Stardust Global Ventures

Every parent, teacher, educator and administrator in the world should watch this video. Twice. Then they should have to take a test.

This is the single most compelling talk from the recent 140Conf.

Our kids ARE the foundation that we’re building the world on. We don’t need drones and workers. We need thinkers and doers. Achievers and explorers. We need to teach our children to create, collaborate, build and network.

We need to do it now!

Don’t just shrug this off. Watch it. Share it. Spread the word. And teach your children well. Then teach help mentor three other children.

This morning I received a message from Andrea Weckerle.

Andrea wrote, “I promised I’d tell u about my new project: CiviliNation/cybercivility See WSJ op-ed I wrote w/ JW. Would love ur thoughts & support!” Of course I went straight away to see what she said.

I read it and think Andrea hit on something that’s incredibly valuable, so much so I wanted to not only share what she wrote but some of my own thoughts on this as well.

Class: Whatever happened to it?
We’ve become a crude and crass global world. It’s as though we’ve stepped back in time and all become what once was called the lower class. Cue the music for the song that was cut in the musical Chicago. The words are definitely raw, but in a sort of tongue and cheek way, they hit the nail on the head.

Click the words above for the rest of the song, but you get where I’m headed.

No longer does anyone stop and consider how what they have to say may impact others. Which is rather ironic because our individual reach has grown and as our arms have gotten longer, we have used less decorum. It’s almost as though we’re determined to hurt others as much as possible. Or are we?

I’ve thought about this a lot and I’m guilty of saying things I regretted later. Andrea makes a really great point when she says this:

Just as we’ve learned what is deemed appropriate face-to-face communication, we need to learn what is appropriate behavior in an environment that frequently deals with purely written modes of communication and an inherent absence of nonverbal cues.

I’m not entirely convinced we want to hurt so much as we want attention. Any kind of attention, but attention none the less. I’m reminded of children and how in an environment where they are not given enough positive feedback or boundaries they frequently rebel and become aggressive. Is there a corollary? Is it possible as a society we have stopped behaving well because there are no longer well defined boundaries, or is it something else?

Enter video.
We’ve been dragging our feet to adopt video, but what video has the ability to do is remove the barrier to those visible cues Andrea talks about. I think video might be a tool that has great potential to influence our relationships with those from other cultures, and even those in our own who would otherwise misconstrue our words.

It’s interesting that one of the topics of academic boards is how our kids are failing at language skills. Yet, most are involved in communication daily online. How do we give them the tools to communicate and be understood, so what is written is actually not misinterpreted? Video.

I don’t want to get so long winded you all no longer have the energy to go read the article by Andrea. I merely wanted to put out a couple of thoughts, incomplete though they are and stimulate some thoughts or dialog from others.

If I have one suggestion, it would be to treat each other kindly and with respect. That you have a voice or the ability to think and type out words doesn’t give you the right to be cruel. Be thoughtful. Maybe think of that as a New Years Resolution? I am terrible with metaphors and quotes, but treating others as you would wish to be treated isn’t such a bad idea, is it?

Technorati Tags: Andrea Weckerle, Jimmy Wales, WSJ, Cybercivility, CiviliNation, Sheryl Breuker

The story of The Whitman Mission is much more than captured here, but the highlights I’ve tried to capture via current online works, biographies of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, as well as some of the local lore.

There are many places to look for information in this digital age, and no end of available links. Simply google Whitman Mission and page after page of history erupts.

I did not dwell on the massacre of the Whitman’s, but it is what brought about so many changes to history and why the Whitman Mission exists today.

I hope this brief travel through time will encourage you to look at your own communities, and of course, entice you to mine.

Thanks to @euan for pointing out this video of moments.

While considering this project, it occurred to me part of what draws me here, has always drawn me here, is a sense of my own history. Walla Walla is not just a place for me, it’s a feeling. I realized during my tour for photo’s, the name Walla Walla means land of “many rivers”, but to me, Walla Walla is the land of “many opportunities”.

Join me as I share my thoughts on this beautiful little city. I believe you’ll see what I do, this truly is a special place.

