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FP Blog: An ultra-lightweight tech prediction for 2012

posted by stevefm on 10.01.12 FP Blog: An ultra-lightweight tech prediction for 2012

With all kinds of startup tools being offered for free on the Web, tech entrepreneurs no longer need a huge investment of cash to launch a company.

December 28th, 2011 - Toronto - Republished in part from the Financial Post.

‘Tis the season for reflecting, planning and finding new ways to grow our technology companies in the year to come. It’s also a good time to look into our industry-focused crystal balls to make entrepreneurial predictions for the year ahead.

Here’s ours for 2012: this will be the year the ultra-lean tech startup goes mainstream.

What defines a firm as ultra-lean? It’s a tech company that goes beyond merely employing lean operating principles. It develops technology on a tiny budget — perhaps with the help of a tech incubator — but relies largely on the acumen, innovation and vision of its founders to get off the ground. Ultra-lean tech entrepreneurs take bootstrapping to a new level using every free or low-cost tool at their disposal to get their product to market. They may still require seed funding of $100,000 or more to launch, but to an ultra-lean entrepreneur, the traditional $1-million-plus startup capital requirement is a foreign concept.

Although it was hardly in vogue at the time, this was largely the strategy that allowed us to launch Filemobile five years ago. We were completely self-financed and wholeheartedly embraced the ultra-lean ideal. That started by keeping our overhead low using a wide range of tactics, which we still employ today. For example, we became early adopters of low-cost, Web-based business tools as they came online. We signed up for cost-effective Voice over Internet Protocol services to minimize phone bills, tapped Basecamp as a low-cost tool to collaborate on projects and, recently, signed up for cost-effective cloud services, which allowed us to increase much-needed database processing power and back-up our systems without incurring hefty hardware upgrade costs.

Cost-effective tools and tactics aside, running ultra-lean has become a part of our culture and has helped us minimize overhead to this day. Now, many Canadian tech firms are being founded and operated by design on the same principles that helped us grow.

To read the full article go to Financial Post.com.


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Community Version 3 Launch

posted by jambrose on 10.01.12

January 11th, 2012, Toronto- The latest release of the Media Community application includes major upgrades and changes to both the underlying code and feature set.

The most significant changes were re-architecting the application using Media Factory groups, porting the application to JQuery, and implementing the latest Facebook functionality.

Groups

Using Media Factory Groups is a very powerful and flexible way to manage media and users in your community. For the first time, groups are now fully integrated into the architecture of the Media Community application.

  • Groups have both searchable standard metadata such as name, address and description, as well unlimited custom metadata. This is very useful in creating group pages – home pages for sections of your community.
  • Media can be placed in multiple groups, allowing your content to span multiple categories without duplicating files

Groups was a major part of Media Factory 3 and this is the first product to fully exploit the feature.

The best way to experience the application of groups is to take the Media Community demo for a test drive!

JavaScript

All JavaScript in the Media Community has been rewritten to make use of the jQuery JS library. Here are the main benefits of using jQuery, among many others:

  • Fewer conflicts with other libraries that our clients may wish to use
  • Much more lightweight than other libraries, leading to faster load times
  • Broad adoption means lots of plugins, tutorials and support available

This project allowed us to move away from our Prototype-based and Scriptaculous libraries to a library that will enable our clients to further customize and extend the Media Community application.

Facebook

The Media Community application has been updated to support the latest developments of the Facebook Platform. Some highlights include:

  • Meeting the requirement to use OAuth 2.0 for Facebook authentication and authorization for added security and better support for older browsers
  • Re-write of all Facebook interactions with the JS SDK for consistency, efficiency and better session management
  • Enable frictionless sharing for uploading, commenting and voting

This project creates a solid foundation for us to build out new social features that make use of the Facebook Timeline in 2012.

Google Maps API

Maps are a big part of the Media Community and we now use Google Maps API V3.

  • We are using Google maps v3 plugin for jQuery with great example code, allows us (and you) to much more easily create custom mapping features
  • The Google Maps API key is no longer required

Other Features

With over 170 new features and improvements, Media Community 3 continues to build on the most powerful user-generated content application:

  • New customizable MRSS feed
  • Pending gallery on Dashboard allows users to see their content on the site before it is moderated
  • Next / Previous buttons added to media page
  • Group category link list added to media detail
  • Unified gallery and search page for improved content discovery
  • All new form validation library
  • Improved date picker for register page
  • Gallery breadcrumb
  • Media description moved below media
  • Improved layout of media detail page, including meta data and member info block
  • Upgraded to JW 5.8 Flash / HTML5 video player
  • Related videos plugin for video player
  • Improved map filter check boxes on community page
  • Added ability to display text uploads on map
  • Added group list page
  • Added group detail page
  • Modified comments to upload into groups (allow filtering comments by group)
  • Update upload page to support uploading into multiple groups
  • Added group membership ability for members
  • Added ability for users to batch upload
  • Implement new <fm:UserAvatar> component across the application
  • Twitter account added to default registration fields
  • Added ability to change email address on edit profile page
  • Simplify like button alt text as to not require translation
  • Anonymous commenter name is now being captured
  • Added Stumbleupon sharing
  • Improved defaults for image embed options
  • Improved uploader handling of files that are larger than the allowed size
  • Removed toggles from sidebar galleries on Media Details page
  • Configurable North American or Global forms
  • Audio and text uploads now support geo-tagging
  • Re-captcha added to tell-a-friend pop-up
  • Improved layouts for video comments on Dashboard and Profile
  • Better handling of like/favorite button ninja-clicking
  • Much cleaner includes of sub_templates and consolidation of redundant templates
  • Fixed the multimedia comments browse button in Chrome
  • Fixed issue where Login with Facebook wipes out query string in URL


