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Word Lens Mobile App – Real Time Language Translation

2010-12-21T01:53:00.000-08:00

In our last post we touched on OCR technology (Optical Character Recognition) it appears this technology is quickly becoming the rage. Check out this mobile app for instance – Word Lens

Word Lens performs language translation into real-time. The user simply points the camera towards the text and the app does an OCR transform in real time. From the demo the technology seems highly impressive and a must have app when travelling to foreign countries (it performs translations both ways so you can translate from English too). Interestingly you don’t even a network/internet connection to use it. Seems like it’ll only be a matter of time before innovative use cases of this app go viral.

How to Network With Only One Business Card

2010-12-18T11:48:00.000-08:00

Picture this: You’ve just made it into your conference or networking event and started mingling with a small group of three next to the bar. You’ve broken the ice and get to the customary details exchange so you reach into your wallet only to find you have just one measly business card left. Not only do you have three potential leads in front of you you’ve still got the whole day or night of networking to go.

Sound familiar? Well in this day and age there might finally be a viable escape route for this situation – Evernote. Evernote is popular notetaking and archiving application available on smart phones and iPad devices. Although Evernote sports a host of features the one most pertinent to this situation is its ability to recognize and extract text within an image which is done using OCR technology (Optical Character Recognition).

So back to your predicament, instead of letting part with your one last business card, with their smart phones they can snap a picture of your business card Evernote will timestamp it, capture your GPS location thus recording where and when they met you and extract your name, title and contact details from your card. This is a much better value proposition on both sides as now you’re sure they have indeed recorded your details, which avoids your business card getting lost within in their mountain of business cards and you’ve just saved a small fortune on buying more business cards and avoided a night of awkward moments.

Of course you have to assume they already have the Evernote app installed. However, with 5 million users and 18000 new users a day, luck may be on your side. And if not you can look super savvy by turning it around and instead snap their business cards and give a smart spiel of Evernote and OCR.

So there you have it - how to network at a conference or networking event with only one business card. Unfortunately we cannot take credit for this solution as the use case came from Tyler Crowley on a discussion with Phil Libin the founder of Evernote – on This Week in Startups. We have included the video below starting at the discussion although we highly recommend you check out the whole video especially if you’re a tech entrepreneur or want to learn more about Evernote.

Startup Numbers - Lean Analytics for Startups

2010-12-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

Behind all the hyped media coverage and press releases, product launches and marketing stunts its all about the raw numbers when growing a web startup. So its always refreshing to see a presentation about real facts and figures of a web startup. Alistair Croll of BitCurrent's recent presentation at Le Web 10 does just that. Alistair's presentation entitled 'Lean Analytics for Startups: what every founder (and VC) needs to watch' follows the Lean Statup methodology and looks at a range of metrics behind a web startup from measuring virality, site performance, user retention as well as cost and revenue measures. Of particular valuable is the metrics which Alistair highlights that are of significant interest to investors.

Check out the presentation below. The slide deck is available on the BitCurrent Blog

Unlock your imagination an amazing advert video by Batelco

2010-11-25T22:41:00.000-08:00

This is a truly amazing advert by Batelco a Bahrain Telecommunications Company presenting an imagnative world within an urban city We have also included a video of the making of the advert which is well worth the watch too

Batelco Infinity Video

Making of Batelco Infinity Video

Video Introduction To The New Twitter Design

2010-09-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

This is very clever intro video by Twitter of their new Twitter redesign just announced at their headquarters in San Francisco. The new redesign is a major change which includes mini profiles and a 2 pane layout with the ability to display photos, video and partner content. More information about these features is on the Twitter Blog. Enjoy!

Launching a start up with less than $2,000 by the Founders Institute

2010-08-30T20:21:00.000-07:00

It’s rare to find web start up videos that focus on the low level details of starting a web business prior to getting funding. So when one does comes along it quickly grabs our attention. "How To Launch In 10 Steps With Less Than $2,000" by Adeo Ressi from the Founders Institute is a such a video that’s filled with valuable tips and tricks and common questions that you might have been afraid to ask such as registering domain names, getting a logo, test marketing with Facebook and Google ads, surveying potential customers and more.

