Nivac

PRLog (Press Release)
Sep 06, 2010 Bergen, Norway, Vizrt Ltd. (Oslo Main List: VIZ)

Radio Television Suisse (RTS), www.rts.ch, a business unit within the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR idÃe Suisse), Switzerland’s public broadcasting organization, has chosen Vizrt’s Escenic Content Engine 5 as the exclusive Content Management System (CMS) for its websites. Vizrt’s Escenic Content Engine 5 is now being used to manage RTS’ huge and growing media library, including over two million legacy assets residing on a Dalet media asset management system.

RTS offers two main websites, www.tsr.ch and www.rsr.ch, to complement the programming on two of its broadcast stations: Television Suisse Romande (TSR) and Radio Suisse Romande (RSR). TSR and RSR both broadcast programming in French, which along with German, Italian and Romansch comprise the four official languages of Switzerland.

At www.tsr.ch and www.rsr.ch, visitors can find the latest news, live sport streams weather forecasts, and information about RTS’ TV and radio programming. Both sites offer streaming media on demand as well as interactive features, such as contests and discussion forums. Media content on the websites is streamed from a playout center hosted at the public broadcaster’s SWISSTXT facility.

“RTS is dedicated to providing high-quality radio and television programming tailored to the needs of Switzerland’s,” said Gilles Marchand, director of Radio Television Suisse. “As the digital revolution transforms broadcasting, RTS is committed to offering in-depth resources for our news, sports, entertainment, educational and cultural programming via our stations’ websites. In the near future, we plan to broaden the interactive capabilities of these websites to promote even more thriving online broadcast communities. We’re confident Vizrt’s Escenic Content Engine was a good solution for our needs now and in terms of our future growth.”

Escenic Content Engine 5 provides RTS with a user-friendly, high-capacity repository for all text, images, audio, video, and other digital assets. The content feeds a tapeless workflow for creating and publishing digital content on the sites. RTS’ Escenic upgrade, which replaced two legacy CMS systems, took over 18 month to complete, culminating in June of this year. Cross Systems, www.cross-systems.ch, a Swiss consulting and software engineering company, handled the systems integration for the project.

The next planned phase calls for adding Escenic Community Engine, a complete solution for running high-volume, media-rich community sites. It allows users to publish their own pictures and images, maintain friends, join groups, and everything needed to create a living online community. Since Community Engine is based on the Escenic Content Engine, existing editorial content can easily be integrated into the community solution.

Vizrt CEO Martin Burkhalter explained, “We’re extremely pleased that RTS selected the Escenic Content Engine to create and publish content for their two popular broadcast websites. With its proven, full-featured toolset, Escenic Content Engine will satisfy RTS’ current and future digital publishing needs.”

About Radio Television Suisse:

Radio Television Suisse (RTS) is an enterprise unit of SRG SSR idÃe Suisse, the preeminent public broadcast network serving the multilingual, multicultural communities of Switzerland. In all, there are 18 radio stations including six German-language stations from Schweizer Radio DRS (SR DRS); four French-language stations from Radio Television Suisse (RTS); and three Italian-language stations from Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana (RSI); as well as eight television channels including two French-language channels from Radio Television Suisse (RTS), three German-language channels from Schweizer Fernsehen (SF) and the HDTV channel HD Suisse.

About Vizrt:

Vizrt, www.vizrt.com, provides real-time 3D graphics and asset management tools for the broadcast industry – from award-winning animations maps to online publishing tools.

Vizrt’s products are used by the world’s leading broadcasters and publishing houses, including: CNN, CBS, Fox, the BBC, BSkyB, ITN, Tele5, laSexta, ETB, TV3, Antena3 and FC Barcelona, The Globe and Mail, Times Online, The Telegraph, and Welt Online. Furthermore, many world-class production houses and corporate institutions such as the Stock Exchanges in New York and London use Vizrt systems.

Vizrt is a public company traded on the Oslo Main List: VIZ, ISIN: IL0010838154.

Press contacts:

Martin Burkhalter

CEO

+41 22 365 7501

mburkhalter@vizrt.com

Ofra Brown

CFO

+47 5351 8040

ofra@vizrt.com

SCHWARZ Financial Communication

Frank Schwarz

+49 611 1745 398 11

schwarz@schwarzfinancial.com

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Craigslist, the original and best known online community bulletin board, apparently caved to pressure this weekend and has disabled, if not necessarily eliminated, its adult services section.

