Google Is god
By Grant | April 24, 2007
With their seemingly relentless unveiling of new products and services and uncanny ability to be one step ahead of the competition, I previously dubbed Google “god of the Internet Frontier”. Or, when it comes to all things ‘net, simply: Google is god.
Well, it looks like traditional religion is feeling the heat. Check out the tongue-in-cheek picture below!
Topics: Webhead | No Comments »
Funny Or Die!! Sanchez.
By Grant | April 23, 2007
While I don’t know why exactly a comedy site that distributes original content from established comedians via the Internet has earth-shattering new technology necessitating the label “beta”, I’ll put aside any concern and enjoy a laugh or two on Funny or Die. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s Gary Sanchez Productions is making a splash on the Internet, partnering with leading venture capital firm Sequoia Capital to launch comedy video site FunnyOrDie.com.
The site is simple enough in premise, and very Digg-like. Vote on the videos and decide whether they’re funny or whether they should die a fiery death. From Funny Or Die: The site was created by Gary Sanchez Productions and a bunch of Silicon Valley guys who drive Hondas and watch old episodes of Babylon Five. Venture capitalist, Mark Kvamme and his son came up with a concept for a new kind of comedy site and approached Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s company, Gary Sanchez Productions. Randy Adams, a Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur, signed on to handle design and implementation. They along with writer/producer Chris Henchy sought to make a comedy site where established comedians and regular users could put up stuff just because they think it’s funny. At the same time they wanted to eliminate all the junk that people have to pick through to find funny stuff.
Sequoia Capital knows a thing or two about successful user-generated Web sites, having provided early rounds of funding to YouTube. The company also delivered venture capital for YouTube’s parent, Google, as well as Yahoo! PayPal, and Meebo.
While Gary Sanchez is no-where to be found, I managed to track down his Myspace page located here. Wherever he is, Gary manages to produce some pretty funny stuff. It’s fun to see what these comedians get up to in their spare time when they are not censored or their creativity hampered by old-media. Check out Will Ferrell’s short below.
Topics: Topical News, Viral... Marketing!, Webhead | 3 Comments »
Joost Invites: Update
By Grant | April 23, 2007
Well, after an overwhelming response to my blog on available invites to Joost I have now run out. Happy Joosting Everyone!!
Topics: Topical News, Web 2.0, Webhead | No Comments »
Joost Invite Anyone?
By Grant | April 22, 2007
I signed on to be a beta tester for Joost, an Internet TV startup created by the same people who started peer to peer innovator Kazaa and VoIP giant Skype. Joost founders aim to create a distribution medium for television content via the web and mix a bunch of community elements into the viewer.
=- Joost Promo Ad-=
My impression so far? I really like the viewer, which requires a download and install. A menu allows users to switch channels with a click of a link. Users will also have TiVo-like control of the content and access to any show offered regardless of time of day. They can also can skip ahead or backward within a show. I see a lot of potential for a new way to surf, share and explore TV programs via the Joost network. I know it’s still in beta, but my biggest issue with Joost is that their video buffering is still pretty bad. I have yet to watch even 5 minutes of a video without it stalling.
One of the key elements that separated online video giant, YouTube from early competition was their fabulous ability to provide video streaming over the Internet without buffering. When was the last time a YouTube video stalled on you? Speaking of YouTube, the video above is an advertisement for competitor Joost that I’ve embedded on my blog via YouTube. Joost had no option to embed their promotional video via their service even though they appeal to bloggers to promote their product.
It looks like they’ve shut off the beta sign up to the public, opting for the popular invitation to beta method so many Web 2.0 startups seem to prefer. I have a few invitations to hand out, email me at: gstorry (at) gmail.com if you would like one!
Topics: Topical News, Web 2.0, Webhead | 1 Comment »