As an aside, I will be bringing you new content from local businesses and people. I discovered while poking around, that while Walla Walla has certainly survived on it’s own, for newcomers to the community it’s hard to know what’s out there. Towns of this size always seem to promote things they love about themselves, but for tourists and possible new arrivals, well, there needs to be more, especially in today’s world of constant connection. People want a lot more than just a website with a lot of pictures and words. It can be overwhelming. All I can say is I’m working on it!

Here’s a little of my history:

My grandparents – Martin and Clarice Marbach at the Marcus Whitman Hotel, Walla Walla, WA.

It’s fairly common knowledge by now that I’ve joined eComm as the Director of Conversations supporting the thriving and growing eComm Conference and Awards. I thought this was a good opportunity to give a perspective on why I joined eComm.

There’s an old adage that says “Lead. Follow. Or get out of the way.” There’s another that says “Unless you’re the lead dog, the view never changes.” The traditional telecom industry really needs to wake up and take those two saying very seriously. They are rules to live by in the current communications market. And those who don’t live by those words need to prepare to exit the competitive playing field.

One of the things I love about eComm, is that following and getting out of the way simply are not options. eComm is all about leadership. eComm is thought leadership at full volume; no holds barred driving toward the future. I’ve been to hundreds of industry conferences in my life, but eComm embodies one of the most important mindsets of our time – disruption.

I’ve openly talked about the arguable death of VoIP, because I see VoIP as standard infrastructure today – something I call plumbing. I do not see VoIP as disrupive today. VoIP is a vibrant, sustaining technology that isn’t treated as new, emerging, or frightening any longer. It’s simply part of the voice services infrastructure.

I also drove some conversation with my premise that Telco 2.0 is a bad idea. That the paradigm of a telco is obsolete and must be redesigned. I feel that’s true in many ways. Thetelco paradigm of the past and mindsets like those of the old Bell System are dead. They’re not gone, but they are dead. There is simply no place for that sort of thinking in today’s communications industry

eComm began with the premise we’re going into a post-telecom era. For me, this becomes more true every day. eComm is about distruption, innovation, and creation of something new. That makes eComm stand out as a premier gathering of the best and brightest in the networking sector. Whether it’s voice, data, Internet, wireless, or mobility, eComm is the vortex of innovation.

Make no mistake, when we speak of emerging communications. we are embracing and encompassing an array of communications tools:

• Voice services
• Data and communications enhanced business processes (CEBP)
• Video – all video from video calls to collaboratio to YouTube to Hulu
• Blogs and wikis. Every form of online community.
• Instant Messaging (IM) and SMS texting
• Presence tools – Twitter, FriendFeed, Identi.ca, Google Talk and Googe Latitude (and yes, impending tools like Google WAVE)
• Social Media of all kinds (Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace)

These are all communications services and they are all emerging rapidly right now. Today.

eComm is the world’s best, and most highly regarded communications conference and brand. More and more people understand and respect its core mission. Every day in conversations today, I see people articulating the eComm vision in their own words across many business sectors. I see it in Twitter and FriendFeed conversations and blog posts. People who we think of as primarily social media leaders are saying the same things eComm members have been saying for years.

I confess I like being a disruptor. I love being in the middle of where all the change is taking place. I like to shake things up. I like ideas, especially ideas that distrubt our old assumptions. I want to play a part in the game-changing mission that eComm embodies. I’m honored and pleased to join eComm as the Director of Conversations & Marketing.

I’m keen to put my experience and weight behind Emerging Communications as a catalyst for change; change for the better. eComm promotes opportunity and innovation. One thing that matters to me greatly is the impact our technologies have on people in their daily lives. The social impact of our tools For some that means efficiency in work flow. For others it simply means ease of sharing their lives with family. The innovation that comes from eCOmm members accelerates innovation for the common good of all. It is changing how we live, and work. It’s changing how we interact with family, friends, colleagues and customers. It’s changing home like, education and how we work.

