XTV is a internet video service for the enterprise. (IPTV) But it’s not useful to just enterprise users.  Imagine you have a number of videos that you want to publish about your small business or hobby.  Where do you put them?  Well YouTube or some other video cloud service typically.  That’s great and all, but the problem is once your user goes to YouTube, you pretty much lost them. You have to compete with videos of cats and Epic Rap battles of history.

What xTV offers is a closed experience where not only the videos you want your users to see are provided, but they can be organized into channels with each channel showing a list of thumbnails of the videos in that channel. Nice. But that is not where the win is …

Because this is internet based, displayed using any HTML5 compliant browser, the experience can be interactive.  So not only can your viewers watch your content, they can interact with screen as well.  If the screen happens to be a large monitor on a wall, then the users can capture a 2d QR code and interact using their cell phone.  Sweet eh?

So what are some use cases?  Well as I alluded to above, you may have a number of monitors in an office lobby, or displayed at an event that will play your videos in a loop.  With the QR code displayed at all times, visitors walking by can use their phone to interact with the video, perhaps answering questions in a quiz, or perhaps learn more about a company’s offerings or positions they are trying to hire for.  Since everything is internet based, they can even take the video loop playing on the screen and take it with them to view on their own devices.

More? Here is a use case I want to see…  I went a two trips recently.  In the hotel on the first trip, the hotel played a loop of videos about the local shoppes and attractions.  However this was a loop, I could not say, just see restaurants, I had to sit through content I was not interested in.  On the second trip, which I did not research ahead a time, I expected to see the same type of video feed, instead this place just had cable. So I was stuck with using Yelp, which is ok, but I would rather hear and see from the restaurant themselves.  How much better would it have been that I could have called up the restaurant channel at the hotel, or even on the way to the hotel to see what we might like to eat?

Now as you can guess, this is not just a general review of something I found on the internet, I have been an adviser to xTV for near three years and have joined the team full time.  So there!

Now back to the goodness… and why I’m writing this post…

There are many other great use cases that are being defined with customers, but what I wanted to write about, and perhaps get some feedback on, is what ELSE can we do with this?

Part of the xTV system is to allow users to create their own networks.  What interactive elements would people put on the display?  Or run on the phones browser? So let’s say you have a network with a bunch of channels with music. It’s HTML5 so anything you can imagine on a webpage is doable. There are the easy things; voting on content, comments, and of course online shopping.  But what else? Pull up lyrics perhaps? Read the musicians’ bio? Tour dates? One of my hobbies is VR.  So if I put a VR channel together, perhaps I could show a code that lets the user into a virtual world with other people who clicked on the code.

So check out the Network and let me know what you all think.  You can leave comments here on my blog or via contact us at xtv.net if you want it private.  Check the video below…

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=S87xKAXCn3M

Pinterest

Advertisers will now be able to add a tracking pixel to their Promoted Pins to collect information on how well a Pin is doing. That pixel on the advertiser’s site can determine which customers are arriving after either viewing or clicking on an advertiser’s Promoted Pin. And in turn, Pinterest can then use that data to customize a consumer’s experience on its website. The company says it will update its Privacy Policy on October 19th.

You can view the original story here.

Big Brands among first adopters of Twitter plus TV

There is a new type of internet TV out there.  Called xTV they focus on dynamic video content based on keywords or trending keywords on Twitter.  Imagine you could set up a TV feed on technology focusing on mobile devices and international news, and the latest from the auto industry.  The content is out there, its just impossible to find. xTV hopes to fix that by creating media center that does not try to appeal to the largest denominator which has given us gems like baby boo boo.  Also there is an enterprise play that allows corporations to create programming for waiting rooms, meeting room and even users screen savers.  “The world of enterprise media is exploding and as a result has been totally unmanageable.” Said Joe Ward, CEO of xTV . “Now we can put all this media back together in your own enterprise media network, so no matter where your viewers are, on a large screen TV, a screen saver on a PC or a tablet, xTV’s platform organizes all of your content into your own 24×7 enterprise media network.”

Press Release

October 15^th, 2013., Redwood City, Calif.

xTV, a Silicon Valley based company pioneering the new .TV era, today announced the deployment of its Connected TV and Media Management platform, featuring some of the world’s best known brands.

The xTV platform enables organizations to build their own enterprise media network that organizes all of the enterprise video, social & breaking news into a Real-time TV experience where the viewers can lean back and watch content on a big screen or lean into their mobile device.

“We’re extremely proud to announce big brands such as Microsoft as our first major deployments onto the new platform” Said Joe Ward, CEO at xTV. “Iconic brands are now seeing exponential growth in their media assets, particularly on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. The xTV platform brings all these assets back together in one place where viewers can watch and engage with them in real-time.”

“One of the really cool things is all of these streams coming together—it’s your own TV channel” Said Matt Thompson, General Manager of Development at Microsoft in a CBS TV interview regarding xTV.

