RSS basics

You might know this by now. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. The idea is that you subscribe to certain source of content, and automatically delivers to you any update. It sounds simple but took me several months from when I first heard about it till I managed to get all the components, configure it and successfully use it. Then what happened is that everyday I would get hundreds of headers, because I subscribed to far too many sources of info, making it useless because I could never read everything.

So how does it work? You need first of all a RSS reader. I use http://www.bloglines.com/. When you first open it you don’t get what it is or how it works. But the only thing that you need to do is to install the applications that enable you to subscribe, and the notification application, The subscriber works integrated in your explorer. So what you would do is when you are in a website that like your friend’s announces at the bottom that offers RSS, you could then click in that icon and then a new page with only text will open. You would then right click your mouse and in the menu will show that you can subscribe to that feed. Then the Bloglines browser will open and it will ask you under what category you want to save it. So in practice you can have your feeds organized by topics, sources etc. Many websites offer RSS some of them they have already the subscription link integrated, a bit like MyYahoo subscribe link. This links do all the work, so if you find a bloglines link by clicking you avoid the right click I mentioned before.

The alert notification application is just an icon on your desktopbar part of the start up menu. So you might not like it when you subscribe to many feeds because it will slow your computer. The way it works is that everytime ie BBC launches a new you would get an alert, then you would clik on the icon and would open the bloglines browser.

As a summary I think is a brillian idea and now most of the big newspapers, use RSS. In my opinion the real value of this is when you can subscribe per topic to sources where experts in certain areas post continuously news or articles. There is a site called del.icio.us That is a place where people share links. So if I find something really cool about internet Tv and I want to share it I would post it there, or I wrote something about it on my blog, I would send the link there. Because you can ad tags that define the topics, people interested about certain subjects can subscribe via bloglines to the topic, and then get anything that anyone talks or writes about the topic. So there you have it the perfect assistant to get always the latest info on the cutting edge subjects. Again it sounds better that the reality since the other side of the coin is the overflow of information.

Conclusion I switched off my bloglines before the summer and I have not switched it on ever since. Though I am tempted to turn it on every now and then.

Another Digital Signage Company

Today I bumped into a local digital signage player, MyTv. It is clear that more and more we can expect to see printed media moving to digital signage. The city of Helsinki has more and more cases, the new Kampin keskus and Sello have large displays. However the content is not yet completely optimized for those environments. The screens are not yet in the right locations and positions, and I doubt that they have the impact that they calim to have.

P2P Tv and Tv 2.0

PPLive
Originally uploaded by Inaki.

Wired had last month a few articles on what they call Tv 2.0. Well it is already happening. For many years living abroad, I have been asking around, why I can not watch my homecountry's channels here. There are obvious reasons mostly related to copyright laws and the geographical restrictions that the studios impose. However there have been always some channels operating in the grey area and broadcasting over the internet such as Telemadrid. Now witht he P2P technology everyone can be a broadcaster, just check the Chinese PPLive. The best is that the more people watch the better the speed and quality (or so they told me). What is next? Well IP Tv with dedicated content such as the so much announced mobile Tv of course, though it will fill a small gap within the user's needs. To me the next thing to come is RSS Tv programs. I guess the EPG could be something like that, but what happens when you can have access to any program or content from all over the world? Well the Internet is close to that isn't it? In the meantime some players such as JumpTv are agregating content and channels and who knows maybe soon they will compete with satellite and cable, and finally I will get to watch Madrid-Barcelona in Finland.

Scoopt

Scoopt
Originally uploaded by Inaki.

Power to the people! I just registered to Scoopt, a very clever idea. Now your phone is your paparazzi's tool. The BBC has already procalimed the importance of user generated content. As a media channel, user generated content represents the same level of revolution that the reality shows brought to TV.

A9 Amazon's answer to Google-maps

A9 Hotel Roosevelt
Originally uploaded by Inaki.

Amazon has launched A9. At the moment works only with a few cities in the US. But th eidea is cool. You can do a virtual walk at street level iin Manhttan and pass by that restaurant where you had dinner last time you visited the place.

