Internet Geek Girl Stephanie Agresta interviews Blog World Expo’s Dave Cynkin at the Las Vegas TechSet party on September 19th, which took place at Bare, Mirage Hotel’s adult poolside bar & cabanas. Stephanie talks to Dave about the evolution of Blog World Expo, now in its second year. Dave is a co-producer of Blog World Expo along with his partners Rick Calvert and Libby Durfee.
Blog World Expo,an industry trade show and conference for all things blogging and new media, took place last month at the Las Vegas Convention Center where a roster of 248 speakers came together to educate, learn, share, converse and network with both seasoned and first-time bloggers, podcasters and new media enthusiasts. Our very own Brian Solis spoke on a few panels, as did Stephanie Agresta and Bub.blicio.us guest blogger Larry Chiang.
New to this year’s Blog World Expo was a pilot-program, the Citizen Journalism Workshop, which offered workshops on journalism writing, content and style; another about how to find good stories online by using investigative journalism techniques; and one on how to reduce your risk of a lawsuit.
In addition to the Citizen Journalism Workshop, there was a Citizen Journalism track that included a session on Microjournalism: Breaking News in 140 Words or Less, where Laura Fitton, Robert Scoble and Doc Searls discussed the impact that micro-publishing, such as Twitter, has had and where it might be headed. The Bub.blicio.us video crew caught up with Scoble and Searls after their session and we will post that interview, along with a few others, later this week and next, so stay tuned.
Despite a struggling economy, the companies and bloggers came out in force and it was a great conference; and the TechSet Las Vegas party was the perfect kick-off.
TechSet Las Vegas was produced by Stephanie Agresta and Brian Solis, and sponsored by Canvas on Demand, Empressr, (mt) Media Temple, MindTouch, ShareThis and Tagga. I want to thank all of them for a fabulous event and I look forward to covering the next one.
TechCrunch50 (TC50) had a little something for everyone. The three-day conference was jammed packed with presentations from the 52 presenting companies, demonstrations from the DemoPit companies, and the TC50 exhibitors, partners and alumni showcasing their products and services. We caught up with a mix of these companies to hear about what they were launching and showcasing at this year’s event.
Our first video is highlight clip that includes snippets from Closet Couture, Delver, Fitbit, Five Sprockets, Grooveshark, TechCrunch50 winner Yammer, and last year’s TechCrunch40 (TC40) second place winner Zivity. Also, be sure to check out the full-length interviews (don’t worry they’re short) from watchMEmelt, Fitbit, Closet Couture, Zivity, and Yammer.
TechCrunch50 DemoPit: watchMEmelt
WatchMEmelt is an online video sharing community focused on weight loss and fitness-related topics. Basically, its MySpace meets YouTube for the weight loss and fitness community. The site launched into public beta last week during TC50 and is opened to anyone interested in losing weight and sharing the experience with others. The company was founded by Brian Edward Kenny, who has enlisted two very fun and energetic spokespersons who know first-hand what it’s like to publicly lose weight.
WatchMEmelt’s Marty and Amy Wolff, now newlyweds, met on season three of NBC’s reality TV show the Biggest Loser. We caught up with them at the conference and they shared their story with us and explained what watchMEmelt is all about. It was a fun interview and certainly not something we expected to find at a tech conference.
TechCrunch50 Presenting Company: Fitbit
Ever wonder how many calories you burn in a day or if you exercise enough each day or how well you sleep each night? Well, wonder no more. You can now get those answers with the Fitbit Tracker. During the TC50 mobile session, Fitbit introduced the Fitbit Tracker and Web site.
The Fitbit Tracker and site are designed to help people live healthier by outfitting them with a small monitoring device, which is the size of a USB drive, that wirelessly sends data to the site about the users’ physical activity and other information, so people can track and monitor their progress, and share it with others if they choose to.
The Fitbit Tracker can monitor daily activity and exercise, calories burned, the quality of sleep one gets, and more. The Fitbit Tracker works in combination with Fitbit’s Web site, which offers many features including tracking weight, logging food intake or activities, connecting with or meeting new friends for encouragement and support, or starting or joining a group, such as a weekly exercise group or walking group. The whole concept is to provide people with advanced tools and a place to connect with others so they can live healthier lives. The site is free and the Fitbit Tracker will retail for $99 when it ships in late December or early January.