The vast majority of Craigslist focuses on benign buying and selling of things such as used furniture, tickets to concerts, job postings and apartment rentals. But a small yet highly visible
 part of the website did advertise, albeit in vague language, adult oriented services that seemed to hint at the exchange of money for sex.

Over the past ten days, seventeen state attorney generals came together to put pressure on Craigslist to either better regulate or eliminate all together the section on its website that most believe serves as a platform for prostitution.

A multi-state letter, dated August 24, 2010 and addressed to Craigslist CEO signed by the attorney generals read, in part:

“The increasingly sharp public criticism of craigslist’s Adult Services section reflects a growing recognition that ads for prostitution - including ads trafficking children - are rampant on it. In our view, the company should take immediate action to end the misery for the women and children who may be exploited and victimized by these ads.

Your much-touted ‘manual review’ of Adult Services ads has failed to yield any discernable reduction in obvious solicitations. We recognize that craigslist may lose the considerable revenue generated by the Adult Services ads. No amount of money can justify the scourge of illegal prostitution, and the suffering of the woman and children who will continue to be victimized, in the market and trafficking provided by craigslist.”

Craigslist itself has not publicly commented on what it is doing with its adult services section, but instead has put a black banner over the section, with white letters spelling out ‘Censored’. Outside of the United States, the adult services section is still available.

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A real feature of a lot of partnerships is this outward-looking approach, he says.

His school belongs to Plumpton Educational Community, a network of five primary and secondary schools that includes 2500 students from 70 cultural backgrounds. The cluster is one of about 100 that have emerged over the past six years among 900 state schools.

The aim of such collectives is to promote public education, but the benefits go beyond publicity. Teachers say they improve camaraderie, revitalise learning and improve student attendance.

Over four years, the Plumpton partnership has grown into a flourishing community. Children work together on projects such as gala days, poetry festivals and dance ensembles, while secondary students coach and mentor primary pupils.

The arrangement smooths students transition between primary and secondary school and encourages staff to experiment with new ways of teaching.

This requires a great deal of trust between schools and letting go of traditional ways of doing things, Jamieson says.

Other similar networks focus on local issues, such as sustainable gardens in the Blue Mountains or environmental issues on the south coast.

Penguins are the hot topic on the northern beaches, where an alliance of five secondary campuses and 13 primary schools helps raise awareness through its annual Project Penguin.

Children work with Taronga Zoo and local businesses on a range of collaborative assignments, including films, books, websites and displays.

The principal of Northern Beaches Secondary College, Steve Pickering, and his colleagues were inspired to introduce this project-based learning after visiting progressive schools in Adelaide and the US a few years ago. He believes working in groups on real issues improves student engagement, especially in middle years, by leveraging team loyalty and promoting a sense of achievement. It also moves education towards student-centre learning and lets children make unique contributions they would not be able to on their own.

Its shocked some of the teachers just how enthused some of the students have become, Pickering says.

New technologies are expanding the reach and capacity of many communities. For example, the northern beaches alliance plans to use video-conferencing facilities introduced by the states Connected Classrooms program three years ago. The equipment can connect students with zookeepers - or potentially anyone anywhere on the globe.

Other groups are using social media, blogs, wikis and the e-learning software Moodle.

At the independent MLC School in Burwood, girls interact with students around the world through an online virtual world within the 3D website Second Life.

The platform, which is part of online community Skoolaborate (skoolaborate.com), was launched three years ago by the schools director of online learning, Westley Field, and is used by teenagers in more than 50 schools in 11 countries.

Within the virtual world, students organise online events, build venues and lead discussions.

Its a great way for students to bridge gender, age and cultural divides, says a year 11 student, Lucinda Denton. You definitely get different opinions than you would with girls in my class. Researchers have also started working with schools to promote the sciences.

At Macquarie University, for example, the Space to Grow program lets children across the state work on real astronomy research.

And for the past two years, the Australian Society of Microbiology has worked with schools in the Lucas Heights, Gymea, Cronulla and Heathcote on the Microbiology Challenge Project. Year 9 and 10 students link with mentors who run experiments in industry laboratories.

Funded by the National Australia Banks Schools First seed-funding program, the project also shows how philanthropic ventures can leverage community networks.

The charity SchoolAid, for example, helps students from 1500 schools across the country support less advantaged children.

Its new indigenous literacy campaign teaches pupils about indigenous issues and encourages them to donate books and money to the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation.

