Ben Shoemate's Notebook

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"little girl in fields of dreams"

"I had to lie on the floor to take this picture which security was not too happy with."

Seth Godin via Seth's Blog shared by 5 people

Here's the #1 most overlooked secret of marketing, of growing your organization, of building trust and creating for the long haul. Actually, it has two parts:

Show up on time. It doesn't cost anything to keep your promises when it comes to time. Show up for the meeting when the meeting starts. Have the dry cleaning ready when you promise. Ship on time. Return that phone call. Finish the renovation ahead of schedule.

Boy that's simple. Apparently, it's incredibly difficult.

If you want to build trust, you need to be trustworthy. The simplest test of trustworthiness for most people is whether or not you keep your promises, and the first promises you make are about time.

Cherish my time. The second part is closely related. It has to do with respect. You respect my time when you don't waste it. When you don't spam me. When you worry about the 100 cars backed up on the road and figure out how to get us moving more quickly. You respect me when you value my time more highly than your own.

If you want someone to think you're selfish, just ask for a minute of their time and then waste it or use it for your own ends. Or automate the process so three minutes of your time wastes three minutes of the 1,000 or one million people on your list.

In a society where so many people have enough, few people have time to spare. When you waste it (by breaking a promise and being late) or abuse it (by viewing your time as worth more than mine), we respond by distrusting you, ignoring you and eventually moving on.

(author unknown) via Robin Good's Latest News shared by 6 people

Shared by Robert Scoble
Good list of Video Conferencing Tools. Gotta check these out.

Video conferencing tools allow you to use your standard webcam and broadband Internet connection to have multi-party videoconferences. Once reserved only to high-end and very costly proprietary hardware systems, videoconferencing tools and services have sharply grown in number and they now offer multiple useful alternatives that you can start using without having to spend a dollar. Video conferencing tools often integrate some complementary features beyond video, audio/VoIP and text chat, such as a file transfer facility or an audio/ video recording feature. In all cases their setup is extremely simple and can be completed in a matter of clicks. The quality of the video when using these tools can vary a great deal, but it generally is most influenced by two factors: 1) the quality of your webcam 2) the speed /bandwidth of your Internet connection. To easily select which video conferencing tools would best match your specific needs, I have prepared a simple table, comparing their different key features:

• Streaming feeds number: Shows how many cameras can stream simultaneously
• Text-chat: Integrates a text-chat feature for you to send written messages to other participants
• File transfer: Allows you to send files to other people in the meeting
• Session Recording: Lets you record all of the video feeds and audios
• Web-based: Determines whether you need to download a software client in order to use the service

Finally I have separated video conferencing tools (where you can video clal three or more people) from simple video calling tools (like Skype) where you can video conference with only one person at a time. Here all the details:

Best Video conferencing And Video Calling Services - Comparison Table

go to the table! * Values intended for paid versions only.

Tools List

1. Oovoo ooVoo is a webconferencing software available for Windows and Mac. After a quick registration, you are able to communicate with people through text-chat, video-audio conference (up to six people) and also to record video messages. You can also share up to 20 files at once to as many contacts as you want, up to 25 MB per file. Still in beta, it is free to download and use. http://www.oovoo.com/



2. Adobe Connect Now Adobe Connect Now is part of the new Acrobat.com of online collaboration tools. This one lets you create online meetings where you can have video and VoIP conversations, whiteboard, share files, chat, and share your screen. You can change a person's role at anytime, and move the activity pods as you wish during the meeting. The service is free to use, as the rest of the suite, after a simple registration. http://www.acrobat.com/



3. VSee VSee is a free videoconferencing and application sharing service, and it allows you to talk with multiple people on your computer. You can remotely edit and annotate documents, share applications and desktops, transfer files, record and share videos, pan, tilt, and zoom remote cameras. Vsee is free to use for an unlimited number of people. http://vsee.com/



4. SightSpeed SightSpeed is a cross-platform videoconferencing system that is light, performing and cheap. You can use it to have video calls with up to 4 people, text-chat with them, share files, record your sessions and send video messages. Free for two people, or $9.95/month for 4 people and unlimited video storage. http://www.sightspeed.com/



5. PalBee.com PalBee.com is a video conferencing system, that has just launched a new version of the product. It lets you set up video meetings with up to 10 people, who can all whiteboard, upload PowerPoint presentations, record for one hour anything that happens in the conference and publish it as a video on YouTube. The service is completely free to use. http://www.palbee.com/



6. MeBeam MeBeam is an easy-to-use Flash-based video conferencing tool that you can use to have video calls with people without having to install anything on your machine. To start a video conference, you just have to type a name for your room, share it with your friends, and click connect. It is completely web-based and free to use with no registration needed. http://www.mebeam.com/



7. Vidivic Vidivic is a video conferencing solution which allows you to hold online meetings using a webcam and a pc connected to the Internet. After a free registration, your are able to create meetings up to 4 hours with 9 participants at once, where you can see, talk and chat with each other. Currently in beta phase, it is completely free to sign up and use. http://www.vidivic.com/



8. FlashMeeting FlashMeeting is an application based on the Adobe Flash 'plug in' and Flash Media Server. Running in a standard web browser window, it allows a group of people to meet from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. Meetings are pre-booked by a registered user who just needs to share a URL. Users are provided with video and audio conferencing, along with the ability to perform web tours. http://flashmeeting.open.ac.uk/



9. MegaMeeting MegaMeeting, a browser-based video conferencing software. MegaMeeting requires no downloading: all you need is an internet browser, a broadband internet connection and a web camera or digital video camera. Up to 16 individuals can be seen at the same time, and an unlimited number of additional secure Video Conferencing attendees can see those 16. http://www.megameeting.com/