The platform and networks are live now and can be accessed through the xTV web site, xtv-inc.com

Twitter plus TV comes to the Enterprise

One of the most compelling capabilities of the new xTV platform, is the Real-time data experience. A network can define both video content and associated feeds that display on their network, just like the tickers and side screens on CNBC or CNN, except they are active and clickable. These feeds also make up a “second screen” experience whereby a viewer can both control the big screen from their smartphone, and display content relevant to what they are watching on the second screen. A twitter feed for example.

Organizations can also map Twitter #tags against the media network’s TV channels which can then be interacted with in Real-time using any smartphone.

“As Twitter and video are now exploding in the enterprise, our patent-pending Real-time Twitter plus TV experience will increase the level of engagement between a viewer and the brand network significantly” Said Mr Ward. “It’s a very compelling way for consumers, employees, investors, partners and others to engage with any brand.”

Archimedes Labs Announces Expansion Financing for xTV

In conjunction with this announcement, Archimedes Labs – the Palo Alto incubator founded by Kambiz Hooshamand and the TechCrunch co-founder Keith Teare – is leading a financing round to enable xTV to continue to develop networks and to enhance its offering.

“xTV has built a very impressive capability. I am not surprised to see these big brands wanting to embrace the concept. Much of the video produced has a short life in the context of a news led web site, but once placed into a branded network, the same content remains relevant and compelling for a far longer time. Add to this the “second screen” capabilities, and the promise of networks being deployed into the new generation of set top boxes, and xTV has a bright future, bringing video content and associated data feeds together with engaged viewers”, said Keith Teare.. “We’re really pleased to be on board with them and we’re sure we will be joined by other investors in this round of financing. It’s exciting to see the momentum the Company is building.”

About xTV

xTV is the Next Generation Media Co. which delivers the platform to combine video assets with your realtime feeds to create a compelling way to experience your brand..

Founded in 2011 by Australian entrepreneur, Joe Ward, the company’s vision is to deliver any organization with the capability to lower the cost of content deployment and increase the consumption of their media by delivering a true, real-time, big and small screen TV experience, all without the need to install new devices or applications.

.com

So the same with Google Glass.  Now that Jay Freeman (saurik) has published his jailbreak hack, the sky is the limit on what this new technology can do.  I would expect expanded voice control, Augmented Reality, card counting, quick reference when gaming, facial recognition with CRM display cards, etc..  Great right?  Well, not so fast.  One of the biggest complaint with GGlass is the lack of privacy.  I live in Mountain View so I have seen my fair share of GGlasses walking around. Every time I see someone waring one, I want to get out of the camera’s line of site.  I do not like the idea that I can be filmed at anytime. It feels like a violation of social convention.  With a hacked device, someone could be filming me as we chat or just standing nearby as I chat with others.  I’m not as private a person as some people, but I do have an aversion to being approached when I’m trying to relax and socialize with people I do not get time to see.  So knowing that someone walking around with a device that gives them an unfair advantage to know who I am, what I do and record every element of our interaction simply turns me off.  I can see being at an event and if someone comes up to me waring GGlass the first thing I will tell them is to please take them off.

I’m not the first to say this.  There are plenty of places the GGlass is already unwelcome for many of the reasons I listed.  Want to gamble?  Nope, take those things off.  I expect the list of places where the GGlass and similar devices are restricted will grow. Have a look at this video of Scoble via TNW on privacy. (see vid at the end of this post) One thing he said that I was already thinking was MAD.  Mutually Assured Destruction.  For those too young to remember the Cold War, this implies that if you use GGlass inappropriately, someone else waring GG or similar device will record you being a prat.  This argument makes no sense because that only matters if the person performing the infraction cares if you film them much less if you have the reach to make your reporting effective.  However, being called out in public just might.

Now that being said, I think GGlass used in the correct setting can be great! Just listen to Robert Scoble and you will get the cheerleader of cheerleaders. And I share his excitement to a certain extent.  As a musician, this will be one of the best things for the memory challenged since wireless mics.  I dream of playing a show and having not only my playlist, but lyrics accessible by just looking up to the right.  BTW, if someone at Google reads this and want to send me a test unit, I write the code for this.   I can see everyday use as well, I can have step by step as I’m working on my car, or cooking something new, I can be sitting outside and get a important messages (using really strong filters), reminders from my calendar or see who is calling me.  One of the reason I got the Pebble … Still waiting for it BTW.  Although I do not ride nearly as much as I used to, I can see this being an almost required item for bikers and motorcyclist, although like most things, it can be a distraction as well, so use with caution.

And this brings us full circle back to jailbreaking.  GGlass is intended to be a closed system. I can see a restriction that it will not work when driving, but a jailbreak hack can take care of that.  And full disclose, I would totally do that if I start riding again and would ware it driving as well. Since GGlass is in the upper right, it’s not in your full view and also its not always on, so I think its fully safe, but I KNOW people will not be responsible using GG and thus cause accidents.

