turtlethink.com » Video

Le Web Decompression

Paul Fayngersh — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:27:58 +0000

We (Paul and Mark) just spent two days @ Le Web in Paris and had a fantastic time. The conference was incredibly well organized and kudos to both Geraldine and Loic Le Meur (founder of Seesmic and one of France’s most influential tech bloggers) for doing such a fantastic job.

We had the opportunity to meet interesting people, network with industry leaders, hear inspirational talks (and not so inspirational ones), and rekindle some of our energy/enthusiasm about the future of the web and 2010 in general. It was surely a nice antidote for entrepreneurial burnout. Off course, some truly great food and wine and simply enjoying the beautiful City of Light doesn’t hurt either.

A lot has been written about Le Web 09 already and we don’t want to simply recycle content, but rather offer a few highlights of our personal experience:

Twitter and Square
First off, we heard the term Twitter a bit too much, but that’s not surprising. Not only was it spoken about constantly (especially rumors about a Google purchase), but it seemed like everyone were on Twitter compulsively every spare second they had. The conference started out with Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, presenting his newest venture: Square. Square is a small hardware attachment for the iPhone that allows users to accept credit card payments directly in person. It looks very promising and using the headphone jack plug is a creative solution. The application’s interface seems incredibly intuitive and quite beautiful, and will likely be a hit. We also had an opportunity to watch Jack demo Square close up at a reception thrown by the Mayor at the Paris City Hall:

Russia roundtable
With:
Sasha Galitsky (Almaz Capital Partners)
Bernard Lukey (CEO, OXON.ru)
Edward Shendorovich (Managing Director, Kite Ventures)
Arkady Volozh (CEO, Yandex)

The Russia roundtable was of course especially interesting for us. The discussion was both broad and in-depth, covering topics such as Russian innovation, startup culture, search (specifically Yandex), venture investment, ecommerce (why it is failing), and what is in store for the future. The single most salient question that permeated all discussion was the paradox of a high-tech, relatively wealthy country not really developing Internet technologies on par with the rest of Western Europe and Asia. Again, Russia falls into its strange neither-here-nor-there conundrum, an existential dilemma that has defined the country since the Slavophiles and Westernizers went at it in the beginning of the 19th century. Clearly, the largest problem is not talent, but a complete lack of a startup culture or any institutional support. Taking risks, experimentation, “doing your own thing” – these are not very highly regarded in Russia and especially not in the Russian business world. So even though so much raw talent is there, and even some true innovation (for example, Yandex was in search before Google), it will require a significant cultural shift for Russia to develop the sort of atmosphere that makes Western startup hubs so successful.

It was also agreed that there is LOTS of opportunity remaining in Russia and a lot of room for growth. Take one significant example: online shopping. Currently this is suffering because of a) the terrible, unreliable postal system b) the commonplace cash-on-delivery payment method and c) peoples’ general distrust of digital commerce. All three are inevitably going to evolve – probably quite soon – leaving a ton of possibilities for developing online retail solutions. We are excited and will be keeping our eyes on future developments in the Motherland!

Startup competition
The startup competition was one of our favorites aspects of the whole conference. In our limited experience these are often really hit-or-miss though this year it appeared that all 16 companies had something real to offer. When the dust settled, Paris-based company Stribe took home the Gold. Stribe aims to provide an instantaneous social network on any site, helping companies foster conversations around their product/brand/etc. directly on their site. What’s interesting is that just before the ceremony, at the Brand Roundtable moderated by Chris Brogan, one of the key conclusions that arose from the discussion was that brands must mediate conversations directly where customers are visiting them – aka, their websites. Providing an accessible channel for customers to converse will become a priority that will separate companies open to the future, who will thrive in the new economy, versus closed off companies that will become less relevant. Stribe solves this problem with seeming aplomb.

The Silver prize went to TigerLily, another local (French) startup also operating in a similar domain. TigerLily basically pimps Facebook fan pages. Controlling and modifying the page seams extremely simple and they really did a polished job with the entire interface. The value is obvious and the improvements upon Facebook’s own capabilities are inevitable, though it is a bit sad to see the site veer away from the clean, minimalist, egalitarian aesthetic towards the realm of MySpace cacophony.

The Bronze prize went to CloudSplit, a Dublin-based startup that provides analytics to cloud computing customers. They’ve already received €100,000 of seed funding and are looking for $2M more. We don’t really know much about this industry, so all we can say is that CEO(?) Joe Drumgoole probably had the most confident, well-rehearsed, down-to-business pitch.

A few other promising startups we would like to note and encourage readers to check out: Taskly, Hyperwords, Shutl, Mendeley, Runkeeper.

Finally, we’d like to thank Gary V for the inspirational talk and reminding us how much we miss New York! Hope to be back in Paris in 2010.

Augmented Reality setup for Roman archeology exhibit

Paul Fayngersh — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:38:13 +0000

Marking its 75th anniversary, The Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam erected a pretty neat Augmented Reality component for their ‘A Future for the Past’ exhibit. Visitors can interact and play with a sweet Apple Cinema display that overlays information about a particular part of the diorama when the screen points to it.

They definitely have a very elegant exhibition and execution of AR technology, but what would be even cooler, and also make more of an impact, would be if this technology were implemented on actual ancient sites and ruins — ones where affixing physical signage is simply not an option. For example, my most recent interaction with Roman ruins was in Northern Israel; unlike most places, the archeological site was very hand-on, and you walk, climb, and go inside the buildings freely. One strategically-positioned setup similar to the one at the Allard Pierson Museum would be able to transmit a lot of information without ruining the aesthetic caused by countless ugly signs.