A good example of a how you can use multiple screens to create a unique dynamic digital signage solution that is integrated within the physical context. In this case the solution helps to attract the attention over the window of the fancy jewellery in mid-town Manhattan. The interior of the shop had similar multiple screen solutions that where arranged in different directions, but I could not get a clear shot. 

Last week in Manhattan I saw a good example of the potential of Digital Signage applied to outdoor media. However the screen on the picture was down and you could see the funny message. The digital signage media makes sense only if you can trust that your screens are up and running and monitored all the time. Obviously this requires a basic infrastructure, a network and a technical platform optimized for this type of media. The cost or investment required is not yest well understood among those that own media spaces and channels, but can you afford to invest in replacing your outdoor or indoor media with expensive screens and then have screens down like the one on the picture? 

Future Magazine Cover

Interesting excercise on how the future magazine covers will look like. There could have been sometimes more imaginative, but they have some interesting thoughts.

Sims creator takes on evolution

Imagine a game where you can decide the evolution of new species, well now it seems that Sims creator is aiming that high . Later on I will develop a bit furhter the idea around this and its extensions.

Augmented Reality Paper

By msvarjak on Augmented reality Computer Science References

Before the presentation

Before the presentation
Originally uploaded by Inaki.

I am going to miss a lot to work with the team again. Ville, Wilhelm, Niina, Hiltrud and Niall were a dream team. It was a pleasure to work with you and I really hope that we can work together again in the future. And not to forget Anna’s support, mentoring and advices, you are the best coach.

Voy a echar de menos un montón trabajar con el equipo de Oxford. Ville, Wilhelm, Niina, Hiltrud y Niall son el Dream Team. Fue un placer trabajar con ellos y espero que alguna vez podamos trabajar juntos de nuevo en el futuro. Y por supuesto no puedo olvidar el apoyo, consejos y estimulo de Anna, eres la mejor entrenadora

Receiving the prize

HKKK_Ceremony_jpg_1
Originally uploaded by Inaki.

We did it!!!! We beat the best business schools in Europe with our strategy in the business case competition organized by European Clearance Case House last weekend in Oxford. We got the second prize and the special prize of the jury, just after INSEAD from France, leaving behind the most prestigious schools such as IMD, London School of Economics, IESE, ESADE, etc. The case was about Softline a South African software manufacturer that had to decide the future strategy under the pressure of growing competition and the restrictions of the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy establish by the government. The keys of our success were our strategy focused in using the BEE as growth opportunity, and our excellent team presentation.

Lo conseguimos!!! Hemos machacado a las mejores escuelas de negocios de Europa con nuestra estrategia innovadora. Todo paso el fin de semana pasado en la competición de casos de negocios organizada por European Clearance Case House en Oxford. Ganamos dos de los tres premios posibles, el segundo puesto tras INSEAD de Francia y el premio especial del jurado. Dejamos detrás a escuelas como IMD, London School of Economics, IESE, ESADE, etc. El caso giraba entorno a Softline, una empresa de software para empresas de Sudáfrica que tenia que decidir que tipo de estrategia debe elegir para hacer frente al continuo acecho de la competencia y de las restricciones impuestas por las políticas de potenciación económica para la mayoría negra. La clave de nuestro éxito fue centrar nuestra estrategia en utilizar la política del gobierno como una oportunidad de crecimiento, combinado con una presentación y puesta en escena perfecta.

Lecturing in Poland

151-5182_IMG
Originally uploaded by Inaki.

I went to teach to Poland on modern entrepreneurship and virtual companies. Polish young generations are very interested to overcome the traditional barriers that system has imposed to anyone that wants to start a new business. I was happy to see that my ideas and methods on how virtual companies can help to educate and motivate students were very welcome. Thanks to Dariusz, Krystian the University of Bialystok and Siedlce. More pictures and articles in my personal blog.

TV on the Internet

Finally it seems that the Internet is becoming more and more a broadband distribution network for TV broadcasters in what can be called narrowcasting. Telecom operators could soon compete with the cable operators for the same audience. Narrowstep is an interesting company in the area of enablers of this emerging technology and business. But when I will be able to watch any program anytime anywhere?