Category: Technology

OK, we are the person of the year 2006, according to Time. According to the magazine, we are the person of the year because instead of watching TV after work, we write, we shoot, we video etc. and contribute those contents to the web. And many of those contents, actually changed the world. Hmmm … I agree with that, but to me it happens every year since the born of browser back in 1994 / 1995.

Back to the idea, what will be the possible next step of all these photo, video, music sharing services ? In the past few years, there is one category of digital product waiting to take off – Digital Photo Frame. It’s now cost as low as US$ 100 and for some companies like Ceiva and eStarling, you can even update the photos automatically.

The concept of Ceiva and eStarling is quite simple but novel – the user upload the photos to a central storage or send the photos to an email address; and the digital photo frame will show the newly uploaded pictures automatically. Imagine you buy this frame to your parents and grandparents. They can see you new pictures without switching on their computers (even they know how to do it).

My idea is about combining these Web 2.0 stuff with the Ceiva / eStarling concept … WeTube !!

Imagine you can shoot a short video and upload to WeTube (the next generation of YouTube 8-). Your “multi-media player frame”, will periodically download the video and play it in the frame. Imagine … your family doctor will tell you to do a body check up in his / her video. Your children will send you the clip of their recent trips in Europe. Your friends will tell you their recent updates etc. etc. You tube, we tube, everybody tube …

All these can be done because of Google / YouTube already have hundreds of thousands of servers to provide the feed and in fact, the traffic shall be even less for such targeted video transmission if you use the Venice project approach.

In the ultimate WeTube X.0 version, even the TV and Cable companies will broadcast their shows using this approach … finally, a customer-centric TV.

Years ago, whenever I visit a bookstore, I would spend a long time around a revolving bookstand next to the cashier – the bookstand of “Bluffer’s Guide”. There could be two dozens guides and each of these cover a topic – from astrology to wine and women. And I reckoned it’s the perfect way to learn something new in 10, 15 minutes, especially before a cocktail party that you need to talk to some total strangers.

You still can buy those guides nowadays from Ovalbooks (the publisher). But the point is you no longer need those books before attending a party, as all you need is to go to Wikipedia.org, type in the keyword and you will be an “instant expert” in a few minutes. The trouble is you still need to spend a lot of time to search around …

The idea here is to create a web site such that visitors can type in a keyword / topic and the web site will return a page of results – the history of the topic, the recent news of that topic, the famous men and women of this topic, and lastly, some jokes related to that topic. You see, all essential materials to make the visitor an expert, just in time for a cocktail party or a in-law dinner.

All it costs to the visitors is only US$ 6.99 – about the cost of the guide book. Of course, the real experts of the topic can contribute the much-needed information to the web site and get some handsome income. Hmmm … let’s call this website instant-expert.com.