Its founder, Sean Gordon, says such organisations pool the efforts of otherwise isolated grassroots campaigns and let children learn from one another while contributing to a good cause.

Its about connecting schools for a common purpose, he says.

A little school out of the back of Bourke can make a small but significant contribution. It gives country kids an equal opportunity to make a difference as city kids.

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People are resistant to change.  We find solace in our daily routines.  And because social media sites have become a part of that routine (for better or worse) even small changes to those services can effect us.    So while not every change is bad, and most (if not all) will have their naysayers, some changes are just harder to swallow than others.  Here are 4 recent (and very public) examples of changes that caused the respective communities to lash out.

Betray your userstrust

Example: Facebooks Privacy Settings

Its no secret that Facebook privacy policy is complicated.  In fact, its longer than the US constitution.    Late last year, however, Facebook rolled out a privacy settings update that made users (previously private) friends lists public, and gave no ability to make it private again.  Gawker called this Facebooks Great Betrayal.

While this wasnt the first time Facebook was under fire for its privacy policies, it is arguably the worst example by the social media giant.  Outraged bloggers became concerned news outlets which eventually evolved into a main stream media fire storm of concerns over Facebook amp; privacy.  A storm that is still going strong today.

Create a feature that people want, but ruinit

Example: Twitters Re-tweet Button

In retrospect, the addition of a one-touch retweet button made a lot of sense.  The format RT @username: became such common use, that to NOT add a button seemed more of a slight than to screw it up.  Well screw it up they did

The problem with what Twitter released last year wasnt about functionality, but rather the format. Instead of simply adding “RT @username” before the tweet as your own, the re-tweet would instead show up in your followers feeds as it originally looked, avatar and all.  Additionally, the button didnt allow for users to amend the original tweet in any way.

While this wasnt the worst thing that Twitter could do, it was widely criticized by the community.  Almost a year later, people continue to use the original format and manually RT instead of using the button.  In fact, in my own twitter feed, I had to go 3 pages deep and pass over 10 manual re-tweets before finding a Twitter generated re-tweet.

The lesson here: if youre going to add a feature based on common user activity, keep it as similar to that activity as possible.  Twitter still hasnt listened.

Take away corefeatures

Example: Sphinn announces theyre removing voting

In case you hadnt heard, just a few days ago, Sphinn announced it was doing away with user voting.  The social media news site for the SEO and Internet Marketing community will now be completely editor hand picked content.  The decision came just a couple weeks after the announcement of a more strict editorial policing of content to prevent sub-par submissions from reaching the front page through group voting.

Its not hard to imagine why people would be upset by this news.  No longer will the community have the power to vote on what content is featured on the main page.  Criticism that Sphinn will become more of an “old boys club” and that editors will only promote content by their peers are wide spread and (perhaps) valid.  Danny Sullivan himself even admitted the site would no longer be a “social media” news site.

While it is yet to be seen if the decision will pay off in the long-run, many loyal users are upset by this prospect and dont see why they would continue to participate in the site.  So even if this improves the quality of the content on Sphinn, the backlash will likely carry a price in the short term.

Completely change the entire way the site works (including breakingit)

Example: Digg v. 4

Just over a week ago Digg made major changes reflective of a new era for the social media news giant.  The problem is: nobody likes it.  There have been enough articles about what changes people hate the most and what features that are no longer available users are missing the most, so I wont go into the gory details.  In order to truly appreciate the differences between the two versions you simply needed to experience it.  In short: the site practically stopped being Digg and became a whole new idea altogether.

If change is bad, then Digg just committed a mortal sin.  At least thats the feeling when you talk to some power users about it.  Many are begging for features to come back and (even as I write this) conducting boycotts of the service to make their points heard.

Whats worse: the service seems to be completely unreliable as of late showing a “broken axle” (Diggs “fail ox”) for sometimes hours at a time.  And even when it is working, angered users (in protest) have promoted popular stories that point to the competing (and growing) reddit instead of the original article making for a very poor user experience.

Diggs creator and former CEO (who stepped down this week) Kevin Rose promised that they were working to bring back many of the removed features, but the damage has been done.  The site has lost over 1/3 of its traffic and devout users have already started migrating elsewhere.  What will become of Digg?  Its anyones guess.

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We’ve all had this experience, haven’t we? A neighbor or friend is struggling through an illness or a family emergency, so we offer our sympathy and help.

