CenterNetworks » sxsw http://www.centernetworks.com Web 2 and Social Media News and Reviews Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:53:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Ribbit: Bringing Voice to Interactivity Online http://www.centernetworks.com/ribbit-voice-telephony http://www.centernetworks.com/ribbit-voice-telephony#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Allen Stern ribbitRibbit was acquired by BT last summer. In this SXSW interview, Jolie O'Dell chats with Raymond Lee of Ribbit and the two discuss the shrinking divide between computers and mobile devices, the need to bring telephony to interactivity online, and the future of brain chips.

]]> ribbitRibbit was acquired by BT last summer. In this SXSW interview, Jolie O’Dell chats with Raymond Lee of Ribbit and the two discuss the shrinking divide between computers and mobile devices, the need to bring telephony to interactivity online, and the future of brain chips.


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/ribbit-voice-telephony/feed 2 HostMySite Creates The Fastest Server in the World http://www.centernetworks.com/hostmysite-motorcycle-server http://www.centernetworks.com/hostmysite-motorcycle-server#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Allen Stern hostmysiteJolie O'Dell met with the HostMySite team at SXSW. HostMySite created the "fastest server in the world'. No, it's not a triple quad core processor with 185 gig ram and a 50,000 TB hard drive. It's a motorcycle that has a server inside. I guess it makes it easy to get service- they can just drive the server to the help desk.

What would have really made the promo pop was to hire a famous motorcycle driver and get a strip of the street blocked off for a few races back-and-forth.

Check out Jolie's video below to see what the motorcycle server is all about:

]]> hostmysiteJolie O’Dell met with the HostMySite team at SXSW. HostMySite created the "fastest server in the world’. No, it’s not a triple quad core processor with 185 gig ram and a 50,000 TB hard drive. It’s a motorcycle that has a server inside. I guess it makes it easy to get service- they can just drive the server to the help desk.

What would have really made the promo pop was to hire a famous motorcycle driver and get a strip of the street blocked off for a few races back-and-forth.

Check out Jolie’s video below to see what the motorcycle server is all about:


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/hostmysite-motorcycle-server/feed 0 Blurb: Bookmaking Software to Create Your Own Books (video) http://www.centernetworks.com/blurb-bookmaking-software http://www.centernetworks.com/blurb-bookmaking-software#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Allen Stern blurbBlurb is a tool that helps you create your own printed books. It reminds me a bit of NY-based SharedBook. Blurb helps you create books in a variety of sizes and styles including softcover and hardcover. They say the books are bookstore-quality in quality and flexibility. Book pricing starts at $4.95 and go up to $54.95.

Jolie O'Dell sits down with Mike from Blurb to learn more about how Blurb works:

]]> blurbBlurb is a tool that helps you create your own printed books. It reminds me a bit of NY-based SharedBook. Blurb helps you create books in a variety of sizes and styles including softcover and hardcover. They say the books are bookstore-quality in quality and flexibility. Book pricing starts at $4.95 and go up to $54.95. 

Jolie O’Dell sits down with Mike from Blurb to learn more about how Blurb works:


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/blurb-bookmaking-software/feed 0 Jolie O’Dell and Brian Solis Discuss TechSet http://www.centernetworks.com/techset-brian-solis http://www.centernetworks.com/techset-brian-solis#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Allen Stern techsetTechSet has held a few parties at SXSW and was one of the sponsors of the blogger lounge. Jolie O'Dell caught up with one of the TechSet founders, Brian Solis, to discuss what TechSet is, how it works and the cities that TechSet has visited. They also discuss the convergence of online and offline relationships.

]]> techsetTechSet has held a few parties at SXSW and was one of the sponsors of the blogger lounge. Jolie O’Dell caught up with one of the TechSet founders, Brian Solis, to discuss what TechSet is, how it works and the cities that TechSet has visited. They also discuss the convergence of online and offline relationships.


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/techset-brian-solis/feed 2 Brand Equity in the Age of UGC: Hey Dude, Don’t Be a Dick http://www.centernetworks.com/brand-equity-ugc http://www.centernetworks.com/brand-equity-ugc#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Jolie O'Dell sxswIn the SXSW 2009 session “How to Protect Your Brand Without Being a Jerk,” panelists cautioned brands to police trademark violation while still protecting PR by practicing flexibility and communication when it comes to new media law.

In the age of user-generated content, sharing, remixing, mashing-up, and even simply referring to copyrighted content has landed both brands and users in a world of hurt.