10. WengoMeeting Wengomeeting is a flash web-based service that allows you to have meetings without any software to download. You just need to register, add your colleagues email address and automatically your webconferencing room is created. A conference can have up to 5 users. Free. http://www.wengomeeting.com/index.php



11. EkkoTV EkkoTV is a free Flash-based service that you can use to have video conferences online with other two people. Without even register, you can just enter your name and a new room will be created: then you just spread the URL and wait for your friends to join you. EkkoTV is completely web-based and free to use. http://www.ekko.tv/



12. Vawker Vawkr is a video conferencing chat service that allows you to get your own video chat room and talk with anyone. After you register to the service and create your own room, you can invite other people to join in simply by sending them your room's URL. The only available controls are the volume and microphone adjustment. The service is completely web-based and free to use. http://vawkr.com/

Video Calling

1. Skype Skype is a VoIP and video conferencing service that you can use to have one-to-one video calls. You can text-chat (also in group mode), have audio/video calls, transfer files and more. Video calls are limited to two people, but many are the third-party software that let you add more people, and also record your conferencing sessions. Free to use. http://www.skype.com



2. Tokbox Tokbox is a web-based video conferencing application that anyone can use to have one-to-one video meetings online. After a simple registration, you are able to create your video room where you can invite a friend and have a video conference with him. You can either embed your conference room on your site, or simply login in your Toxbox page and provide your friend's email to start the conference. Free. http://www.tokbox.com/



3. SnapYap SnapYap is a free online voice conferencing tool, that anyone can use to have free one-to-one video-audio calls. Filling up a simple registration form, enables you to create your personal video conference room, in which you can invite anyone to join you: if the have a SnapYap account, you just need to insert their username, else just provide their email address and they will be sent an email with instructions to enter the room. Free to use. http://www.snapyap.com/

Originally written by Nico Canali De Rossi and Robin Good for Master New Media and first published on September 8th 2008 as "Best Video Conferencing Tools That Anyone Can Use - Sharewood Guide"

via http://www.pinktentacle.com/

Doriano "Paisano" Carta via Mashable! shared by 5 people

Recently launched RSS Mixer wants to make mixing and mashing up all of your RSS feeds as easy as possible. They’ve spent the last year devloping a service that they hope will allow even the least technically savvy user be able to create their own mashups without the complexity of Drupal, Microsoft Popfly or even Yahoo Pipes.

After experimenting with RSSMixer and creating several new mashups in a matter of minutes the verdict is that they have accomplished their goal. It is extremely easy to mix and mashup many RSS Feeds in no time at all. The interface is well-designed and helps make the process very simple.

If You Build it they will come
Not only is it easy to create as many mixes as you want, you can also share the RSS feed that’s created for every mix that you create. People can subscribe to your mixes just as they do for other sites in their RSS reader of choice.

Getting Jiggy Widget
There’s also a widget feature that will allow anyone to add you mix as a gadget or widget. The four most popular types are supported: Apple Dashboard widgets, Yahoo Widgets, Vista Widgets and Google Gadgets.

Rince, Lather and Repeat!
One of the nice things about RSSMixer is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. If you see a mix that someone else has created that you like then you can actually add that mix to one of your mixes and change it up to make it your own. Within every mix you can see which RSS feeds were used by its creator.

Add-on tools
There’s a Firefox add-on tool for your toolbar that will make it easy to add any RSS feed you want to your RSSMixer account. You can also import all of your RSS feeds from your RSS reader of choice by using the OPML format.

Conclusion
If you don’t have the time or interest to learn how to use some of the more complex mashup services like Yahoo Pipes or Microsoft Popfly then RSSMixer is a no-brainer. Just copy and paste RSS Feeds and you’ll create new mixes on a single webpage with all of the information that you want to track or share with others.

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Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:

MindTouch Launches Upgrades to Open Source Wiki
RSS Mixer could be Twitter without the Social Network
OurMedia: 6 Months Old Today!
StrikeIron & IBM Using Widgets to Create Ready-Made Mashups
What’s Your Best Dilbert Punch Line?
MindMeister Releases API for Mind Mapping Tool
eMusic Launches 10 Internet Radio Mashups

Michael Masnick via Techdirt shared by 5 people

When I first heard of Twitter I didn't get it. I saw some friends using it, and tested it out for a bit, but again concluded that it just didn't make sense to me to be able to write short, 140-character, explanations of what I was doing -- or to read similar blurbs from other people. But about a year ago, I started using it again, and quickly discovered that it was much more useful and interesting than I had ever expected -- often in totally unexpected ways. Since then, I've run into a bunch of folks who seem to feel exactly the same way. They absolutely did not understand Twitter until they actually started using it, and then suddenly found it incredibly useful in totally unexpected ways. So, I can absolutely understand the many, many people who continue to mock Twitter as being useless -- I felt exactly the same way -- but haven't been able to explain why it is actually useful.

However, Clive Thompson has done an excellent job with his latest piece for the NY Times Magazine, explaining the concept of "ambient awareness" that describes Twitter and things like Facebook's news feed. It's not so much about telling everyone everything you're doing, or knowing everything that everyone is doing, but it does give you an amazing ambient view into what's going on in the lives of whoever you follow, and in an odd way makes you feel much more connected to them than you might otherwise. I know that I've become much closer friends with some folks entirely due to Twitter just because I'm more aware of what they're up to on a regular basis, rather than only talking to them infrequently.

I think the problem is that many people, myself included, originally think of Twitter in similar terms to email or instant messaging, where you're really expected to provide your undivided attention and to respond to what is sent to you. But Twitter doesn't work that way. It really is an "ambient" flow of information about what's happening with lots of different people, which makes you feel much more connected with them. It's great to see Thompson do such a good job explaining why, because despite experiencing it, I couldn't have put the concept into words like he did.

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