“You tell them to call you anytime, 24/7,” said Hal Chapel, an entrepreneur in Maynard, Mass. “You mean it, and they believe it and it never happens because they’re absorbed in the crisis.”

A Web service Mr. Chapel and his partner introduced five years ago, Lotsa Helping Hands, aims to connect those in need with friends and acquaintances willing to provide rides and meals, do chores or pay visits. About 30,000 communities have coalesced through the site; one currently operating in my town, Montclair, NJ, supports a local woman and her family as she undergoes chemotherapy.

A recent New Old Age post about my dad’s remarkable neighbors, The Caregiver Next Door, and the ensuing comments led me to look into this kind of service.

Lotsa Helping Hands coordinates assistance, so families who need help because they have a new baby, for example, or a deployed service member, or a hospitalized parent won’t get five casseroles dropped off one day, then find that everyone’s stopped calling two weeks later.

The site first invites you to join a private network and create an online community. Once you accept, you get e-mailed bulletins about what’s needed, plus access to a calendar that shows who’s doing what and when. You’ll receive progress reports and e-mailed reminders of the commitments you made. If you’re accompanying someone to a medical appointment, the team’s leaders can choose to share critical information about prescriptions or medical history.

“We’ve been able to work with the innate goodness of human beings, but also tap the pent-up need we all feel for community,” Mr. Chapel said. The service is free for users; the company intends to make money (it just celebrated its first break-even month) by licensing the software to employers, insurance and pharmaceutical companies and nonprofit organizations for their members or customers.

Similar Web sites like Carerunner and Careflash have had the same idea of harnessing the Net’s networking powers, though these tend to be smaller. Another site, called eCare Diary, is more oriented toward family coordination.

I’ll caution that such sites may serve better for other kinds of assistance than for elder care. At Lotsa Helping Hands, for instance, only about 10 percent of communities are elder-related, a proportion Mr. Chapel wants to increase. Those communities are smaller, too: cancer care communities average 80 helpers; elder care attracts 20 to 25 on average.

And while a quarter of communities are still functioning after a year, most disband after four months a life span better suited to a young family’s health crisis than an old person’s ongoing frailty or illness.

I doubt they’d work for my dad, for instance, when he reaches the point of needing help. His social network is also quite elderly, with few drivers and even fewer computer users; we’d have to find a different solution.

But I could certainly see cases where they’d prove useful. If you’ve had experience with an online caregiving community, please tell us about it.

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ST. LOUIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Online investing
firm Scottrade is one of the few financial services firms actively
communicating with its investors through social media networking
communities. Today, the firm launched its first Chinese-language Online
Community.

Im brand new to this site and must say Im very impressed. Ive only
been logged in for an hour and already have picked up some very valuable
info. Im really excited. I havent traded in a while, but intend to get
back in the game.

The site, chinesecommunity.scottrade.com,
extends online conversations to Scottrade customers who speak Chinese.
Mirroring the English-language Online Community (community.scottrade.com)
in form and function, the Chinese version will have blogs and group
discussions, as well as videos, profiles, photos and file sharing.

The English-language community, with more than 42,000 members today,
continues to grow. The password-protected, customers-only site launched
in April 2008. Some popular discussion groups in the community include
Active Traders, Long Term Investors, New Traders, Options Traders,
Technical Analysis and Sector-Based Discussions.

In addition, Scottrade Advisor Services provides community.scottradeadvisor.com
for its registered investment advisors to collaborate and meet with
other like-minded financial professionals online.

The three online communities hosted by Scottrade go beyond providing
personal service, which is offered through Scottrade’s more than 475
branch offices across the country, its Facebook and Twitter pages,
e-mail correspondence, online chat and national service center. The
peer-to-peer and peer-to-expert conversations and content in the online
communities work to educate investors and provide answers to investing
questions that aren’t account-specific.

One Scottrade Online Community member, who goes by the screen name
Paperchase, said being a member of the community has improved her skills
tremendously. “Online trading can be so isolating, and I am not one to
be isolated!” she said.

“Dialogue with our customers is essential,” said Rodger Riney,
Scottrade’s founder and chief executive officer. “With our online
communities, we’ve further opened up a conversation between our product
specialists and our customers. Our associates are passionate, and
customers can connect with them and each other to build their knowledge
and provide feedback. This ensures everyone wins.”