What panelists called a “folk understanding” of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and traditional media law have given rise to large-corporate paranoia in the gray areas of new media content publication. Misunderstandings of Internet culture as well as trademark infringement have lead to heavy-handed policing of content and trademark use, often leading to online PR debacles.

“You become known as the brand that sues,” said panelist Oren Bitan of HIQI Media.

Read more at Adrants.

]]> sxswIn the SXSW 2009 session “How to Protect Your Brand Without Being a Jerk,” panelists cautioned brands to police trademark violation while still protecting PR by practicing flexibility and communication when it comes to new media law.

In the age of user-generated content, sharing, remixing, mashing-up, and even simply referring to copyrighted content has landed both brands and users in a world of hurt.

What panelists called a “folk understanding” of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and traditional media law have given rise to large-corporate paranoia in the gray areas of new media content publication. Misunderstandings of Internet culture as well as trademark infringement have lead to heavy-handed policing of content and trademark use, often leading to online PR debacles.

“You become known as the brand that sues,” said panelist Oren Bitan of HIQI Media.

Read more at Adrants.


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/brand-equity-ugc/feed 1 SXSW 2009 Wrapup http://www.centernetworks.com/sxsw-interactive-2009-wrapup http://www.centernetworks.com/sxsw-interactive-2009-wrapup#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Allen Stern sxsw 2009Welp, my third SXSW has come and gone and each year the days fly by. They say that if time moves fast you are having a good time. And a good time I had. The interactive festival did seem more subdued than previous years. As in years past, the best part was meeting CN readers and making new contacts. Nearly every conversation I participated in was intelligent and I've learned a lot from the overall festival. I can't speak to the party scene as I didn't hit many of them. I handed out hundreds of CN stickers!

I was asked by a reporter if there was a breakout product or service this year and my answer was no. I also think Twitter was quieter this year than previous years. And thats a good thing.

Here's the CN coverage from SXSW 2009:

See you in 2010!

]]> sxsw 2009Welp, my third SXSW has come and gone and each year the days fly by. They say that if time moves fast you are having a good time. And a good time I had. The interactive festival did seem more subdued than previous years. As in years past, the best part was meeting CN readers and making new contacts. Nearly every conversation I participated in was intelligent and I’ve learned a lot from the overall festival. I can’t speak to the party scene as I didn’t hit many of them. I handed out hundreds of CN stickers!

I was asked by a reporter if there was a breakout product or service this year and my answer was no. I also think Twitter was quieter this year than previous years. And thats a good thing.

Here’s the CN coverage from SXSW 2009:

See you in 2010!


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/sxsw-interactive-2009-wrapup/feed 4 DandyID Demo Video – One Stop Data Collection and Data Portability http://www.centernetworks.com/dandyid-social-data-aggregation http://www.centernetworks.com/dandyid-social-data-aggregation#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Allen Stern sxswDandyID is a new Rhode Island-based startup that the founders say is, "a one-stop shop for data collection and portability." They provide a suite of tools to manage your online identity. They support over 300 sites and developers can pull data from their service via the API. It's almost like a social OpenID as you can use your DandyID to register on services that are setup as partners.

The partner sites can also use the DandyID API to find other friends on each network based on their DandyID profile. Certainly sounds more interesting than say the "defaults" on Twitter.

I had a chance to meet with DandyID co-founders Sara Czyzewicz and Arron Kallenberg -- check out our video below. They also discuss the API contest where developers can win a bunch of prizes by creating an interesting build on top of DandyID.

]]> sxswDandyID is a new Rhode Island-based startup that the founders say is, "a one-stop shop for data collection and portability." They provide a suite of tools to manage your online identity. They support over 300 sites and developers can pull data from their service via the API. It’s almost like a social OpenID as you can use your DandyID to register on services that are setup as partners.

The partner sites can also use the DandyID API to find other friends on each network based on their DandyID profile. Certainly sounds more interesting than say the "defaults" on Twitter.

I had a chance to meet with DandyID co-founders Sara Czyzewicz and Arron Kallenberg — check out our video below. They also discuss the API contest where developers can win a bunch of prizes by creating an interesting build on top of DandyID.


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/dandyid-social-data-aggregation/feed 2 SXSW Video: Lil’Grams – Twitter-Like Service for New Parents http://www.centernetworks.com/lilgrams-twitter-new-parents http://www.centernetworks.com/lilgrams-twitter-new-parents#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Allen Stern sxswWe first covered Lil'Grams when they launched their private beta. Founder Gregarious Narain says that the service is "twitter-like for new parents". They just launched a new design and will be going live with their public launch next month. The service is pretty interesting as you can submit "grams" from nearly anywhere online -- from Twitter to email to iPhoto, etc.

