kahley's blog
Some Links Collected from the NewsTools 2008 Conference
One of the coolest things I experienced at the conference was the onslaught of interesting and relevant projects, websites and startups mentioned in the break-out sessions. Here are some of the links that I collected from various discussions at the NewsTools 2008 conference.
Microformats (web-based metadata-formatting)
OpenID (open source metadata platform)
SIMILE project at MIT (seeks to enhance inter-operability among digital assets, schemata/vocabularies/ontologies, metadata, and services)
OrgNet (social network analysis software and services)
Archive.org (not-for-profit internet library)
CurrentTV (Al Gore’s collective online-to-television media project)
Daylife (News, image, and quote aggregator)
All Voices (open news, image, discussion aggregator organized graphically by location or catergory)
TubeMogul (online video analytics and distribution)
ooVoo (video conferencing and IM application)
Yahoo Live (allows users to broadcast video in real time)
Mogulus (live online video switcher and streaming tool)
Operator11 (live online video switcher and streaming tool)
Citizen Media Law Project (law guide for citizen media creators with or without formal legal training)
Kiva (transparent lending platform to 3rd world entrepreneurs)
Monkey Screen Monky Do
Often the greatest obstacle in the success of a project, application, or site is getting your audience to appreciate all of its features the way the creators do. After all, not everything can be as self explanatory and user-friendly as craigslist (nor can they employ such profound and beautiful design motifs).
Aside from having someone pull up a chair next to your desk and point everything out to you, screencasting is the best way to showcase features and the most effective form of how-to’s out there.
Complex professional software like Final Cut Pro or Photoshop would otherwise be staggeringly intimidating without help from (mostly independent) screencasters to guide me through the dark. I’ve learned techniques to sequencing music on Reason, saw how to create cool effects in Final Cut Pro, and realized that I suck at Photoshop.
Many current web 2.0 projects like Seesmic and Miro include entertaining screencasts that let new users in on how to get the most out of their products and to shed light on common snags.
Screencasting is allowing online tools and intricate software to be an attainable part of more users’ lives by presenting it to them in an easy-to-understand video made by people who were once in the shoes of the amateur. It’s an element of media that could only flourish in the days of the Internet and online video.
The inclusive, open-media beauty of screencasting is that anyone can create one. Jing is a solid, easy-to-use and free tool to capture video from your computer, add a narration track, and edit it to your liking. Go on, screencast it up!
A Look at Miro
I have been a happy iTunes user when it comes to downloading, organizing, and enjoying my favorite online “TV shows”. However, as an open-media zealot and a perpetual killer app scout, I felt like I had to give Miro, the free, open source Internet TV and video player, a try, seeing that it’s supposedly made to “turn my computer into an internet TV”.