I’m keen to also nurture a passionate, engaged and thriving community. I challenge myself and others to think outside the box. To disrupt. Sometimes that means we upset people But eComm is not about maintaining the status quo. It is not a community of people selling some boring “me too” service. The speakers at the conference are not aiming their talks and the small room down the corridor. They’re innovators and leaders clamoring for center stage in the big room in front of their colleagues, peers and competitors. They’re driving change, and eComm is all about change. It’s about real advances and seizing the immense opportunities now available in the communications space. eComm is about taking risk to do something bigger and better. It’s about what’s next in terms of services and products. It’s about our future and I’m excited to be in a position to help this community grow.

I’m excited and already working on some ideas to get us all moving. I’m not usually shy and reserved, so many people across all walks of the industry are going to be hearing a lot more from me as we move toward eComm in Amsterdam this October and the USA 2010 conference in San Francisco. I’ll be challenging us all to not hold back and shake things up with our words and actions.

We got a note the other day from our friend, Sorenson Media CEO Peter Csathy, giving us a heads-up this was coming. Today Sorenson Media (best known for best in class Sorenson Squeeze video encoding and Sorenson Spark video codec), are announcing a major expansion of their video services into the video publishing space with our new “Sorenson 360” service. They’re calling Sorenson 360 a Video Delivery Network (VDN), because — based on the needs and feedback of existing Squeeze customers  — they’ve re-imagined what a video publishing platform should be. The press release is below.

They’re also introducing to the world an entirely new corporate identity, logo, and website as well. So, these truly are exciting times for Sorenson, but we knew they would be under Peter’s able leadership.

Sorenson Media Launches ‘Sorenson 360,’ the First High-Quality Internet Video Delivery Network

• New Web-based Service by Pioneering Digital Media Company Makes Publishing High-Quality Video Online Affordable to Video Professionals and Small- to Medium-Size Businesses for the First Time
• Unique Process Enables Customers to Easily Encode, Upload, Manage and Embed Multiple Format (Flash, MPEG-4) Video on Any Web Site in Minutes, With No Lengthy Contract Required
• Powerful Service Tracks Viewer Metrics, Supplies Video Analytics and Gives Users Bonus of Industry-leading Sorenson Squeeze Video Encoding Software and Confidence Instilled by the Sorenson Media Brand

SAN DIEGO (May 11, 2009)—Sorenson Media today announced the immediate availability of Sorenson 360, a Video Delivery Network (VDN) that enables video professionals and small- to medium-size businesses for the first time to easily publish the highest-quality video on their Web sites in minutes and at an affordable price. Sorenson Media’s flexible new VDN service greatly expands publishing opportunities in the flourishing market for Internet video and represents a significant extension of the company’s existing portfolio of industry-leading products. With Sorenson 360, Sorenson Media now offers a full suite of the highest quality and most innovative services to power video over the Internet.

Sorenson 360 provides all the features of high-cost online video publishing platforms, but rather than the one-format-fits-all approach dictated by others, Sorenson 360 empowers clients with choice and pricing transparency. Customers benefit from support for multiple video file formats (MPEG-4, Flash) and customizable presets. Users interested in publishing high-quality video with the greatest simplicity, can upload their content directly to the Sorenson 360 VDN using any browser. For those needing maximum control and highest video quality, videos are seamlessly uploaded using the latest version of user-friendly Sorenson Squeeze 5. Either way, customers benefit from Sorenson Media’s award-winning client-side encoding that both optimizes video quality and erases costly hidden upload fees charged by competitors with inflexible server-based products.

Once video is uploaded to Sorenson 360, users have access to sophisticated meta-data features, such as viewer-tracking, embedded tags with keywords, detailed and dynamic real-time video analytics, data-rate control and professional-level player skins. An unlimited number of videos can be uploaded, managed and then embedded into any number of Web sites. The transaction, including account creation, takes fewer than five minutes and requires only a credit card. There is no lengthy contractual agreement.

“Crisp, vivid video is one of the most powerful tools for engaging people on the Internet today, but until now no company has offered a high-quality, full-service solution at a compelling price,” said Peter Csathy, Sorenson Media CEO. ”Sorenson 360 re-imagines what video publishing should be and is a game changer. The power of a high-quality, easy-to-use, all-in-one video solution is now finally available to anyone; and it comes from a name and company that video professionals know and trust.”