The video reminded us about another great web start up presentation last year by Aaron Patzer the founder of Mint.com as it dives into actual costings and facts and figures. Below is the video as well as a link to the presentation slides. [Note as a warning there is a bit of colorful language used in the presentation]

Link to presentation slides:

FI Mentor Talk: 10 Steps to Launch Your Startup for under $2,000
If you like the video and Adeo’s presentation style and content there are more videos from Adeo about other Startup topics on the Founders Institute website.

iPad restaurant menu at Rydges Hotel at North Sydney Australia

2010-08-04T01:24:00.000-07:00

As we mentioned previously the iPad is merely a platform and device and its success will depend on the type of apps that get built for it. During the week we were brainstorming some potential iPad apps and thought there would be value having iPads in restaurants. Not surprising we found an iPad restaurant menu app already made. Here is a video demo of the iPad restaurant menu app used at Rydges Hotel at North Sydney Australia. As well as an article featuring the app: Sydney Restaurant uses iPad as a Menu Card

Online Personal Branding Done Right With Flavors.me

2010-07-27T03:12:00.000-07:00

Online personal branding is a hot topic especially amongst online marketers who will preach that everyone needs a consistent and well-crafted personal brand online. So why is this important? Well say you’re heading to a meeting with a person you haven’t met before or deciding to attend a seminar based on the guest speaker or thinking about an opportunity from someone who’s just handed you their business card. In all cases you might want to find out more about the person you’re dealing with which is now notoriously done by Googling their name.

Now if you’re the person being searched you better hope you are indeed the first result on Google and if so the link is a professional one that presents you in a shining light. Flavors.me is a web application that helps you achieve both these things and avoids any potentially embarrassing personal branding mishaps such as directing them to an ancient personal website you built as a student. Flavors.me allows you to create your own personal website by using your pre-existing content already on the web. So Flavors.me lets you consolidate all your content from services such as Twitter, Blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, Foursquare etc in one easily accessible place. You can then create an overarching profile description and customize the design by adding your own high resolution background image and add your creative flair by customizing fonts, colors, layouts etc

Before you get any time consuming thoughts the process for Flavors.me is surprisingly easy and you don’t need any technical know-how. The Flavors.me video literally shows how quickly it can be done: (btw a great example of a website demonstration video with perfect accompanying music track)

Flavors.me from Jack Zerby on Vimeo.

For the more savvy web developers and designers it’s not as fully fledged or customizable as Wordpress nor Photoshop. However, it serves its purpose allowing you to create a creative personal online snapshot in minutes. To ensure your Flavors.me points to your own custom domain you’ll need to upgrade yourself to the full version priced at a very affordable annual fee. If you haven’t already you can use a domain service like Godaddy to purchase a domain preferably of your full name e.g yourfullname.com. Then in no time you can be confident that you have an online personal brand that you are proud to showcase rather than leaving it to Google to decide which of your leftovers to serve up or worse letting an unknown namesake steal your thunder.

Could Flipboard Spark a Whole New Breed of killer iPad apps?

2010-07-25T01:45:00.000-07:00

Flipboard is a hot new iPad app which has launched which everyone seems to be talking about. Flipboard aggregates data from your social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter and presents it in a set of rich media glossy pages where you can flip them like a magazine. It also seamlessly integrates content that your friends/followers likes, discusses or links to providing a continuous stream of content flowing from your social graph.

We have yet to try out the application but here is the Flipboard video which gives a good overview of the application.

Critics of the iPad say it has no use case and doesn’t do anything beyond what can be achieved already with a laptop/netbook or a desktop. This train of thought would be motivated by only thinking about applications that exist in other devices. Flipboard is a great example of a purpose-built app designed with the iPad in mind and specifically utilises the iPads capabilities as well as being very current by simplifying the consumption of your ever growing social media stream.

The way Flipboard is depicted in the video presents it in a very nature environment for its iPad use. It would be hard imagining using the app with the same proficiency on any another device. When you first pick up an iPad and feel its simplicity and intuitive navigation it’s not hard to feel a sense that a lot can be achieved with the device.

The iPad’s release feels parallel to the early days of the first Sony Playstation where it was launched with a set of stock standard games such as racing and shoot’em up titles but as the games industry on the platform evolved and game developers learned more about utilise the Playstation engine the games started defining the device. Flipboard could be the app that kick-starts this evolution for the iPad.

Nissan Leaf iPhone iAd Video

2010-07-04T00:59:00.000-07:00

Given the ubiqitious popularity of the iPhone, iPad and app store it was only matter of time mobile advertising caught up and matched the mobile experience. Apple's new iAd mobile advertising platform shows that mobile advertising can be cleanly integrated to the app experience and utilize the device capabilities such as the touch navigation and accelerometer. Below is a flagship demo of an iAd in action featuring the new Nissan LEAF electric car which gives a pretty impressive demonstration of an iAd in action. This is good news for mobile app developers and startups which will allow them to monetize their apps with high quality integrated advertising which will ultimately lead to better apps for consumers.

Alexis Maybank founder of Gilt Groupe demos Gilt Groupe iPad app

2010-06-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

During Alexis Maybank's interview on TWiST Alexis gives a short demo of Gilt Groupe’s iPad App. From the brief demo the app looks stunning and provides a great showcase of the iPad's capabilities. Check it out below. We've made the video start playing at the demo but if you're interested in the background of Gilt Groupe the interview is also well worth the view.