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Filemobile’s Top 10 user generated videos of 2011

posted by stevefm on 19.12.11

December 19th, 2011, Toronto- It seems that every year a new crop of funny, fascinating, embarrassing or just plain captivating user-generated videos makes the rounds on YouTube and other social media sites. This year was no exception, with dozens of user-generated clips going viral worldwide. Here, we list our top 10 user generated videos of 2011. We through in a semi-non-UGC addition as an honorable mention because we couldn't resist. Take a look. Update: We discovered what everyone else knew: Maria Aragon. She is now our #1 top UGC viral video of 2011.

1

Maria Aragon - Born This Way

Maria Aragon became a sensation this year after she covered Lady Gagas 'Born this Way' became an internet hit. With over 45 million views and a duet with Lady Gaga on stage in Toronto this video made Maria a star".

Date: February 16/2011 Views: 45,108,486

2

Friday - Rebecca Black

The production values technically disqualify Rebecca Black’s vanity video for the song ‘Friday’ from the UGC video top 10, but with more than 167 million views, we simply couldn’t leave it off the list.

Date: March 14/2011 Views: 167,000,000+

3

Webcam 101 for Seniors...

Hoping to speak with their granddaughter via Skype, Bruce and Esther Huffman try to master their webcam—without realizing it was recording their every word.

Date: August 21/2011 Views: 9,092,511

4

'Golden Voice' homeless man finds job, home after viral video success

Ted Williams’ fame may have been fleeting, but the story of the ‘golden voiced’ man captivated North America this year.

Date: January 6/2011 Views: 17,110,480

5

Talking Twin Babies - PART 2

Twin baby boys talk … sort of. While they may have been speaking gibberish, the infants’ banter translated into more than 56 million YouTube views.

Date: February 14/2011 Views: 56,247,058

6

Lily's Disneyland Surprise!

A surprise trip to Disneyland results in tears (of joy) for six-year-old Lily.

Date: October 3/2011 Views: 6,834,199

7

Michael Bublé - This is Michael Buble

Nearly 1.5 million viewers tuned into this UGC video of crooner Michael Buble inviting a 15-year-old (after being heckled by his mom) to join him on stage to sing ‘Feeling Good’.

Date: December 13/2010 Views: 1,462,923

8

Hey Ya

Dancing twins, neither of whom realize they’ve garnered nearly 4.4 million views and worldwide fame.

Date: June 20/2011 Views: 4,394,360

9

Octopus Walks on Land at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

Nearly five million people were fascinated by this UGC video of an octopus walking on land at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.

Date: July 19/2011 Views: 4,892,110

10

Seagull stole GoPro

While controversy erupted over whether this video of a seagull flying off with a tourist’s video camera was actually a publicity stunt for camera-maker Go Pro, people were amazed by the footage.

Date: June 23/2011 Views: 2,870,934

Honorable Mention

11

Move

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras = a trip of a lifetime. While technically not UGC these three guys pulled off an inspiring video with few resources. We couldn't help including this on the list.

Date: August 3/2011 Views: 8,000,000+


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Major Release of Media Factory Live

posted by jambrose on 13.12.11

Video Embed codes offer HTML5 video playback and
our latest video player

December 12th, 2011, Toronto - The release of Media Factory 3.0.8 includes some major enhancements in all areas of the Media Factory platform. Check out some of the major updates below and refer to the full release for all information.

Dedicated transcoders

Don't ever want to wait in line for your files to transcode again? Ask your Filemobile sales representative about a dedicated, scalable cloud-based transcoder!

Security

Projects can now be configured to have services return https URLs. For example, using the {$assetbase} variable will automatically return an https:// path to the templates. Also, some components such as <fm:UserAvatar> will automatically request secure URLs from 3rd party services and return the appropriate avatar path. With this configuration, any application can immediately be used in secure environments. Most notably Facebook!

Password security options can now be configured for projects. Features include requiring up to 10-character alphanumerical passwords, and lock-out after multiple failed login attempts.

External Storage

External storage options have been added to media transcoder settings. You can now specify external storage on a transcoder profile basis. For example, you might send video files to a secure streaming server while keeping image thumbnails on our storage servers.

Embed Options

The Embed Options page has received a makeover. Now all stock and custom transcoder profiles can be previewed, and the embed code generator provides a video player that automatically renders in HTML5.

Check out the full release notes at Filemobile's Developer Portal.