I was able to catch-up with Gregarious at SXSW this week and here's the video from our chat:

]]> sxswWe first covered Lil’Grams when they launched their private beta. Founder Gregarious Narain says that the service is "twitter-like for new parents". They just launched a new design and will be going live with their public launch next month. The service is pretty interesting as you can submit "grams" from nearly anywhere online — from Twitter to email to iPhoto, etc.

I was able to catch-up with Gregarious at SXSW this week and here’s the video from our chat:


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/lilgrams-twitter-new-parents/feed 0 SXSW Video: 99designs – Design Contests http://www.centernetworks.com/99designs-design-contests http://www.centernetworks.com/99designs-design-contests#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Allen Stern sxsw99designs is a service that was born in the Sitepoint forums which allows designers to "bid" on contests. The company describes the service as, "99designs connects clients needing design work such as logo designs, business cards or web sites to a thriving community of 30,023 talented designers."

99designs launched last year at the DEMO conference. So far 99designs has helped run 19,000 contests, awarded $4 million dollars and more than 50% of the contests lead to follow-on work. The company was founded and invested by Sitepoint executives.

Check out my chat with Jason Aiken, Business Development Manager at 99designs:

]]> sxsw99designs is a service that was born in the Sitepoint forums which allows designers to "bid" on contests. The company describes the service as, "99designs connects clients needing design work such as logo designs, business cards or web sites to a thriving community of 30,023 talented designers."

99designs launched last year at the DEMO conference. So far 99designs has helped run 19,000 contests, awarded $4 million dollars and more than 50% of the contests lead to follow-on work. The company was founded and invested by Sitepoint executives.

Check out my chat with Jason Aiken, Business Development Manager at 99designs:


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/99designs-design-contests/feed 2 SXSW Video: Regator – Curated Blog Aggregator http://www.centernetworks.com/regator-curated-blog-aggregation http://www.centernetworks.com/regator-curated-blog-aggregation#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Allen Stern sxswRegator is an Atlanta-based startup which provides curated blog aggregation. They have created aggregated pages for over 550 topics ranging from arts to health to local interest to politics. Readers can vote a story up or down within Regator and that helps to make the story more important in the Regator index.

Check out my chat with Regator co-founder Scott Lockhart where we discuss Regator along with his tips for growing a site when you aren't located in the valley.

]]> sxswRegator is an Atlanta-based startup which provides curated blog aggregation. They have created aggregated pages for over 550 topics ranging from arts to health to local interest to politics. Readers can vote a story up or down within Regator and that helps to make the story more important in the Regator index. 

Check out my chat with Regator co-founder Scott Lockhart where we discuss Regator along with his tips for growing a site when you aren’t located in the valley.


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/regator-curated-blog-aggregation/feed 0 SXSW 2009: Mobile Trends Toward Futurism, Commerce, Laziness http://www.centernetworks.com/sxsw-mobile-trends http://www.centernetworks.com/sxsw-mobile-trends#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Jolie O'Dell sxswSaturday’s session at SXSW 2009 on Emerging Trends in Mobile gave audience members food for thought and panelists a run for their money.

The heavily international crowd (which included an estimated 25 percent non-American attendants) seemed to be, from a show of hands, a well-informed group with a good number of mobile developers in attendance.

Topics ranged from better device-charging solutions to developing for devices that come closer to standard Internet browsing every year. All in all, it was given that WAP technology is dead, fully Flash-enabled devices are the next step, image recognition capabilities and more detailed location-based information are crucial, and the idea that you’d have to actually plug a device into an outlet for any reason is becoming increasingly laughable.

What does this mean for marketers?

Read the rest of my article on Adrants.

Jolie O'Dell is a designer, writer, and consultant based in Richmond, Virginia.

]]> sxswSaturday’s session at SXSW 2009 on Emerging Trends in Mobile gave audience members food for thought and panelists a run for their money.

The heavily international crowd (which included an estimated 25 percent non-American attendants) seemed to be, from a show of hands, a well-informed group with a good number of mobile developers in attendance.

Topics ranged from better device-charging solutions to developing for devices that come closer to standard Internet browsing every year. All in all, it was given that WAP technology is dead, fully Flash-enabled devices are the next step, image recognition capabilities and more detailed location-based information are crucial, and the idea that you’d have to actually plug a device into an outlet for any reason is becoming increasingly laughable.

What does this mean for marketers?

Read the rest of my article on Adrants.

Jolie O’Dell is a designer, writer, and consultant based in Richmond, Virginia.