Free for customers and easy to join, the communities tie all of
Scottrade’s educational resources together, add peer-to-peer interaction
and a direct way to communicate with Scottrade product developers.
Because of this, community members’ participation in beta testing new
products and services has helped identify and prioritize significant
product upgrades.

Another community member, who goes by the screen name Kosterma, said,
“Im brand new to this site and must say Im very impressed. Ive only
been logged in for an hour and already have picked up some very valuable
info. Im really excited. I havent traded in a while, but intend to get
back in the game.”

Scottrade places the same importance on investment education as it does
offering affordable $7 online trades*, convenient branch offices and
outstanding, consistent customer service, said Nina Card, Scottrade’s
online community supervisor. “We created the communities to encourage
communication and collaboration. It grew exceedingly fast, which is
proof to us that traders were looking for a safe place to meet and talk
with others who share similar strategies or goals.”

About Scottrade

As a leading online investing firm, Scottrade offers a full line of
investment products, online trading services and market research tools
to help investors take control of their financial future. Founded in
1980, Scottrade is dedicated to personalized customer service and value,
providing customers the convenience of buying many stocks online at just
$7 per trade and the support of the largest branch network among online
investment firms, with more than 475 nationwide branch offices.
Scottrade has been named one of FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best
Companies to Work For” in America for three consecutive years. For more
information, visit www.scottrade.com
and follow us on Facebook,
Twitter,
YouTube
and Flickr.

*Online market and limit stock trades are just $7 for stocks priced $1
and above.

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Online communities provide a way for students to express their thoughts, ideas and fears about academic and personal issues without worrying about the judgment of others.

University Life Cafe is one of those online communities.

The site for students provides professional information about topics like personal well-being, test anxiety, problem solving and suicide prevention. It also has activities like artwork and humorous videos.

University Life Cafe has been awarded by the American College Personnel Association as one of the top 10 innovations in college counseling.

The original idea of being a lsquo;cafe was finding a place where students could meet, talk, engage and share their stories, said Fred Newton, former director of counseling services.

Barbara Pearson, assistant director of counseling services and director of University Life Cafe, said she wants to ensure K-State students that although the website has professional information available, it is not just another help site for students. It has other content like news about campus events, site-sponsored contests and annual art showings.

University Life Cafe launched in January 2009 and was created with contributions from K-State students, faculty and staff. On a weekend retreat, members created everything from the websites name to its logo and layout.

Other universities are amazed that weve been able to do all of this, that we are able to get a committee together and have instructors do an overnight retreat so this could all be made possible, Pearson said.

Since the websites launch, a student advisory board still meets regularly to discuss the site and how it can be improved.

It really is the first of its kind in the US, said Shalin Hai-Jew, instructional designer for the Information Technology Assistance Center.

The site is run by Pearson, several undergraduate students, graduate students and other members of the K-State faculty and staff.

The site-sponsored videos were shot on campus and feature students from the drama therapy department, and marketing and advertising students have focused on getting information out on campus.

University Life Cafe is a great multi-layer project that reaches out to students that may not normally come into the counseling office, Pearson said. This site reaches students where they are located.

Outside of the United States, people from 117 countries have visited University Life Cafe, and it has been translated into 30 languages. Pearson said the site is recognized more nationally and internationally than it is on the K-State campus.

One of our goals now is to get the news about University Life Cafe spread around campus, so K-State students can take advantage of University Life Cafes many benefits, Pearson said.

More information on University Life Cafe can be found on the second floor of the English and Counseling Services building or at www.universitylifecafe.org.

K-State wins at home in front of sold-out crowd

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An Online Community Portal Is Now Available In Buffalo, NY.

Nickel City Guide is pleased to announce the launch of its new website, www.NickelCityGuide.com. A place for the community of Buffalo, NY, and Erie County, to come together, offering free classified ads, local coupons, as well as an unparalleled avenue for businesses to advertise their products and services.

- by Scott Turner - 2010/09/02

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When Apple purchased LaLa, we briefly examined the history of digital music prior to their announcement. In an effort to really understand iTunes new Ping, I turn once again to history; this time my own.

When iTunes was born, the music industry was experiencing its first depressing years in the red. I was just a girl with rock roll hair, working at a mid-size indie record label, running our internet show, trying to keep our sales in the black using the internet, simultaneously spending at least 20 hours/week communicating with fans of bands on our label.

