Sequoia backed Tokbox (they are actually working from Sequoia’s offices, just a couple of doors down from where YouTube was incubated), a video chat service that does not require any software downloads, is now allowing up to six simultaneous participants. Skype video, by contrast, only allows two participants, and it requires that all users be using the Skype software.
For now TokBox is only launching this feature via their Meebo integration - this also means all participants can simultaneously text chat during the session as well. SnapYap, a sponsor of our recent Boston meetup, is a competitor to Tokbox (and by the way, see some video footage of the event here).
Flux, the new distributed social network that was created via a partnership between Viacom and Social Project (formerly Tagworld), has been busy since their September launch.
Flux is a “distributed” social network in the sense that publishers can plug it in around their existing site, effectively bolting a social network onto their existing communities. Viacom continues to add its hundreds of website properties to Flux. But dozens of unaffiliated third parties have joined, too (such as Winelibrary). See a list of many of the participating sites here.
Today Flux launched the first key part of their platform called fshare. In general its a way for sites with video content to allow users to share that content by placing it on other sites. See the 50Cent site for an example, and click on any of the latest videos on the bottom left of the page. Then click on the fshare button. You can then add the video to various social networks, or just add it to your list of favorite content. Friends from any Flux network will then be able to see that content in your “news stream” and add/share it themselves.
Ok, so sharing content in this way isn’t exactly rocket science. But seeing it in action shows the value of a decentralized network where each community has a stand alone community and culture but where members cross pollinate content around the various sites.
Flux is certainly similar to Ning (which by the way continues to grow rapidly, see Comscore chart). But the approach is different. Ning is drawing lots of users who are creating brand new networks, perhaps tangentially related to existing brands. Flux is all about taking existing sites, even big ones, and turning them both into social networks as well as part of a bigger network of networks. Both might do well - Ning has momentum, but Flux has huge existing partners right out of the gate due to the Viacom relationship.
The key point in Flux’s growth with come when they turn on the self service mechanism and let sites join the network at will. That’s promised for sometime this year, so we won’t have long to wait.
Above is a promo clip for the new online game/ marketing tool “DEWmocracy.” Full movie showcasing the game can be found here.
The flash game comes from MountainDew, and I just can’t make this stuff up:
“Corporate Barons rule the city with an iron-fist, but a thirst for change is in the air. As a “Seeker,” you have the chance to return choice to the people. To do so you must embrace adventure, face your destiny, and help create the next Mountain Dew.
Starting November, 2007, you are invited on a mythic journey through interactive Chambers of adventure that, once entered, will let you vote on new features for the next Mountain Dew: flavor, color, name, logo, label and tag line.
To succeed, you will need all of your cunning and strength. Each Chamber is blocked by a Guardian and ruled by a Master, epic creatures of adventure and deception. There are enemies to fight, lessons to learn, and tools to earn – like a 2-sided battle axe or a coral divining rod to point the way. And there are points to be scored. The more points you win, the greater your fame in the fellowship of Seekers everywhere.
Upon your return to the city for a final showdown with the Authorities, the people will be set free to vote on which elixir shall pour across the land – the People’s Dew. Your destiny will become clear. Choice and creative freedom will become the rule. And the next Mountain Dew will become reality.”
We’ve covered a lot of the various players in the virtual world space, and although this is more 2D than Second Life it’s the first time I’ve seen anything quite like this. What in the world were they thinking? or is it just a marketing budget gone wild? There is one twist: the film and a good part of the game was produced by Academy Award Winning actor Forest Whitaker.
Screen shots as follows…the questions are even more bizarre than the overall concept.
Blog tracking and commenting services such as the now Yahoo owned MyBlogLog continue to have fairly widespread usage, but using these services could pose a security risk, at least according to Citibank.
Zoli Erdos uses both MyBlogLog and BlogRovr and got a rather interesting message whilst trying to log into Citibank:
Could something you type into a secured site on Citibank end up on one of these services? If it’s a browser plugin that sends data back to a central service it could in theory track and record anything…although that presumes that these services would also be being used for evil as well, not just for occasional spamming like some services are.
Dave McClure and Stanford Professor BJ Fogg (Captology lab)have been teaching a class on Facebook applications at Stanford over the past semester. The class is made up of about 50 students who teamed up to produce 25 applications. We got a look at the applications earlier. Today we received word that one of them, KissMe, has crossed 1 million installs as of 6:30pm this evening. Another app, Send Hotness is likely to break 1 million in the next few days. It’s pretty amazing considering a lot of professional apps barely register.
KissMe
- kiss your friends, basically by inviting them to use the application. Apparently this is the most popular application of the whole class in terms of the number of users it has (100,000).
Send Hotness - figure out your ten hottest friends; invite your friends to help you with rankings. You must invite at least ten people to see the rankings.
