Social Media Club – December 13, 2007

I finally made it to Social Media Club. It was my first time and overall, it was a worthwhile evening.

The topic was a presentation by Arizona-based white label video site, V:social. I have heard about the site, but it was great to see a more detailed view of their platform. It was also great to see some of the implementations of their product. As a white label video player, you can be watching V:social video without even knowing it (and I have!). Great company. Great product. Great presentation. Glad to hear about companies like this thriving in Phoenix.

There were two other highlights of the night. As I introduced myself, Francine Hardaway, an “uber” networking maven if I’ve ever seen one, interrupted me immediately after I said my name. “Oh HEY!” she said. “I (@hardaway) follow you (@brianshaler) on Twitter.” That happens from time to time with people I’ve never met, and it’s always awkward. But because this was Francine, it was awkward + awesome.

The other highlight was the guy that introduced himself by saying “I invented Web 2.0 in 1991.” Yes, an Al Gore joke inevitably followed (it wasn’t me, I promise…. but it was definitely on the tip of my tongue).

Social Media Club meetings are on the second Thursday of every month. Check out SMCphoenix.com for more information.

BarCampPhoenix – December 8, 2007

BarCampPhoenix is tomorrow, so I figured I would help spread the word in any way I could.

I am currently developing something that would be great to present and talk about at BarCamp. It is not near completion, but I will be working late into the night tonight to try to get it to a ‘proof of concept’ condition that I can demo.

Some hints:
– Related to contact management
– Decentralized, peer-to-peer foundation, aided by an optional web service
– Designed to be developer-friendly to spur the development of tools/gadgets
– Currently developing a Firefox extension that utilizes a client-side database (pretty awesome)
– Intended to impact the way people use & find social networks
– Intended to help people stay in touch, stay organized, and stay up-to-date

Hopefully this sounds interesting to you. If so, come to BarCampPhoenix and be one of the first to learn about this exciting project!

Bubble Talk

As the dot-com bubble had just begun to burst, one could hear a faint whisper that the next bubble forming.

A booming industry experiencing rapid growth usually appears to be on the verge of a major collapse. With an industry that is constantly growing at a wild pace, bubble talk follows you where ever you go.

A few years later, Myspace sells for half a billion dollars. After that, YouTube sells for $1.65 billion. Each new astronomical valuation breathes life and vitality into the bubble talkers.

Talking about bubble talk can get pretty boring. Luckily, we now have bubble videos!

This reminds me of “The Internet Stars Are Viral

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