Today mDialog debuts a new video service platform designed to support HTML5, live streaming and dynamic ad-insertion in video streams.
Publishers and content providers can now not only encode and serve live stream or Video On Demand content in HTML5, but they can also insert ads or b-roll into those videos factors like geolocation, dayspotting and the number of times a user has seen an ad.
We’ve talked a lot about the big push for HTML5 video from the bigger content providers, and we’ve covered services like Encoding.com that can help prepare video files for distribution on the iPad, iPhone and other HTML5 devices. However, for many video publishers or content creators, the right format is only half of the battle.
Monetizing video, whether you use overlay ads like YouTube does or you insert selected ads at different points in a stream, is understandably very important for content publishers. Many services have been created to facilitate ad serving for Flash content, but for publishers who want to stream and insert ads with HTML5, options are more limited.
Posted in Contributors, News
Tagged APIs, Channels, geolocation, html5, ipad, iPhone, mdialog, Video, Web Apps, Web Development, web video
Tagged APIs, Channels, geolocation, html5, ipad, iPhone, mdialog, Video, Web Apps, Web Development, web video
.qr to the end of a shortened Goo.gl URL and it'll instantly generate a QR code for you.
Once you've got your shortened Goo.gl URL—like http://goo.gl/3p8r, which points to Lifehacker's home page—just append .qr like so:
http://goo.gl/3p8r.qr
...and you've got your personal QR code. Not bad.
Posted in Contributors
Tagged Android, Bar Codes, Cameraphones, Cellphones, Codes, Goo.gl, Google, iPhone, qr codes, URL Hacks
Tagged Android, Bar Codes, Cameraphones, Cellphones, Codes, Goo.gl, Google, iPhone, qr codes, URL Hacks
Bourne Energy has created a portable hydroelectric generator that weighs less than 30 pounds and can be worn like a backpack.
The appropriately-called Backpack Power Plant is capable of generating 500 watts and can quietly produce electricity from a stream four feet or deeper. To install the generator, the user digs a trench on either side of the stream or river for two lightweight anchors. A rope connects the anchors to the generator, keeping it afloat through tension.
It performs best at flow speeds of 2.3 meters per second, but can work at a variety of speeds. It produces no heat or exhaust emissions.
Bourne has designed a more-powerful and lighter version for military use in remote locations. The civilian version will sell for $3,000 and could be used in developing countries or by any hydroelectricity enthusiast.
via Wired Science
25Feb10
Beautiful Nuit Blanche
Nuit Blanche (from Spy Films) is a surreal, beautifully-rendered, partially-CG short film directed by Arev Manoukian. Two strangers see each other for the first time, prompting a reaction so strong (spoiler) that not-Matthew-Modine steps into traffic and not-Famke-Janssen jumps through a window face first.
Here’s the “making of” video if you’re interested in some of this rendering:
In between writing hits like "Sugar Magnolia" and "Franklin's Tower," it turns out The Grateful Dead were pretty shrewd businessmen. The Atlantic took a look at the band to find out what managers and freelancers can learn from them.
Photo by Alaskan Dude.
Music professor Fredric Lieberman and sociologist Rebecca G. Adams have studied the Grateful Dead for some time now and say the current trends that create customer and client loyalty mirror the way the Dead did business decades ago. They point out, for example, that The Dead cultivated loyal customers with reward systems long before it was popular to do so, gave away their product wisely by allowing fans to tape shows, and learned the value of referral networking long before MySpace existed.
According to Barnes, the decision [to let fans tape shows] was not entirely selfless: it reflected a shrewd assessment that tape sharing would widen their audience, a ban would be unenforceable, and anyone inclined to tape a show would probably spend money elsewhere, such as on merchandise or tickets. The Dead became one of the most profitable bands of all time.All in all, the Grateful Dead was as much a business as it was a band. The takeaway message is that it's possible to develop a viable business strategy while staying true to your roots and mission. The Dead found ways to keep customers happy using methods that seemed unorthodox at the time, but were still very effective. Don't be afraid to try new things like social networking or new advertising methods to keep your clients and customers happy, too. Have you stepped outside your comfort zone to try a new approach to getting clients for your freelancing business? Have you come up with new ways to motivate the team you manage at work? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Management Secrets of the Grateful Dead [The Atlantic via Clusterflock]