Check out the video below:

[via Sentient Developments]

Panel discussion on approaching internet trends

Paul Fayngersh — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:19:45 +0000

I dug up this is discussion from Fortune Brainstorm titled “2018: Life on the Net,” featuring Lawrence Lessig (professor of Law at Stanford Law School), Joichi Ito (CEO of Creative Commons and Chairman of Six Apart Japan), and Philip Rosedale (founder and chairman of Linden Lab, who operate Second Life). It’s from July ‘08, which in internet age can make it almost irrelevant. In this case, however, the conversation remains fresh and interesting. The funniest moment: an attendee with a Southern accent calling Joi Ito, who has 24(!) current positions on LinkedIn, a ‘venture communist.’

Topics covered include: law stifling media technology, open source, venture capital trends and ethics, the internet requiring ‘environmental protection’, 2D/3D interface hybrids, producer-driven culture, and an “internet 9/11.”

[Google Video - 2018: Life on the Net]

Programmable Matter

Mark Kizelshteyn — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:57:28 +0000

PSFK points us yet again to another incredible innovation. As explained, “programmable matter is a shape shifting material that can take on any shape, physical property or color that will rapidly transform into literally anything. It works by moving around microscopic glass spheres called catoms that have processing power and electricity generating capabilities built in.”

This video is just an animated model of what the technology will look like, but it gives you an idea of the future.

The implications of programmable matter is mind blowing. It’s interesting to contrast this innovation with Bruce Branit’s Worldbuilder, which we posted about earlier this week. Will there be a time we can change the physical properties of the world around us based on our needs and/or moods?

MINI creates augmented reality advertisement

Paul Fayngersh — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:04:39 +0000

MINI found a great novel way to engage with potential customers – the car company is running the first-ever augmented reality advertisement in several German auto magazines. The print ad for their Cabrio convertible, when viewed through a webcam, creates a beautiful fully-rendered virtual model on screen. You can download the ad here (German website) to try it out yourself, or check out the “making-of” video below. Nice one, MINI.

[via PSFK]

Beautiful steampunk Second Life machinima

Paul Fayngersh — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:42:21 +0000

From BoingBoing: “Wagner James Au sez, ‘This is machinima of the Bogon Flux, a beautifully ugly, totally strange, self-assembling, self-destructing, steampunky city comprised of rusty pipes and metal chambers. It’s located in the post-apocalyptic Wasteland area of Second Life, so the filmmaker used ‘London 2026,’ a customized version of SL’s atmosphere renderer which literally turns the air into dusty sepia. (At least from the machinima maker’s point of view.)’”

Absolutely awesome work; we’re always super-glad to see new and innovative machinima being produced!

New World Notes via BoingBoing

SLURL to location in Second Life

The most public place on earth …

Boris Kizelshteyn — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 23:28:46 +0000

Christopher Finlay from DMD turned me on to this video of Cultural Anthropologist Michael Wesch talking about the world changing significance of YouTube. Everyone into technology, media and modern culture should watch this.

Machinima roundup: interview with Matt Kelland of Moviestorm

Paul Fayngersh — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:19:21 +0000

Alterati posted a short podcast discussing machinima with Matt Kelland, creator of Moviestorm, a free application that allows one to make their own machinima.

I agree with Matt’s assessment regarding the accessibility and empowerment machinima affords low-budget users – this is the glaring point that fuels many new art forms, especially ones rooted heavily in novel technologies. However, it would be shortsighted to pigeonhole machinima as solely a down-market phenomenon, ascribed only to fanboys and hardcore hacker types.

Part of the problem simply lies in its difficulty to categorize. First off many succumb to the almost uncontrollable inclination of comparing machinima with animation. I don’t fault people for this; it is almost precognitive. It is also true that even the freshest machinima productions still bear some ethereal resemblance to video games. These two facts bring preconceived expectations and associations to many people, therefore disrupting their ability to witness something as a purely separate phenomenon.

Converse problems arise when machinima is compared to film. While you are also dealing with actors and the production process is eerily similar, one can’t ignore the glaring differences in both cost and ease of complex content creation. This still remains the principle driving force behind machinima and what makes it an extremely practical tool for small and large enterprises alike. It is undeniable that this trend will continue; many machinima projects will be driven by companies looking to save on production costs, or by companies creating advanced video content that would otherwise forego the often-expensive alternatives such as animation.

However, in order to fully appreciate this emerging art form, one must view machinima as a separate thing unto itself. This shift in perception allows both artists and businesses to more easily explore and exploit machinima’s unique characteristics. I propose the question: in what cases is machinima actually a better alternative to animation or video production, costs notwithstanding?

Primarily it is superior for projects that are already heavily tied-in with virtual world experiences – whether you are providing a virtual extension of a real-world service, or simply engaging with your brand’s customers virtually. Additionally, hybrid real world / virtual world projects, where real world characters play the same role as their avatars and appear consistently in both worlds, lend themselves as perfect machinima candidates.

For example, a professor wants to archive his lectures and make them available to the public. Machinima is superior to traditional film in this case because 1) it is easier to be creative in explaining complex intellectual problems virtually than with a blackboard, PowerPoint, Flash, etc. and 2) the professor now has the unbelievable option of entering the virtual world and engaging in real-time. Appearing as the same avatar that was filmed, the recognizable professor can socialize with his subscribers, including many who would otherwise never have the chance of attending his office hours at Stanford. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the critical aspect of learning within a social framework is not merely made possible – it is encouraged.

As always I look forward to others’ thoughts.

The end of the mouse

Mark Kizelshteyn — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:23:14 +0000

Check out this Minority Report style interface:

Pretty Cool. I hope to set this up shortly, but I will not be throwing away my mouse anytime soon.