“Sorenson 360 has infinitely simplified my workflow. I can now encode video easily with Sorenson Squeeze and automatically publish it online quickly and seamlessly through Sorenson 360,” said Blake Heathcote, a Sorenson 360 beta user who produces videos for Random House of Canada as well as the Testaments of Honour project, which chronicles the personal stories of 700 Canadian World War II veterans. “Increasingly, video is becoming the common language of so many aspects of business. Sorenson 360 will allow me to streamline my video publishing process, which will open up new business opportunities and enable me to deliver the highest quality video content online effortlessly and effectively.”

Sorenson Media was an early pioneer in Internet video and has a 14-year record of quality and stability, another critical differentiator for clients looking for a service they can trust with their strategically important video assets. “Users can be confident of the continuing availability of their published Internet videos with our service, certainly something that is not a sure bet with other video publishing services now struggling to find a profitable business model,” Csathy said.

Sorenson 360 features include:

• An elegant and streamlined UI and user experience
• Intuitive browser-based encoding
• Seamless integration with newly enhanced Sorenson Squeeze
• Support for multiple video file formats (MPEG-4, Flash)
• Video content management system
• Sorenson 360 media player
• Permalinks and embed codes
• WordPress plug-in
• Syndication controls
• Dynamic real-time video analytics and viewing metrics
• User controlled data rate
• High-quality webcam capture

Pricing and Availability
Sorenson 360 is now available in a variety of payment plans that start at US$99, which includes up to 2,500 video streams per month and 10 GB of video storage (more than 500 videos). Unlike other products, Sorenson 360 pricing is easy-to-understand, fully transparent (with no upload or set-up fees) and designed to make the process of publishing videos online as painless as possible. For more information, visit www.sorensonmedia.com.

About Sorenson Media

Sorenson Media (www.sorensonmedia.com) offers comprehensive, award-winning video solutions that empower customers to easily and affordably deploy the highest-quality video across the Internet. Included among its products and services are the Sorenson 360 Video Delivery Network (VDN); Sorenson Squeeze, the gold standard encoding application; Sorenson Squish and SquishNet, an easy-to-use browser-based video publishing platform for user-generated content; and Sorenson Spark, the industry’s most widely used video codec, which today empowers the largest selection of Internet video on mobile devices and other consumer products. From its inception in 1995, Sorenson Media has been instrumental in mainstreaming Internet video, and is committed to dramatically improving the online video experience for content creators and consumers alike.

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I put out feelers for strong women who are shaking things up in the technology world. I found Jackie Danicki.

Jackie is a fascinating woman with a colorful history for such a young age. She’s also gained a reputation for being a hard ball hitter as a marketing director for a young favorite company of mine, qik.

At 31 Jackie is definitely a force to be reckoned with and a really good representative of women in technology.

Jackie’s Bio:

Jackie is currently the Director of Marketing for Qik, the world’s leading mobile to web video service. Responsible for marketing and community development in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific, she came to Qik first as a fan of the product and is thrilled to be working with one of the best teams in the mobile web.

Jackie founded the non-profit Engagement Alliance in 2006, through which she consulted companies on their marketing, customer service, internal and external communications. Her clients in the US and Europe have ranged from large multi-national corporations to home-grown SMEs, in areas as diverse as pharmaceuticals, FMCG, publishing, entertainment, advertising, digital media, non-profits and think-tanks.

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A few months back I said Cisco will take a huge black eye in 2009. But they seem to have found their humanity and a bit of fun. If they keep this up, they might actually attract a whole new following.

Cisco ad “I Will Survive” 2009

Technorati Tags: Cisco, video

In this Incidental Interview I had a chat with David Siteman Garland. David is CEO of The Rise To The Top, which encompasses the hit new media show, The Rise To The Top, on ABC30 St. Louis, as well as Rise at Night and Rise Underground.

