brian Oberkirch, John Keehler, Jake McKee, Blake Burris). There may be a t-shirt given away to someone who says something inspiring. (T-shirts & stickers are Web 2.0 costs of entry, eh? “Our software is free. Our schwag rocks.”) Let’s talk.
Technorati Tags: blake+burris, jake+mckee, john+keehler, refreshdallas, social+media
Posted by admin | April 13, 2006 - 2:04pm | 14 Comments
Category: Uncategorized | Tags: Uncategorized, Web 2.0
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