I was alerted to a new list via SteveRubel on Twitter that tracks the top 30 FriendFeed users based on Google ranking. Lifestream Blog‘s Mark Krynsky assembled the list based on a post by Glenn Slaven (the author of the great FriendFeed Comments WordPress Plugin). Slavenhad discovered that two FriendFeed users (Deepak & Kevin,) appeared in Google’s search results.
Krynsky decided to take Glenn’s lead and take the formula to the next level by listing the top 30 FriendFeed users based on those results.
Earlier this month, TechCrunch debuted Elevator Pitches, a new service that provides a platform for company founders to visually tell their story. Until now, the process of getting videos online was a very manual process.
Elevator Pitches is a community video project that allows entrepreneurs to pitch their startups to the general public. Visitors then have a chance to comment and vote on their favorite or least favorite pitches.
Today, TechCrunch announced a much simpler, and probably a much more benefitial process for submitting videos.
Now, entrepreneurs can upload their video pitch to YouTube, tag it “tcpitch,” and then submit the video URL here. It will enter a moderation queue and TechCrunch will approve qualified content, much quicker than before. Approved videos will also be automatically inserted into each submitting company’s CrunchBase.
On a side note, the bub.blicio.us crew shot many of the videos that are online today and we’re already on the calendar to shoot more at the next big event!
Here’s one that we shot in Los Angeles:
Stowe Boyd and I also recently introduced the notion of the Escalator Pitch. The idea of the escalator pitch is game changing and powered by the micro exchanges that take across micromedia every minute of every day. It inspires us to embrace brevity and relevance in the real world to help people “get” what we do and why they should care.
Here are some quick tips for startups on developing the startup video:
Take it seriously, you are not above improvement.
Assume you have one shot at getting someone excited about what you’re doing, because, technically, you do.
Be creative.
Make sure to clearly express who this is different than anything else out there and how it benefits the people who’ll use it.
Get friendly feedback.
Rehearse your pitch.
Tighten it.
Evolve it based on reactions.
Share your story in 60 seconds or less, each and every time.
Shape it to include the key points specific to the group to whom you’re speaking.
If you can nail it on an escalator, the elevator pitch will seem like a luxury.
Signal Patterns released a new Facebook application that accurately surveys and assesses personalities to improve online and real world relationships, and is now available to all Facebook users. You can get the Facebook app here.
In addition to the newly launched Facebook app, private beta invitations to Signal Patterns’ site (www.signalpatterns.com) are available on a limited basis to the first 200 people who sign up here. SignalPatterns.com offers an extended and more detailed personality assessment, as well as a music preferences survey and other features.
The company develops scientific-based social web applications that characterize and connect people in meaningful ways, enhancing your social graph in Facebook and hopefully also in the real world.
The new Personality Patterns Facebook app is a fun and insightful application offering Signal Patterns’ in-depth 45-score personality assessment algorithm, which is based on the trait-based “Big Five” theory. It assesses and connects people based on unique personality traits rather than rough “buckets” of personality types. The helpful and introspective social app enables people to learn more about themselves and how they can enhance their online and offline friendships, business associations and other relationships.
The Signal Patterns personality survey assesses 45 distinct personality traits, each representing not only a label, but also a degree, or a score, resulting in an extremely unique and extensive personality profile. The method is inherently different from more traditional type-based personality assessment methods like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) that divide the entire population of people into a small number of uniform types. For example, when searching for similar people based on the MBTI, about 1/16 of all people would be considered “like you” (all people of the same type), whereas a detailed trait-based profile like Signal Patterns’ allows reaching into the long tail of personalities and finding others who are more similar to you than over 99% of the population.
In addition, Signal Patterns provides an audio-based “music personality” survey, where a person’s music preferences are ranked across 14 underlying music attributes (based on Signal Patterns’ proprietary FUSESSM model). Users can see their results at that detailed level, or at a less granular level, in the form of what Signal Pattern calls a badge, which can be deployed on a person’s Facebook profile, blog or web site. The badge is available at Signal Patterns’ hub site and offered with the Facebook app, too.
The new Personality Patterns Facebook app enables users to: - Take the Signal Patterns personality survey - View results (top 3 traits) via badge - View personalized results (top 10 traits) - View all your Facebook friends and see their results - Compare your results to your friends’ results and other Signal Patterns members - Discover “people like you” who have similar results as you - Display your badge on your Facebook profile allowing others to compare to you
Sometimes really cool events happen out in my part of the country. I’m taking off today to head a bit north and get ready for tomorrow’s Podcamp Ohio!
I’ve learned in recent months that bub.blicio.us readers are all over the country. If you’re anywhere near Columbus, OH, it’s never too late to register for Podcamp. Among other great features, it’s free. We may have folks driving up from Louisville, amongst other locations.
The line-up of presentations is also looking pretty interesting. From WordPress 101 and 102 to various techniques on Podcasting. I’m even presenting on using Twitter.
If you can’t make it to PodCamp, Coefficient Media and others are recording most of the sessions. In addition, you can follow PodCamp Ohio on Twitter at @podcampohio and at the general Podcamp twitter account @podcamp.
Hope to see you there!
Cheers! __ Events, news, apps, and more – let me know at michelle[at]writetech[dot]net, via Twitter, or via Pownce.
Without a press release in hand, I’m feeling slightly cautious about this. But VentureBeat – and just about everyone else – is reporting that Microsoft is purchasing semantic search engine Powerset for $100M+ in a deal that will be announced next month. TechCrunch, cautious after all the Yahoo!/ Microsoft waffling, I suppose, makes a point that the deal is not yet set in stone and could still fall through.
I wrote about PowerSet back in early May and I rather liked it. At the time, I called it the evolution of search and not a Google Killer. I still hesitate to call anything a Google Killer, but I do believe that Google needs to invest some more time and money into evolving their own search past keywords and into semantics. As the Web evolves, Google needs to come with it.
I think the possible purchase of PowerSet is a smart move for Microsoft. If you recall, PowerSet currently only searches Wikipedia with a detailed, contextual search. It takes a fair amount of microcomputing power for PowerSet to index a page. With Microsoft behind them, coming by that power might just get a little easier. If this deal goes through, I imagine one of two things could happen: PowerSet could get swallowed up and lost in the Microsoft behemoth. Alternatively, Microsoft could really work with PowerSet and use it to vastly improve Microsoft’s own search engine, which currently leaves a lot to be desired.
Powerset will continue to operate much as we currently do, working in the same building, with the same organizational structure, and with the same uniquely talented and growing team. We’ll continue to tackle the hardest problems in parsing, semantics, ranking, indexing, scalable computing, user experience and all of our other specialties. But now we’ll do it with the support of Microsoft and the vast resources of the entire Live Search team.
Now Powerset will have the money and resources and only have to fight the red tape and politics that come with a big company.
__
Events, news, apps, and more – let me know at michelle[at]writetech[dot]net, via Twitter, or via Pownce.