Whatever controls or limits that Google will put into the GGlass, like indicators someone is recording you, or the 10 sec limit, a jailbreak will get around it.  And as Robert pointed out, this is not something that can be stopped.  The genie is out of the bottle and we will have to live with this new reality of people being able to record in secret.  But as with people tweeting everything they do, or checking cell phones while in social situations, society will monitor itself and enforce rules of engagement, but believe me, this is only the beginning, there is no turning back.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcRZeRyUq1k

My Dutch isn’t the greatest, actually I don’t know any, so expect a follow up interview explaining more about the application from a member at The Young Generation soon.

Also, there is a map view. I think this only works if an address is provided.  Sure works when you search garage sales.

Now, back to shopping.

THANKS CRAIGSLIST!

Real-time is a must in today’s business environment and so is communications on social networks like Facebook. That is why LinkedIn released these app updates, with features such as a new notification system. The system alerts users when people accept your invitations to connect, likes or shares content from your stream, views your profile and more.

Company pages on the LinkedIn apps have also undergone a revamp to display current job openings, members that you are connected to and see official news.

Growth for social networks is coming from new users outside of the United States. The iPad app has been updated with new features along with languages, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Brazilian, Korean and Portuguese to keep pace. But they are not done yet, more languages and the ability to edit profiles from these mobile apps are coming soon.

As I had hinted at earlier, the website is integrating real-time features and notifications as well. A small flag and an envelope icon will be presented at the top of the screen. In addition, a red circle will pop up when comments, inMail, likes are received or when connections are established.

LinkedIn has taken huge steps forward by upgrading their mobile apps, revamping their website, while simultaneously paying attention to international growth. As more of their 175 million members on the service go mobile with their smartphones and iPads, finding a job or connecting with those who can help will now occur in real-time.

LinkedIn Slideshare presentation to see new features of the mobile apps.

Download the latest LinkedIn mobile apps for iPhone iPad, Android and Windows Phone.

LinkedIn Website Image Credit – The Nick Page | Flickr

This post was written by Christopher Rauschnot and was originally posted to LinkedIn App Upgrades Get Real-Time Features For Smartphone & iPad Mobile Users. You can follow him on Twitter @24k & @24kMedia and the 24kMedia Facebook Page.

We have all heard about it. And we have all been waiting for it.  Facebook has finally closed a deal with Instagram for and amazing $747.1 million, which is actually a little bit cheaper than the originally estimated $1 billion back in April. Chump change right?  The deal is scheduled to officially close as soon as the USFTC clears the giant transaction. But no need to worry about any changes other than better integrations between the two.  The app that we all love isnt changing any thing other than their address..

“While our team is making the short move to the Facebook offices, Instagram isn’t going anywhere. The Instagram app and its features will stay the same one you know and love, and we’ll keep working together to build a better Instagram for everyone.“- the Instagram team

There is still no word on when the official merger is going to happen.  But both parties are reassuring everyone that it is soon and no changes will happen on the apps.

“As we said from the beginning, we are committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Instagram will continue to serve its community, and we will help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure.”  – The Facebook team

So there you have it. I for one think its a great merge and will save a lot of time between the two Apps. Let me know what you think.  And as always you can follow me on twitter @ichuckydee . And watch for any updates, as i will be keeping a close eye on this.

If you used the popular Torrent sharing site “FileSonic”, you may have noticed that the site has been down sense Wednesday.  This comes a few months after the site started to limit what its users could upload and download, reportedly after MegaUpload had been raided by the FBI for copyrighted material.  Eventually, completely disabling any uploading or downloading on the site. Now the entire site has been down.  Will it be back? And what about the users who had non-copyrighted uploads?  Well unfortunately for some users,  The site started deleting entire profiles of users and uploads starting back in January.  And according to news.cnet.com  “Representatives for FileSonic were contacted but did not reply”  This only leaves me one question to ask… How in the hell is this the only torrent site to be next’d? There is a very popular torrent site that comes to mind that is down every other day it seems. But somehow they always pop back up.  Maybe there next. who knows?

No Cydia on beta breaks!!!!!

If you have been following along with all of the guys who are behind the scenes of jailbreaking, then you already know. Some how, amazingly fast productivity has kept them on the heals of the the iOS6 developers. Releasing update after update of jailbreaks. Presently, you can upgrade your iDevice, by downloading the iOS6 firmware from a copious amount of sites. Then do a custom restore using that firmware using the latest iTunes . You can Jailbreak all the way up to the latest Beta of iOS which presently is 4. The only drawback is that, sure you have an untethered jailbreak. But, you have no “Cydia”. You can install Cydia manually via SSH, but not everyone is ssh savvy. And even if you do install Cydia via ssh, you still may run into some problems. Seeing how all these Beta jailbreaks where originally made for dev’s only, some of the sources may not even be updated yet and will not work on iOS6. My best advice is to do what im doing. Just stay happy with the 5.1.1 UTJailbreak and wait for an “Official” Jailbreak release date.
Besides…. its not to far away guys…. trust me

And as usual any and all questions you can get me on twitter at @ichuckydee -or- my *new* FB  Facebook.com/ichucky.dee