Cheers,

The Filemobile Development Team


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Filemobile Drives Online Engagement for Maxim with UGC Management Platform

posted by stevefm on 11.12.11 This recap of the 2011 Hometown Hotties contest explains how a "low-friction barrier to entry" for voting drove massive referral traffic from Facebook to the contest.

November 25th, 2011 - Toronto Interactive online software from Toronto-based Filemobile is providing the user generated content management tools for a major Web-based contest from men's magazine Maxim.

The magazine's Hometown Hotties 2011 contest is powered by Filemobile's Media Factory platform, including its upload widget for initial entrants and a customized version of its User-Generated Content (UGC) contest application.

Filemobile also leveraged social networking tools like Facebook Connect to spread news on model voting through its friend feed.

The contest invited the United States' most beautiful women over the age of 21 to submit their photos to compete for the title of Hometown Hottie. After months of submissions and deliberations, the contest-a Maxim tradition for nearly a decade-is currently in the top 10 judging round. The winner will be featured in Maxim Magazine in 2012.

The publication deployed two of Filemobile's Media Factory modules to power the contest: With a simple two-click process for voting, the contest has garnered widespread participation with more than 60,000 total votes shared-which accounted for 22% of traffic to www.hometownhotties.com--and more than 35% of traffic deriving from Facebook. The Facebook Feedback per share was a whopping 83.

"We are pleased to provide our technology to power one of Maxim Magazine's most popular annual editorial initiatives," said Filemobile chief creative officer Steve Hulford. "Our innovative upload widget and UGC contest module are the ideal tools to power a high-traffic, brand-specific contest such as this one."

Filemobile provides white label applications that engage the online audiences of major brands, media organizations and digital agencies. The Media Factory platform enables moderation, curation and publishing of interactive programs featuring user-generated content, while the viral sharing of social media activities on the Media Factory platform provide 20% incremental traffic for clients, on average. Filemobile provides user-generated content management tools to a number of major U.S. and Canadian media outlets including Fox News, the World Bank, CBC, Conde Nast, Maxim Magazine, CTV, Global TV, CP24 and The Weather Network.


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New FP blogger: Tech startup’s advice to get you past year five

posted by stevefm on 11.12.11 This article appeared on the Financial Post Blog on December 8th, 2011

December 8th, 2011 - Toronto. It’s no secret that starting and operating a business is a complex, expensive and emotionally draining task.

But for technology entrepreneurs, some of the most common entrepreneurial challenges are amplified. Not only are you competing with other firms, but if you’re a B-to-C company, you have to navigate the rapidly evolving and highly fickle consumer tech market. On the B-to-B side, which our Toronto-based interactive online software development firm Filemobile Inc. serves, customers demand constant innovation, but are also highly price sensitive, especially in a tough economy.

When we founded Filemobile in 2006, it wasn’t our first tech startup, but it was by far the most challenging. Needless to say, there were days when — like so many entrepreneurs — we could have easily thrown in the towel. Instead, we hung on and managed to carve out a solid niche supplying our rich media platform to the likes of Fox News, the World Bank, Condé Nast, Disney, Molson Coors, Deloitte and more than 150 other clients.

As we enter our sixth year in business, we decided to share some of our mistakes, lucky breaks and a few wise moves we’ve made along the way to help other tech entrepreneurs start, manage and grow their businesses. We have the luxury of drawing from three partners’ diverse backgrounds and operational specialties, so we’ll be sure to include tech sector insights that reflect our individual experiences building Filemobile. We hope the expertise we provide in this blog will help you avoid some of the mistakes we made — or at least understand when you’ve made them.

So, to kick off this blog series — and because this tends to be a particularly reflective time of year where tech entrepreneurs look back on the year that was and plan for the one ahead — we came up with the five reasons why we almost didn’t make it to our fifth anniversary:

Find out what the five reasons are at Financial Post.com


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ABC’s Live! With Regis and Kelly "Ultimate Fan Search" enters judging stage

posted by stevefm on 10.11.11  ABC’s Live! With Regis and Kelly "Ultimate Fan Search" enters judging stage

November 10th, 2011 - Los Angeles. Filemobile is pleased to announce the judging stage of ABC’s Live! With Regis and Kelly Ultimate Fan Search contest. The search invited fans to upload photos or videos highlighting why they are, without question, the morning hosts’ ultimate devotees. The contest was launched in conjunction with the countdown to long-time host Regis Philbin’s final show on November 18.

To celebrate Live’s millions of fans, producers asked viewers—many of whom have not only watched the show over the years from the comfort of their living rooms, but have followed their beloved hosts Philbin and Kelly Ripa to remote tapings in exotic locales across the globe—to demonstrate their love for the popular morning show in creative ways. The top three finalists, who are currently being selected by Live’s producers, will be flown to New York for Philbin’s final week on the job.

The three fans will have their moment to shine on stage and in front of millions of viewers when they’ll compete against each other on-air Nov. 14 to earn the title of Live’s Ultimate Fan. The winner will also drive away with a new 2012 Toyota Camry XLE.

This contest makes use of Filemobiles Upload Widget that allows companies to quickly accept users generated photos and videos with an easy to use registration, upload and moderation workflow.

For more information, visit liveregisandkelly.com and stay tuned for an eventful show on Nov. 14!


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