tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-107842082008-07-23T08:38:33.786-07:00Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comBlogger245125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-32625443302551794072008-07-23T08:25:00.000-07:002008-07-23T08:38:33.834-07:00

I'm forced, due to time constraints, to wait for the lines to die down at my local Apple Store to get my first smartphone. Yes, me, your virtually favorite techno-dweeb has never owned a smartphone. That's right, no Treo, no Crackberry... But, just in case your confidence in my geeky authority is waning; and to underscore the sincere message that the iPhone is now the ultimate--at least for now--

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-9912169181658096482008-07-10T10:17:00.000-07:002008-07-10T10:43:19.583-07:00

Frank Capra used to say (regarding the requisite creative direction to make a movie), "One man, one movie." In today's world of viral video distribution, one man (or one woman) can make a super-hit all by themselves... or in this case with the support of one partner and a chewing gum company for a sponsor (no kidding). The story is well-written in this NYTimes coverage, "A Private Dance? Four

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-67445108655055022292008-06-09T16:54:00.000-07:002008-06-09T17:02:53.548-07:00

I'll leave the commentaries on Apple's dramatic announcement of the iPhone 3G to others. I'll only say that after holding out on buying an iPhone, I'm glad I did. Because now I'm ready! Half the price for double the speed (and all those new applications!) I'm going to get an iPhone 3G as close to July 11th as possible. That's as strong an endorsement as I can make. And, I think the iPhone is

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-25251037966465795042008-06-05T21:44:00.000-07:002008-06-05T21:57:24.851-07:00

Hey, I've got a birthday coming up. :) But seriously folks, as much as I enjoy the flexibility of my Flip Ultra, this looks like the professional's on the run camcorder. I still dream of finding the time to do a kind of video blog and this is the kind of tool (and toy) that could help me make it happen. Click here for the TechCruch review of the Sanyo Xacti with 1080i HD and 300 frames per second

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-71441069180348782592008-05-20T17:13:00.000-07:002008-05-20T17:22:10.932-07:00

I'm going to claim this might be the best resource for explaining Web 2.0 communication platforms to newbies ever! See my post below about CommonCraft, and if you're someone who would like a better understanding of stuff like blogs, RSS, social networking, podcasting, Twitter and more, there are easy to understand and remarkably clear and enjoyable CommonCraft videos about each of these subjects

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-29573535390493770882008-05-20T16:47:00.000-07:002008-05-20T16:53:35.702-07:00

OK. I'm someone who has been doing his best to "span the Grand Canyon Gap between people and technology" for quite a number of years, so when I say this is impressive, I at least have some vague idea of what I'm talking about... ;) I was trying to explain Twitter to my associate and went to Twitter.com and clicked "Watch a Video" Ta-da! A simple, cleverly animated, and impressively clear (and

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-43337428253955785242008-05-19T09:39:00.000-07:002008-05-19T10:19:07.307-07:00

I fooled around with the social video site Seesmic--you might think of it as a video chat portal--some time ago, and I found it boring. But now that the likes of Steven Spielberg, Karen Allen and Harrison Ford are posting video clips there too, maybe I should take another look? And here's a thread you can view (without signing on to Seesmic) from a UK Guardian Journalist who dialogged via video

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-29843668546577025952008-04-29T10:42:00.000-07:002008-04-29T11:31:32.976-07:00

One issue we've been dealing with that I think many people struggle with is how to get better quality video on YouTube. Here's the most useful insights I've seen to date on this subject: >> Read: "Hi-Res YouTube Hacks" Some of you know that I'm impressed with the amazingly simple, little video camera called The Flip. Here's why another thoughtful person thinks The Flip is important and perhaps

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-44731593504100532682008-04-24T18:11:00.000-07:002008-04-24T22:31:48.814-07:00

I had the illuminating pleasure of spending a few hours today attending the keynotes and browsing the innovations on the floor at the O'Reilly/TechWeb conference, Web 2.0 Expo SF. These have become quite vibrant affairs with NY, European & (I think) Japanese iterations now on the annual conference schedule. (Keynote photo of John Battelle on stage with Marc Andreessen at Web 2.0 Summit SF 2008

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-60065910255112004242008-04-15T11:50:00.000-07:002008-04-15T12:00:15.035-07:00

As I explain in my ebook on internet marketing, there's nothing more important in the optimization of a website than relevance. There's also probably no more important goal that "stickiness" or the ability to get a website visitor to stick around for more than a nano second. There's also probably no greater authority on this subject than Bryan Eisenberg, author of "Waiting for Your Cat to Bark:

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-24446893005501840852008-03-24T09:54:00.000-07:002008-03-28T20:26:32.327-07:00

In geek speak, it's called "computing in the cloud" To most people it's more clearly understood as using the web browser to deliver experiences and functionalities comparable to desktop applications is expanding by leaps and bounds. The following guest post on TechCrunch by Matthew Gertner explains what's going on in this space with refreshing clarity, and also includes a geek-friendly tip about

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-82747521497912639432008-03-22T12:14:00.000-07:002008-03-22T14:42:06.452-07:00

A couple of quick blog bites (vs sound bites) from the NYTimes website which indicate continually brighter days ahead for what I affectionately call The Video Web: First of all, my fave tech writer David Pogue not only reviewed my Christmas present (see posts and demo video below), The Flip Ultra, but his latest "State of the Art" column, "Camcorder Brings Zen to the Shoot" pretty much nails it