The Fitbit Tracker price seems reasonable, but I think Fitbit’s business model could be improved. On the distribution front, they may want to consider partnering with weight loss vendors and health clubs who have a built-in customer base. And they should consider offering a premium service for the Web site that offers additional features for a small monthly fee.
People dedicated to losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle will pay for additional value. One doesn’t have to look far to see this, just look at the success of Weight Watchers (NYSE: WTW) where customers pay a monthly subscription fee to access Weight Watchers’ online weight-loss tools, content and community.
As someone who is very health conscious, exercises regularly and is annoyingly careful about what and how much I eat every day, Fitbit is by far my favorite startup that launched at this year’s TechCrunch50. I will be sure to review it when it comes out, who knows, maybe I’ll do a video review of Fitbit over a period of time and share the results here. Check out our interview with James Park, CEO and co-founder of Fitbit.
TechCrunch50 Presenting Company: Closet Couture
Closet Couture was definitely a company we had to check out as it immediately caught the eye of our very own fashionista and Bub.blicio.us Reporter Alison McNeill. Closet Couture is a social community focused around fashion and a place people can go to get fashion advice from community members or professional stylists. Users can create a virtual wardrobe that reflects their real-life wardrobe and then get advice on what to wear for a special occasion or on a new outfit or advice on adding a garment or accessory to an existing outfit.
Closet Couture is currently in private beta and is free to all users, but it also offers paid services such as time with a professional stylist for as little as $25, which is a bargain considering top stylists are paid thousands of dollars for their services.
I’m sure this went right over the heads of the geek boys in the crowd, but it surely wasn’t missed by us, and it also got the attention of Oprah’s editors. Closet Couture will be featured in the November issue of O magazine, at which point the site will be open to the public. But you don’t have to wait until then to see what they’re up to. Check out our interview with Christine Elia, CEO and founder of Closet Couture. Watch the entire video clip because Elia shares with our Bub.blicio.us viewers how to be part of the private beta and get a sneak peek to the service.
TechCrunch40 Alumni: Zivity (second-place winner at TechCrunch40 2007)
While everyone may have had all their attention on this year’s 52 presenting companies launching new products and services, we wanted to share the love by bringing you the latest from a company who had launched at last year’s TechCrunch40 conference and came back this year to provide a service to attendees with the Zivity Em-power-ment charging station while showcasing the Zivity community.
According Zivity Founder and Editor-in-Chief Cyan Banister, she says the Zivity community is a social networking site where models and photographers can interact with their fans. What’s unique about Zivity is that it’s one of the only social networks and content sites that offer a royalty-distribution platform. Zivity empowers models and photographers by providing them with a place to share and monetize their art. The service is currently in private beta and is by invitation only.
At this year’s TC50, the Zivity team had quite the fun booth with beautiful women (Zivity models), a charging station and cupcakes! Check out our interview with Banister as she shares with us a little bit about Zivity and the growth they are experiencing since launching at last year’s TC40. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for their public launch in early 2009.
TechCrunch50 2008 Winner: Yammer
Surprisingly, we were lucky enough to interview the TechCrunch50 2008 winner Yammer. Of course when we stopped by their station in the DemoPit the day before they won, we had no idea that they would win, and frankly, I was a bit surprised when they did win because I’m skeptical whether or not Yammer will succeed long term. However, as a huge fan and user of Twitter (despite constant outages), I do love the concept of what Yammer offers and my hat is off to them for winning.
With Yammer’s launch, it clearly points out that Twitter has not been quick and agile because the Twitter team should have already launched a “Twitter for business” service. But since they haven’t, Twitter left the door open for Yammer to provide it. Yammer is available now, so companies interested in using the Yammer service can sign up at Yammer and begin using it now.
Check out what David Sacks, CEO and founder of Yammer, has to say about Yammer and how it’s one of the most used communications tool in his company Geni, a genealogy site where families can build and share their family trees and history, and it’s also where Yammer was birthed. With the launch of Yammer at TC50, Sacks says that Yammer will now spin out as a separate company. Congratulations to David and the Yammer team!