Apple iPhone 4G overview video from the Apple team

2010-06-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

This is a great video from Apple outlining the major features of the Apple iPhone 4G. Includes commentary from Bob Mansfield Senior Vice President hardware and Jony Ive Senior Vice President of design. Enjoy.

Rework - must read business book by 37signals

2010-06-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

Since we watched David Heinemeier Hansson from 37signals announce their new book Rework on Twist we have been eager to get our hands on it. We finally have and spent yesterday reading it and have just completed a short book review on TopicShow. Rework is a first class business book that breaks down the paradigm of traditional business practices and starting a new business. From essays on avoiding meetings, firing workaholics and picking a fight with the competition. These topic headings may initially turn your head sideways but by the end of each essay you will be nodding in agreement. Why? Because they are common sense, honest, pragmatic tips backed by one of the webs biggest tech success stories with a 10 year track record.

The biggest takeaway from Rework is an entire paradigm shift that strips basic business principals to the very core. When you remove the egos, the media hype, oversized offices and VC funding rounds, internal politics and excess fluff what's left is accountability and whether you can deliver results, profitability and a sustainable business. One of the best examples of this is the segment "interuption is the enemy of productivity" which is followed by "meetings are toxic". The underlying premise is you are most productive when working alone and uninterrupted with meetings being the "worse interruptions of all".

This landscape is a stark contrast to the modern social open working plans. Where the emphasis is on collaboration, meetings with trendy and social surroundings yet ultimately this smells of distraction which impacts on employee productivity. Although theres always two sides to the story and some may be compelled to rigiously debate the books issues. With the GFC there's never been a time where the spotlight has been on profiability and sustainability which is where the book nails it on both focus and timing. For new business owners in todays economy this is the business book you've been waiting for and for existing business owners like us a timely reminder to rework our business. A must read for everyone in business. Highly recommended.

Alternative views on ‘Thoughts on Flash’ article

2010-05-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

We’ve just read the ‘Thoughts on Flash’ article written by Steve Jobs in which he systematically and explicitly outlines Apple’s decision of not having Flash on the iPad as well as the iPhone and iPod. The article presents a comprehensive justification of the exclusion of Flash and there are plenty of discussions debating each of his points which we won’t delve into. Instead we are going to base our discussion around a specific aspect of his article which comes under his fifth point about ‘Touch’ where he states:

“Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on “rollovers”, which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot.”

This astute observation highlights the conditions in which flash has been successful. Conversely for Apple’s mobile devices the premise has been a ground up multi-touch implementation and recalling these devices are purposely “mobile” – i.e. on the move devices. In parallel HP’s recent withdrawal of their Slate device running windows 7 adds weight to the fact that the core technologies used in mobile devices should be purpose built mobile technologies. Where technologies such as Android and iPhone OS have been distinctly built for the platform and Windows 7 and Flash haven’t.

However, that is not to say Flash is any less important for the desktop and other devices today just because of the introduction of the iPad. Of course with the iPad the spotlight has been quickly drawn onto HTML5 and open web standards. Yet as it stands Flash still has ubiquitous penetration on desktop devices, compatibility across all browsers, powers millions of websites including some of the most popular social online games, business SAAS applications and media websites.

Further, with over 10 years of refinement of the Flash platform, recent comments to dismiss it as simply serving up online video and obtrusive banner ads undervalues the fact it contains a fully baked object orientated programming model with rich and refined libraries capable of building a diverse range of applications right across the whole software spectrum.

So Adobe certainly has a choice going forward, it can play the defensive game as it has been playing in the media over the iPad flash debacle or it can go on the offensive and create stunning web innovation that it has done for the past decade and also create a compelling killer mobile specific feature that devices such as the iPad can’t say no to.

This is where we believe Microsoft’s Silverlight web platform is heading in the right direction. It has stayed out of the iPad circus and continually focused on the strengths of its own platform. In less than 3 years, Silverlight has managed 4 major releases having just released its 4th iteration of the product and has made ground breaking innovation in features such as 3D Graphics, streaming video, Deep Zoom image navigation, Out of the Browser experience and its forthcoming pivot control. Microsoft has cleverly showcased these features and rapidly grown Silverlight’s penetration by broadcasting major high profile events such as online coverage of the summer and winter Olympics and Obama’s presidential inauguration.

Silverlight’s lightning fast iteration and innovation is carving out a reason that going forward plugins have a place and can coexist with open standards such as HTML5. While HTML5 focuses on browser compatibility issues, justifying its mobile presence and re-enacting flash features in the present day. The obvious road for plugins is to shift gears and start down the same road that justified its own existence in the first place. Which is when Flash began, in its very own name (contracting Future and Splash) presented a compelling value add reason for its installation by providing a stark feature rich contrast when matched beside a ‘plain html’ page. Whether Flash can reinvent itself in the new web world and adjacent mobile world is entirely up to them.