David is a fascinating man who has created a company and found his niche without a background in the media industry. He started with a passion and absolutely has made it work. I can only give you my opinion after quite a lengthy interview as well as other encounters, but David is the real deal. If you’re a young entrepreneur, or even a not so young entrepreneur, David is someone you should be paying attention to.

Something else to note, you can view David’s show on Sunday mornings on ABC30 or on his website, at 11am CDT immediately following George Stephanopoulos and Tues. and Thurs. nights at 1am immediately following Jimmy Kimmel. The Rise To The Top has also been picked up for the fall on Yahoo’s new Connected TV.

These are truly exciting times we live in where you don’t have to know exactly how to do something. More important than knowing how to do something is knowing who to turn to for advice. Our network is what ultimately matters. David Garland is a real example of that.

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Technorati Tags: David Siteman Garland, podcast, Incidental Interviews, The Rise To The Top, Sheryl Breuker, entrepreneur, The Gabby Geek

This morning I had the opportunity to spend some time chatting with Scott Wharton, CEO at Vidtel. Sheryl and I met Scott at an industry dinner in San Francisco a few months ago, and he extended the opportunity to test Vidtel’s new video phone service to us. We’ve been using it for a while now, and I’ll write more about that in a separate post. Suffice it to say, we’re huge fans.

Scott’s passion, enthusiasm and commitment to the vision at Vidtel is infectious. He brings a solid background to video telephony from his deep experience in communications.

If you’re looking for a video solution for someone who isn’t comfortable with PC-based telephony or video, take a look at Vidtel.

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Technorati Tags: Vidtel, Scott Wharton, video, Ken Camp, interview, podcast

Congratulations to our friends. Real friends. Friends we really know in real life. And friends we hold a special place for. Pat Phelan at Cubic Telecom has been a close friend we never get to spend enough time with. But a friend we share random phone calls just to say hi with at important times.

The whole QIK team will forever hold a close and dear place because I proposed to Sheryl on live QIK video. We were their first proposal, and a time when they were just ramping up to the big time. QIK remains our favorite video on the fly resource. We use it on our Blackberries and Nokia phones.

When two winners come together, great things happen. When they’re friends, it’s even better. Congrats!

Cubic Telecom partners with Qik, Inc to bring low cost voice and data roaming to worldwide users
Cubic extend their partnership program by powering Qik Roam product that allows travelers to make calls and stream live video from their mobile devices for up to 80% less

REDWOOD CITY, CA – April 13, 2009 – Cork based Cubic Telecom today announced a partnership with Qik, Inc., the leading live mobile streaming video service to bring massive savings to Qik users who love to stream video while traveling. The Qik deal follows on from other deals with travel service Dopplr, Big Red Book, Shandon Travel, GetCover Insurance and Invincible Mobile. Details on these partnerships are available here: http://www.cubictelecom.com/partners

Supporting nearly 120 mobile devices, Qik allows anyone to broadcast video live from their cell phone. With users in more than 160 countries, Qik is a truly global mobile utility. For example, Qik user Joseph Tame from the UK streamed live for hours as he ran the Tokyo Marathon, and Qikkers in several world cities all streamed the simultaneous, global Twitter meet-up Twestival live on Qik .

The partnership with Cubic Telecom will see Qik give its users the opportunity to purchase Qik-branded SIM cards enabling them to stream video live from all corners of the planet – without coming home to an astronomical phone bill. The Qik SIM also provides massive savings on voice calls, email, web browsing and texting while they travel. Under the tagline “Go mobile, not broke,” Qik is offering its users a simple, inexpensive way to share live video no matter where they are.

The Qik pre-paid SIM cards with full voice and data can be purchased from http://qik.com/roam. This is also where customers can manage their accounts.

“Travelers can now share their world journeys with videos, photos, text, and calls from their mobile device without it costing the earth.” said Pat Phelan, Cubic Telecom CEO “We’ve heard of the horror stories of travelers returning from a trip abroad to cell phone bills in the thousands of euros. The Qik SIM eliminates this worry for our customers.”

