At last week’s Web 2.0 Expo we caught up with ooVoo, a company that enables people to connect, collaborate and communicate in real-time through online video. Bubblicious Reporter Jolie O’Dell spoke with Tom Herman, VP of product marketing at ooVoo, about their core products and their new open API that allows developers to build customized applications and widgets for use within the ooVoo platform.
ooVoo enables people to have video chats with up to six people on camera and another six people by audio, as well as screen-sharing capabilities. ooVoo competes against more established players such as Logitech’s SightSpeed, and is an alternative for businesses who cannot afford the higher end solutions such as Cisco’s TelePresence.
Developers interested in building a video app on the ooVoo platform should participate in ooVoo’s developer contest where he or she can win $2,500 by building a creative video widget and embedding it on their personal or company site. Video is a powerful medium and it’s one more way to communicate with readers, viewers, customers, partners, colleagues, etc. Check out our interview with ooVoo:
In addition to ooVoo, the Bubblicious team talked with a few other companies offering social computing applications and services. If you missed yesterday’s video, watch our highlight reel and stay tuned all week for the full interviews with each company. Tomorrow’s video interview is with MindTouch.
Post and video by Miiko Mentz (Special thanks to Jolie O’Dell, Bubblicious on-camera reporter)
Web 2.0 Expo 2009 wrapped on Friday afternoon after delivering four days of presentations and demonstrations mostly focused on being agile in uncertain times. Everyone is feeling the pinch of ‘having to do more with less’ due to declining sales, staff reductions and budget cuts, so this year’s Web 2.0 Expo’s theme of “The Power of Less” fit the climate and mood like a glove.
Even if the economy hadn’t tanked, the Web 2.0 hype was overdue for its own market correction because there was clearly too many startups touting useless apps that only added to the noise and didn’t provide real value. At this year’s Web 2.0 Expo, attendees were focused on the ideas and solutions that will translate into real value and ultimately sales.
As Stephen Elop, president of Microsoft’s business division, explained to attendees in an on-stage interview with Tim O’Reilly, founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media, consumer elements of Web 2.0 are being translated and brought into the business setting and are being combined with the data and social graphs that reside within an enterprise to provide real value. He goes on to explain how companies are “translating that value into something customers are willing to pay for.” He’s correct in saying that because at the end of the day that’s exactly what needs to transpire.
Companies need to create products that people want and focus on delivering value that people are willing to pay for. Not an easy feat, but if you can achieve this then you stand a pretty good chance at surviving, if not flourishing, in these uncertain times.
The Bubblicious team decided to talk with a few companies in both the business and consumer space that offer social computing applications and services that deliver efficiency, increased productivity, streamlined workflow that connect people to each other and the information they seek. Watch our highlight reel below and stay tuned all week for the full interviews with each company:
Disclosure: In addition to being a contributor to Bubblicious, I also work at FutureWorks where one of my clients is MindTouch, which I’ve chosen to include in my Web 2.0 Expo coverage due to them being an exhibitor and fitting the focus of my coverage.