Epic Web Startup Interview - David Heinemeier Hansson from 37 Signals on TWiST

2010-03-22T22:35:00.000-07:00

One of the best interviews we've seen on web start ups and entrepreneurship is episode #46 of This Week in Startups (TWiST) hosted by Jason Calacanis which features guest David Heinemeier Hansson from 37 Signals. David has an impressive resume having founded the popular web framework Ruby on Rails which powers high profile sites such as Twitter, Hulu, Yellow Pages and many others. David also used Rails to develop Basecamp 37 Signal's flagship product a web-based project-management tool and he is now a partner in the company.

The interview discusses the differences in going large, raising venture capital, capturing millions of eye balls in order to monetise the business vs starting small, boot strapping and focusing on the product until it leads to profitability allowing the business to sustain itself without external funding. Both Jason and David have great points and we agree with both sides of the argument. Going for funding and the "swing for the fences" approach which Jason describes, has led to the hallmark YouTubes, Facebooks etc but also a string of other recent startups such as Posterous, Ustream and Mint of which have created game changing innovative products with global impact and their accelerated growth may not have been possible without going down the funding route.

However, as David points out the clusters of successes are merely "powerballs" in the wider lottery and does not reflect the thousands of other startups which fail by following the same model. The key takeaway from David's viewpoint is putting aside the VC, revenue, market share, pageviews, media and hype does your product create enough value that customers are willing to pay more than it takes to create and sustain it or in other words Accounting 101 Revenue - Expenses = Profit. This puts your product under the microscope on how much customer value you can create and focus on scalability which is a good lesson for any business.

Without further ado here is the full video the interview segment starts after the 47 minute mark:

TED India Sixth Sense Presentation by Pranav Mistry a paradigm shifting technology

2010-02-12T23:09:00.000-08:00

Every now and then a technology comes along which changes the game and shifts a entire paradigm.

Sixth Sense developed by MIT PHD student Pranav Mistry is one of those technologies. Sixth Sense is a wearable device that allows the user to interact between the physical and digital world using natural hand gestures. Pranav presented this technology in November 2009 at the renowned TED conference in India.

If you haven't seen this presentation yet prepare to be amazed. The video is in two parts so watch both parts to get the whole picture.

Pranav Mistry at TED; The Sixth Sense - part 1

Pranav Mistry at TED; The Sixth Sense - part 2

Time to change browsers for IE6 users - Google Phases Out Support for IE6

2010-01-30T19:14:00.000-08:00

If you're still an IE6 user now is a good time to upgrade to a more modern browser as Google will be phasing out support for IE6. The first services which will be affected include Google Docs and Sites beginning in March.

For web developers this will be welcome news as one of the most fustrating difficulties in launching a new website is the task of ensuring the site is compatible across all browsers. Since IE6 differs greatly from the modern major browsers with its rules of css and html.

Of note: one useful tool for developers in ensuring your site looks the same across different browsers is a Microsoft tool called Super Preview which is part of the Expression Web suite. Super Preview allows you to compare your site in different browsers side by side within the application without installing the browsers on your machine. By placing your mouse over each component it highlights differences in the html/css rules between the browsers. Thus you can focus on resolving any formatting conflicts between browsers where IE6 will most likely be the biggest culprit.

What is TopicShow?

2010-01-16T18:52:00.000-08:00

In order to provide some context for this blog. We thought we would first explain our website TopicShow which will be regularly case studied through this blog. TopicShow is a web directory focused on Topics such as news, events, travel etc. Each topic is displayed on a TopicShow a web photo show which range from a simple single photo or collection of photos in a photo album through to more dynamic arrangements such as photo collages.

Joining TopicShow is free and anyone can join and start creating your own TopicShows on your favorite topics. As a member you get a custom short url and central web space to manage all your topics and high quality photos which you can easily share with their friends and contacts. You don't need to be a professional photographer or expert writer to create a TopicShow. The site is easy to use with custom templates and step-by-step instructions throughout the site.

For groups such as businesses its an excellent way to promote your products, news, events, and industry expertise. For instance an artist can display their artwork, exhibitions and latest media releases. There is no limit on the number of TopicShows you can create.

TopicShow is still in beta and more features will be added to the website shortly.

TopicShow Tech Startup Blog Launched

2010-01-16T18:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the TopicShow Tech Startup Blog. Here we'll post our commentary on topics focused on social media, web startups and tech related news. Unlike a regular tech blog we aim to give you a perspective through launching our own web startup TopicShow.com in the aim of giving startup web entrepreneurs an insight into issues facing a real startup. We are really passionate about the webspace and are excited about bringing you our perspective on the industry.