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-6137670038913129522008-03-16T20:57:00.000-07:002008-03-16T21:16:36.879-07:00

On my less optimistic days, I feel like we've gone from "nothing on" crappy TV programming, to "too much on" kitchen sink internet video programming. But fortunately those days are few because of how much uplifting and inspiring stuff is out there. Recently, rather than bottom feeding, I've been top feeding with some of the best online video programming anywhere. Tonight I was browsing some

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-73115467006982903722008-01-26T09:17:00.000-08:002008-01-26T10:51:23.428-08:00

I'm presuming that most of you know about the World Economic Forum held in Davos each year and attracting a virtual planetary A-list who's who... from heads of state to Bill Gates & Rupert Murdock to celebs etc. etc. As the video web expands, live person-to-person coverage is becoming quite interesting; and perhaps the best of that batch is Loïc Le Meur, the French self-proclaimed "serial

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-1256266796128215062008-01-24T16:32:00.000-08:002008-01-24T16:50:15.840-08:00

I mentioned that I got a Flip mini-video camera for Christmas: My favorite new gizmo is The Flip (Ultra), a pocket-sized, web-ready video digi-cam. No tape, just 60 mins of MPEG-4 video in Flash memory and a flip-up USB port. This camera is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. It's easy to use and for what it is, it works quite well. So, I took it out for a drive... my buddy Keith Bailey had

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-27854815288404713262008-01-10T17:10:00.000-08:002008-01-10T17:21:33.864-08:00

No, I didn't go to CES (the consumer electronics mega-convention) in Las Vegas, but here are a few tidbits from the web that I've found worthy: Scoble's doing Qik videos direct from his cell phone including this interview with the guys from YouTube: And CNET picked this astoundingly innovative and open source BugLabs platform as its CES Awards winner for "emerging technologies." I even like

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-46014861212404751712008-01-04T16:07:00.000-08:002008-01-04T16:29:49.120-08:00

After I discovered the YouTube video on 3-D virtual reality using Nintendo Wii hardware posted below by Johnny (Chung) Lee, I started digging deeper. First, I discovered the YouTube video posted below about building a low-cost electronic whiteboard using the same Nintendo Wii hardware and custom software that he is giving away. Way cool! Now, I've learned that Johnny has named his blog after

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-36372285398008406632008-01-04T12:32:00.000-08:002008-01-04T13:31:42.280-08:00

Digital Rights Management (or DRM) has been a controversial subject against which I have pontificated for years, starting with the whole Napster thing in 2000. Ironically, in that article, I slammed Edgar Bronfman Jr. who is quoted prominently in this new Businessweek article about Sony BMG being "The last major label (to) throw in the towel on digital rights management..." Thanks for the link

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-4711491800914968452008-01-03T16:43:00.000-08:002008-01-04T16:53:55.598-08:00

I don't usually cover do-it-yourself techno-hacks, but as far as I'm concerned this is one of the kinds of things that YouTube was invented for. Specifically, here's an amazingly creative computer guy (a Ph.D. student actually) who has figured out a way to create a true 3-D virtual reality experience by doing a customization (a.k.a. a "hack") of the Nintendo Wii. What's equally impressive, at

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-56280046920734553112008-01-03T09:14:00.000-08:002008-01-03T09:17:37.316-08:00

This quote came today in my email, and I think it makes a nice thought for starting our New Year: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." ~ Alvin Toffler May we all continually reinvent ourselves (regardless of how uncomfortable that may be at times.)

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-69293308988073220042008-01-02T14:57:00.000-08:002008-01-03T11:28:04.053-08:00

Happy New Year! I was going to do an update on Web 2.0 software applications that I know and love, and still hope to find the time, but meanwhile I'm going to let Tech Crunch's post, "2008: Web 2.0 Companies I Couldn't Live Without" do it for me. It's a thoughtful list with brief articulate reasonings, and includes WordPress, Skype (without the emphasis on video & webcams that I think it

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-67824600033645104702007-12-20T09:57:00.000-08:002007-12-20T10:13:06.240-08:00

I certainly don't want to diminish the enthusiasm of those who are authentically spreading joy by giving gifts, but as someone who has not only been concerned about the environment and the people on our planet for many years, and someone who has been watching various forms of interactive online videos and Flash movies for those that are the most powerful and (in my humble opinion) the most

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-53875801368583745802007-12-13T17:26:00.000-08:002007-12-13T21:07:42.596-08:00

One of the most interesting moments at Webmaster World was the endorsement of WordPress by none other than Google's Matt Cutts. For those who may not know, Matt has become the wonderfully laid-back and articulate "voice" of Google at Webmaster World. (photo by Andy Beal used under Creative Commons license.) As detailed in the video interview linked below, Cutts unexpectedly told the PubCon

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-29142760632149714632007-12-13T17:19:00.000-08:002007-12-13T17:21:25.627-08:00

Another tech bubble? Who are you kidding?!? Or not...

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10784208.post-59274765562940624712007-12-09T20:15:00.001-08:002007-12-09T20:56:30.572-08:00

I had the pleasure of spending three days last week at the Las Vegas Convention Center attending "PubCon" or the Webmaster World conference. There's a lot of information that I intend to share on this blog, but, for openers, I would like to make a bottom line observation: Great Content is Now King The old axiom that "Content is King" seems to be maturing and I would update it by saying that "

Jon Lelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378101470174709003noreply@blogger.com