Online bulletin boards (ah yes, phpbb), list-servs, and creative street team promotions for our superfans - I spent my nights conjuring up the most bizarre online marketing plans i could muster. And…making animated buddy icons for bands. Yeah, that jerk was me.

The job title on my What Are Records? business card ranged from internet girl and online all the time to Director Online Marketing AR. Eventually I participated in negotiating one of the first-ever direct deals between iTunes and an independent record label.

Over the last ten years Ive had the opportunity to pour over numerous digital retail licensing contracts including the deals iTunes offered to big indies, individual artists and distributors as well as promotional efforts and sales charts centered around the iTunes store. Ive seen the checks that go to labels artists from iTunes, and they are handsome.

The reaction to new music products in San Francisco is somewhat odd; it generally lasts 24 hours, and by the end of the day a few tech blogs have purported to solve all music industry problems with just one tech adjustment, not realizing it probably doesnt make any sense in the realm of actual music industry.

Venture based publications have to render an opinion immediately, and without any music background, they dont ask music-centric questions, but instead spend time figuring out: is it twitter-like? blogger-like? facebook-like?

None of that matters to me. But also, Pings not twitter-like, so stop saying that.

iTunes and I…weve got history. And so does my work with artists, fans and the social context of music. What used to be the highly personal activity of sending packages of posters w/ personal notes to street teamers morphed into logical digital activities like sending newsletters, pdfs of posters for fans to print and post on lamposts Electronic Press Kits with share buttons.

Now we can create entire online community networks designed just for street teams or fans alone and publish label samplers as podcasts instead of CDs. And, of course, labels artists and bands are communicating with fans and with each other using various forms of socialized media and real-time technology.

While socio-digital networks grow, iTunes remains the biggest source of digital sales to artists labels. Digital music alone has kept multiple independent record labels in business based solely on sales from iTunes. Infinite retail space and the elimination of returns is the single greatest accomplishment in the early Age Of Digital Music, and iTunes did it. Like a regular record store, to promote the music for sale in iTunes, labels, artists and marketers are fighting for features within the iTunes store and they all have the same great reason to fight: iTunes is not a music discovery platform, but it generates 85% of all digital music sales.

How does anyone find anything in the iTunes store when most people receive music recommendations from their friends? To paraphrase Ted Cohen, iTunes is a lot like a 7-11. You have to know what you want when you are there. And then, most likely, you leave.

Other on demand streaming platforms (rdio, for example) were conceived with core music sharing behaviors in mind prior to launch. Ping definitely resembles Rdio, but right now iTunes is not a place for listening, it is a store where consumers buy mp3s.

Apple has successfully trained over 150 million human beings to use iTunes for one purpose - purchasing files. Now, they are giving real consumers an opportunity to have conversations and share extraneous media or buy concert tickets in the store around the music they are purchasing.

Imagine going to Amoeba, seeing your friend and saying hey what are you buying, Im buying this. Or maybe youre a superfan so you also add by the way I have a lock of Bret Michaels hair, wanna see a pic of it?

Sounds fun, and lets face it: The internet is fun. Whether you get sucked in to playing You Dont Know Jack , or cant give up your foursquare habit because you love being mayor of Lost Weekend Video, the greatest internet moments derive from the pleasure principal.

iTunes is a smooth experience but its never really been fun. iMixes take a long time to publish and you can only share :30 second clips. And as much as I love my iPhone (we cuddle) what about media consumers with Androids and Blackberries? They cant play.

After enhancing the digital purchasing power of individuals within iTunes, Apple is embracing their attention.

Ping transforms iTunes from a simple digital store, into a multimedia consumer browser with privacy settings. Your purchasing power generates social context. Your purchasing habits around iTunes media are now social, so if you click the little ping button, you will see what your friends are purchasing, and any conversation generated around those items. You will not be able to listen to any of the music or media on demand. You will have to buy the mp3. But you can type your thoughts, and upload pictures and basically take all your social habits into your iTunes browser, which is a hub for purchasing digital content. And thats if you click the ping button, and choose to participate.

Trippin

So lets future trip. Think about the hard devices in your home and the 3 major smartphones. With the announcement of Ping, we could be seeing the first clue of what is to come: 3 or 4 major media consumer companies. Yes, it will all roll up into 3 or 4. You, the consumer, will eventually have to choose one. Youre an Apple, a Google and a (Microsoft? Amazon? Clear Channel?).