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/sxsw-mobile-trends/feed 1 Tactile CRM for Small Businesses http://www.centernetworks.com/tactile-crm-jake-stride http://www.centernetworks.com/tactile-crm-jake-stride#comments Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:13:46 +0000 Allen Stern tactileThere are a number of companies at SXSW representing the UK as part of their "Digital Mission". One of those companies is Tactile CRM. Tactile provides a contact and sales management system for small businesses.

Tactile just partnered with FreshBooks to integrate both systems together. Check out my 3-minute interview with Tactile CRM CEO Jake Stride:

]]> tactileThere are a number of companies at SXSW representing the UK as part of their “Digital Mission”. One of those companies is Tactile CRM. Tactile provides a contact and sales management system for small businesses.

Tactile just partnered with FreshBooks to integrate both systems together. Check out my 3-minute interview with Tactile CRM CEO Jake Stride:


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/tactile-crm-jake-stride/feed 0 SXSW Photos – Part II http://www.centernetworks.com/sxsw-photos-2009-2 http://www.centernetworks.com/sxsw-photos-2009-2#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Allen Stern sxswHere are some photos from Sunday at SXSW. I spent some time in the blogger lounge which was packed most of the day. There are a variety of good looking panels today and I am hoping to learn something new today.

You can check out all of my photos on Flickr.

I wonder what Marshall Kirkpatrick and Louis Gray are talking about...
SXSW 2009

]]> sxswHere are some photos from Sunday at SXSW. I spent some time in the blogger lounge which was packed most of the day. There are a variety of good looking panels today and I am hoping to learn something new today.

You can check out all of my photos on Flickr.

I wonder what Marshall Kirkpatrick and Louis Gray are talking about…
SXSW 2009

Amanda Gravel
SXSW 2009

Here’s Matt Cutts from Google and Tamar Weinberg. Matt traded me the sticker for a pagerank 9 on CN!
SXSW 2009

Shama Hyder
SXSW 2009


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/sxsw-photos-2009-2/feed 0 SXSW Demo Video – Tatango Group SMS http://www.centernetworks.com/tatango-group-sms-text-messaging http://www.centernetworks.com/tatango-group-sms-text-messaging#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Allen Stern tatangoThis afternoon at SXSW I caught up with Tatango CEO Derek Johnson. Tatango is a group SMS tool we first covered last summer when they launched the service. Tatango is similar to another group SMS service we covered, txt_blaster.

Check out my 2 minute video with Derek where he discusses Tatango, why bloggers are using it and how they plan to make money. He also discusses Tatango.TV which is their new 24x7 live video stream from their office.

]]> tatangoThis afternoon at SXSW I caught up with Tatango CEO Derek Johnson. Tatango is a group SMS tool we first covered last summer when they launched the service. Tatango is similar to another group SMS service we covered, txt_blaster.

Check out my 2 minute video with Derek where he discusses Tatango, why bloggers are using it and how they plan to make money. He also discusses Tatango.TV which is their new 24×7 live video stream from their office.


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/tatango-group-sms-text-messaging/feed 2 SXSW Demo Video – Pixton Comic Creation Tool http://www.centernetworks.com/pixton-comic-creation http://www.centernetworks.com/pixton-comic-creation#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Allen Stern sxswLast year at SXSW we covered the launch of comic strip tool Bitstrips. This year another comic creation tool is demoing their technology at SXSW. Pixton is a comic creation tool that looks really fun.

The comics can be created in over 40 languages and all of the elements are editable and you can move them around as well. The comics can be embedded in any site or blog. What's really neat is that you can remix the comics with your friends to create the best possible comic.

They have also announced the upcoming launch of an animated comic creation tool which will officially launch in 1-2 months. There's a neat demo of the animation tool on the Pixton website.

Check out my interview with Pixton co-founder Clive Goodinson:

]]> sxswLast year at SXSW we covered the launch of comic strip tool Bitstrips. This year another comic creation tool is demoing their technology at SXSW. Pixton is a comic creation tool that looks really fun.

The comics can be created in over 40 languages and all of the elements are editable and you can move them around as well. The comics can be embedded in any site or blog. What’s really neat is that you can remix the comics with your friends to create the best possible comic.

They have also announced the upcoming launch of an animated comic creation tool which will officially launch in 1-2 months. There’s a neat demo of the animation tool on the Pixton website.

Check out my interview with Pixton co-founder Clive Goodinson:


CenterNetworks Partner: Check out CloudContacts for your business card transcription and scanning needs.]]> http://www.centernetworks.com/pixton-comic-creation/feed 2