Om and Niall PodSessions

Instant messaging is constantly changing, with big players such as AOL, eBay, Microsoft, and Yahoo trying to one-up each other on the most features for instant communication online and offline. In the past week we have seen new releases of Windows Live Messenger from Microsoft and a beta release of Yahoo! Messenger, complete with integrated voice and video calling as well as plugins to add even more content to an IM window. What do end users want from their messaging client?

Seth Sternberg of browser-based instant messaging company Meebo joined today's podcast to share his expertise in the messaging space. Seth shared with us requests from his users and provided a look inside the minds of corporations providing IM services.

Do current messaging clients suffer from feature bloat? Is messaging software from major portals a loss leader or a profit center? How is instant messaging different overseas? What are some current IM usage patterns?

We talk about these topics and more in this week's PodSession, Instant Messaging. The podcast is 24 minutes in length, a 11 MB download.

Posted by Niall Kennedy at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The FIFA World Cup may be the biggest online video event in Internet history. Fans have a few choices when watching games or highlights online, whether streaming from their home media gateways or watching the game directly through a content provider such as ESPN360.

Video publishing sites are taking off, with hundreds of startups competing for the attention of content producers with cameras integrated into everyday items such as laptops, desktops, and mobile phones.

The content and tools are readily available, but is anyone coming? What is the revenue model of video startups in a disk and bandwidth heavy business? How far away are we from an online shakeout?

Om and I talk about these issues and more in this week's PodSession, Online video revolution. The podcast is 22 minutes in length, a 10 MB download.

Posted by Niall Kennedy at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Who's blogging and who's listening? In this week's PodSession Om and I discuss four new products to help everyday people and even some Aussies publish and discover new content online. We applied an Siskel & Ebert style of review to these four new web products.

Blog and feed search

Gnoos indexes the Austrailian blogosphere. The new search site is focused on creating a good blog discovery process for Austrailian bloggers and their content but also includes news from bloggers and media sources around the world. Om liked the idea of search engines with local flavor but I thought Gnoos violates fair use laws and would be better off taking a slice from someone else's index instead of building their own.

Ask launched blog search on its main search pages as well as within Bloglines, its aggregator property. The new search engine is fast and easy for new users to get used to. Ask incorporated RSS search results into every page, and includes links to services from competing companies such as Yahoo's del.icio.us and Google personalized homepage and Google Reader. Om and I gave Ask Blog Search two thumbs up.

Blog publishing

Six Apart unvelied new blogging product Vox last week to about 500 users. The new personal blogging software is aimed at the mass market of potential bloggers with audio, video, books, and ideas to share with others. The product was formerly referred to as Comet since its first mention last fall. Om and I were undecided about the product's ease of use to new bloggers and wonder about Six Apart's ability to properly distinguish its four blogging products to itself and its white label partners.

eBay will add new blogging and wiki features to its site next week according to AuctionBytes and further reporting by Steve Rubel. Wikis could help eBay engage its community to create guides and how-tos for other members and create more engaged buyers and sellers. Blogs can help power sellers further establish a reputation online and drive repeat business.

This week's PodSession, Searching for new niches, is 25 minutes in length, a 12 MB download.

Posted by Niall Kennedy at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)