“We are excited to partner with Cubic Telecom to offer Qik SIM cards to our users,” said Ramu Sunkara, Qik CEO. “With the Qik pre-paid SIM cards, Qikkers across the world can now share their moments when they are traveling without having to worry about voice or data roaming costs. It’s like sending a live video postcard to your friends and family from wherever you are.”

“The tagline says it all,” added Sunkara. “Go mobile, not broke.”

Cubic’s Phelan added: “We’re delighted with the ongoing interest from companies like Qik who want to use our platform to bring value to existing and new customers all around the world and look forward to expanding our reach into more countries and to more people with these partnerships.”

About Cubic Telecom

Cubic Telecom provides global low cost telecommunications with a particular emphasis on mobile cellular global roaming. Its back-end infrastructure powers the Qik Roam product and other innovative services for businesses and consumers in more than 200 countries.

Within one year of launch, Cubic’s MAXRoam offering had saved its customers more than €1 million in global roaming costs. A Cork, Ireland-based company founded in 2005 by CEO Pat Phelan, Cubic has made significant investments in both web-based R&D and mobile telecommunications R&D, and was recently honoured by the Cork Chamber of Commerce as Emerging Company of the Year.

About Qik

Qik, the world’s leading mobile live video streaming platform, currently available on more than 100 mobile phones, enables anyone to stream video live from their mobile device from anywhere, to anywhere.

Its innovative, patent-pending technology allows anyone to share their moments live with friends and family or the entire world. Notable live videos captured recently with Qik include the Discovery shuttle launch, exclusive backstage events with Heidi Klum and Adriana Lima at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and behind the scenes footage of “Loveline” host Dr. Drew interviewing celebrities live on air. Find additional Qik videos, including those streaming live, here:

http://qik.com/ and learn more about Qik Roam at http://qik.com/roam.

Technorati Tags: Cubic Telecom, MAXRoam, QIK, mobility

We talk constantly about Voice 2.0 and how powerful integration of voice services is. This post isn’t about that at all. The technologies are simply tools and nothing more. I’ve often said the power lies outside the technology and inside the people involved. The technologies increase the power and reach of our voice.

This post is just to appreciate the pure, unadulterated power we possess with the human voice.

Technorati Tags: The Voca People, voice

This is a repost of my original interview with Peter Csathy, CEO of SightSpeed.
I thought for those who want just an audio feed for their mp3 players I would do a post of the audio to make it easier to find. Please refer to my notes on Episode 3 for any information you might have missed.

Let me just reiterate, Peter Csathy was a great interview. He is intelligent, and interesting. I appreciate his time and his willingness to work with someone new to the field of broadcasting. He was a real gentleman and I can not speak highly enough if his professionalism as well as his knowledge of how to run business. He is an amazing man, one I would love to meet in person some day.

Thanks Peter! I enjoyed myself.

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Technorati Tags: Sheryl; Breuker, Peter Csathy, podcast, Incidental Interview

My Incidental Interview with Peter Csathy, CEO of SightSpeed. A fantastic family man, a great BUSINESSMAN, and someone whose intent is clearly to make the company shine. I quite like Peter.
As a professional who really knows his company, Peter can inform anyone about video and make it comfortable to want to use.

This was a very exciting Podcast for me. I finally got to use video. I learned a lot, and while I see the benefit of video, I also see the drawbacks in my setting, unless you have the ability to edit the file.
I used a great tool, SightSpeed, one I have come to value highly as a user. SightSpeed is a fantastic tool that allows you to create video posts for email, and also allows you to talk with live streaming video to loved ones and friends near or far.

I hope you enjoy this first video post of, An Incidental Interview.

*Please note, as a new user, when the interview was over and I was doing my lead out, I inadvertantly hit the record off button so I am cut off mid sentence. Fortunately, Peter’s Interview is intact. Chalk it up to user error, but lesson learned. ;o)

*On another note, the file was reuploaded as a flash file. It takes a VERY long time to load. Please have patience. There was in issue witht the other file. This one LOOKS fantastic when loaded! Thanks!

Technorati Tags: Sheryl Breuker, Peter Csathy, podcast, Incidental Interview, SightSpeed, video