The carrier/ hub/ media group you choose will provide you with wifi and house your digital media - all of it. They will know you well. They will provide you with all of the same entertainment you receive today, but with added features you can only get by choosing your media company, from whom you will also purchase the hardware. On demand streams will be collected by the hardwares preferred cloud. It will almost be like choosing between cable companies, but you will not only be choosing your cable provider, you will also be choosing your media provider.

Personally, Im not a PC, never really was. Windows wasnt my idea. Ive been a Mac since having fun with hypercard in college. Right now, Im a Mac who loves Rdio and only buys stuff in iTunes using my lala credits.

What Does This Mean For Music Promotion?

With the announcement of Ping, my inner music geek just listened to something on Rdio, but my marketing brain is already throwing a dance party. Since 85% of all digital music purchases take place within the iTunes browser, the customized charts and opportunity to capitalize on a social economy enables artists and consumers to act as tastemakers in unison and draw attention to music in iTunes - an opportunity that previous to now has only been available to about 4 indie artists per month.

Adding social context creates new opportunities for creative marketing. iTunes is going from a regular old 7-11 to the biggest digital version of Amoeba weve seen to date, creating more opportunity for music exposure. Id say what those opportunities are, but then Id have no job, and I do so love living in San Francisco. So…sorry.

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PRLog (Press Release)
Aug 28, 2010 Oddpath.com is currently adding supplementary new features that will devise its Online Community more advantageous to all of its web users, businesses, business listings, and anyone using Oddpath.com. We sense this alone will make Oddpath as a one stop locality for local search, meeting new or existing friends, doing business dealings or listing your business, promoting your business, writing reviews, people search, networking, socializing and more which is just simply amazing!

Oddpath.com (http://oddpath.com) is at this time in the last phases of building and releasing its new trouble-free but yet extremely urbanized Social Community and Social Business Community within the Oddpath.com community. The company expects to impress its online web users Online Social surfers with its impending fresh remodeling, revamping, as well as its improvements and in addendum to making its site more beneficial and user sociable.

Oddpath.com is a free of charge Internet Social-Network Community, Sophisticated Local Search Engine with an Information bank that supplies over 11 million business 100 million people records as well as tons of other beneficial features for its On-line web surfers! Oddpath.com also has its own Social Gaming Network Platform that provides an array of Multiplayer games that include social talk, game rooms, chitchat and leader boards, rewards and achievements.

Oddpaths local search is an entertaining and effortless way to peek for, find, evaluate and talk about whats good and or distasteful in your area. It gives consumers the capability to review and remark on their most wanted or most awful businesses in categories like Bars, Cafes, Clubs, Dentists, Entertainment, Hotels, Parks, Restaurants, etc…

In addition, Oddpath.com is an Online Community that allows you to convene, socialize, network, and converse with your existing and or new friends. By constructing your own neighborhood on Oddpath you can allocate information and opinions on local businesses, search people, seek by mobile, map places, research money or investment ideas, post photos, comments, blog, share interests with your friends, the public, or the Oddpath community.

Oddpaths spanking new Oddpath Live Social Gaming just was launched and can be viewed at: http://oddpath.com/odd/games. Oddpath knows that casual games are enormously liked in the center of mainstream Web users. Nevertheless Oddpath is merciless to go past that by means of a new platform to interact each user separately and enhance total engagement in bulk by connecting users allowing them to play Multi-Player real time against each other.

About Oddpath.com:

Oddpath is Impressive Limitless upcoming Social Business Networking Commune, Local Search Engine Directory as well as a Social Gaming Site which connects you to everyone everything youre interested in and or think about! Search Local Businesses, Write Reviews, Store your Favorite Places, Socialize, Mingle, meet new Friends, Business Associates, add Photos, Chat, Flirt, Play Live Social Games, chat and leader boards, and get rewards. Fabricate your enterprise, find partners, clients, and assemble your network, Reveal blogs, Blog in relation to your personal or industry experiences! Oddpath.com is being upgraded, revamped, and therefore is an imminent Online Community to become a member of.

Oddpaths goal overall is to offer its end users, businesses, and members peak rated assistance and to make sure they have a influence and reason in its Online Community. Oddpath.com plans to stay at the forefront of the curve with its rivals by providing its members a one on one service at any time it’s called for or most wanted!!!

Oddpath.com

5722 South Flamingo Rd 280

Cooper City, Florida, 33330

USA

Phone: 954-933-6349

Email: contact@oddpath.com

Site: http://oddpath.com

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