Archive for the ‘e-business’ Category

Recording a Skype Video Call, Good Fun

Thursday, August 2nd, 2007


Yesterday, I had a pro bono client who wanted to demo a new voice mail system at a conference. I came up with the idea of using Skype to record the call and found Call Recorder (for Mac).

Today, because I had Call Recorder demo installed, while I was on a video conference call using Skype with a client, I had the idea of recording a message to my designer/producer having the client acknowledge his work in a video clip. Presto. Easily done with a click of a button.

Nice software. It works. Does what it’s supposed to as far as I can tell and only costs $15. Nice.

PS. Bonus, because Call Recorder records the calls as Quicktime movies, I can easily go into iMovie and add visuals to enhance the voice mail demo. Very nice. :)

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Posted in e-business, user generated video, video | 2 Comments »

Tangler: Awesome Interactive Web 2.0 Application for Embedded Forum-style Discussions

Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

Here’s the kind of easy to use, immediate user feedback and ultra-highly-interactive application that makes Web 2.0 so interesting for me. Actually, it’s a kind of convergence of online discussion forums & real time chat, all of which can be embedded within any page of your site. Impressive stuff!

http://www.tangler.com/ | TechCruch review

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Posted in e-business, internet marketing, social media marketing | No Comments »

Steve Jobs & Bill Gates Together, The Complete Coverage

Friday, July 6th, 2007


I don’t think there are two better visionaries on the planet (of course, I’m partial to Steve Jobs), and while their joint appearance with Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg was covered in the news, I just discovered the complete coverage including transcripts and video clips (an edit of video excerpts is included below). Good stuff!

Special thanks to Dr. Mac, Bob LeVitus for this link via his most-excellent Mac e-newsletter. You can subscribe here: http://www.boblevitus.com/

Here’s the video highlight reel:

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Posted in e-business, technology | 2 Comments »

O’Reilly Publisher’s Conference Coverage by me

Friday, June 29th, 2007

I was pleased to cover the scintillating O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing conference that was held last week in San Jose for eContent magazine. It was a worthy conference filled with leading edge thinking (at least mostly.)

My executive summary-style coverage is here: http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/ArticleReader.aspx?ArticleID=36790

Enjoy.

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Posted in e-business, small business, user generated content | No Comments »

Apple’s Steve Jobs Reopens Free Digital Rights Conversation

Wednesday, February 7th, 2007

Ever since the early days of the Internet and the original Napster MP3 download craze, the issue of digital rights management (DRM) and the security of the intellectual property rights of artists vs the new environment of sharing and collaboration offered by the Internet has been a controversial subject.

For example, I wrote a kind of inflamatory piece in Videography in the year 2000 called “Napster Gets It, Universal Doesn’t” where I called the Universal CEO “Bozo Bronfman” and referenced a classic Flash movie “Napster Bad” which made fun of the band Metallica for being money grubbers.

Bottom line, the bad guys were the record companies, and now (fast forward to 2007), they are among Steve Jobs and Apple’s best friends.

So the latest is that Mr. Jobs, always on the move, and in the face of the huge financial benefits that Apple gains by owning the platform that delivers by far the most “legal” (read digital rights protected) downloads… and in the face of mostly European gripes about Apple’s DRM and its proprietary system (which is not unlike Microsoft’s, Sony’s etc.), Mr. Jobs has now written a lucid web post encouraging record companies to open up their digital rights.

In other words, he’s once again pointing the finger (accurately) at the record companies as the reason that there is a digital rights lock down in the first place; and he’s recommending that the best way forward is for these same record companies to get out of the way, for the benefit of everyone, especially consumers but including the record companies and the tech companies as well.

DailyTech explains in more detail why “Apple’s leader believes that a DRM-free world would be the best one for consumers.”

If you’re interested in this subject (and, frankly, I think that everyone should be), I highly recommend Stanford Law professor and digital rights activist Lawrence Lessig‘s exceptionally well-written, researched and insightful book, Free Culture.

(Addendum: Bronfman responded to Jobs and it still looks like he’s a bozo.)

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Posted in e-business | No Comments »

Cisco’s Suit of Apple Over iPhone Name May Be Playing into Steve’s Hand

Friday, January 12th, 2007

Many folks are mystified by Cisco’s suit of Apple over the name of Apple’s truly sensational, hot new iPhone. And, by the way, I agree with many that this is a true “leapfrog” product that is literally years ahead of the competition and will have a huge impact on the market like the iPod.

I think I know what’s going on with this lawsuit. It’s just a hunch, but it rings true at least to me. Bottom line, I think Steve is one step ahead of Cisco.

First, think of all the free publicity Apple and Mr. Steve Jobs are getting as a result of the Cisco lawsuit. Second, remember that Apple’s new AppleTV product was originally named “iTV.” Get it yet? Third, remember that Jobs likes consistency in product names. For example, now and only recently, all the Mac portables are MacBooks.

So my educated guess is that Jobs knew he’d get sued. He anticipated the publicity boost. And, they will change the name of their awesome new product to the ApplePhone! It’s got nice alliteration and they’ll use the same Apple logo-included name treatment that they are using on the AppleTV product.

You heard it here first! Anybody else think this is true?

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Posted in cell phones, e-business, television | 3 Comments »

Free Conference Calls with Built-in Recording

Wednesday, September 6th, 2006

I’ve been using free conference calls from FreeConference.com for some time. It works. No toll free number, but no per minute charges either. Now thanks to a tip from NYTimes’ David Pogue I’ve found LiveOfficeFreeConference where you don’t have to make a reservation, AND you can record up to 60 minutes of the call (just press “5*”). And, they make this recording easy to share because they send you a link to an MP3 file (within 60 minutes). This way someone who couldn’t be on the call can hear it. Now that’s a convenient service! And the price is right. ;) Enjoy.

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Posted in e-business, small biz e-biz, small business | No Comments »

Simpler is Still Better: One-Page Sites

Wednesday, May 24th, 2006

The champions of the cause of simplicity, 37 signals, who deliver online web services that are by their own proclamation, “the best web-based software products possible with the least number of features necessary” have made an interesting blog post, visually, of one-page websites. For when you don’t really need more than one (page). The most interesting part of this post is the comments. Evidence of a good (maybe great) blog… Cruise the commentaries…

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Posted in e-business, online software | No Comments »

Amazing, Useful Search Tool: Inquisitor

Thursday, May 18th, 2006

The web is definitely having a new wave of innovation. Inquisitor doubles as an SEM keyword phrase search tool (it automatically gives you related and relevant keyword phrases relating to any search string you type) AND as a way to check out search results on multiple sites (Google, Yahoo, Technorati, Amazon, Digg, etc.) with the simple click of a sidebar button. check it out

(Thanks to Lee Odden’s Online Marketing Blog for the tip.)

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Posted in e-business | No Comments »

Save the Internet: No Joke!

Thursday, May 18th, 2006


Save the Internet: Click here The fight for “Net Neutrality” is no joke. As almost everyone knows, Congress and Big Business cannot be trusted. Even big time recording artists like Moby are getting into the act and doing what they can to help keep the Web as free and open as possible. Check out SaveTheInternet.com for what YOU can do to help including getting yourself better informed on this important issue. SaveTheInternet has videos and lots of other content to help you understand how CRITICAL Net Neutrality is and why you should care. Thanks!

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Posted in e-business, internet marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments »