Interactive Buzz - Feb 15 '08

Consumer Generated TV
Current.com. Heard of it? I hadn't until today (and my cable provider doesn't provide it (Direct TV, Comcast, Dish, AT&T, Time do, however).) It's consumer generated tv programs, news, ads, etc... completely created and uploaded (to Current.com) by users. I guess there are users who continuously upload weekly programs, news feeds, etc. It's fascinating, really. You can watch it on TV, or watch the broadcasts live on the web (of course!). You can comment and see related videos. You can send all the shows/videos to your friends and/or embed them in your site/blog (just like YouTube).

You can view by topics (Currently popular, Most popular, Recently on TV), by People, by Viewpoints (online only). On TV, you watch whats on at the time.

Snippets (Pods) are short...from 1-7 minutes. Perfect for the A.D.D. folks out there. And I'd have to assume the demographics are pretty young. I can't see my parents getting much out of a station like this.

You can also make commercials with elements supplied by the brands themselves. They'll supply you with things like logos, messaging and a music library. If they use your ad, you get paid. If they use your ad in other arenas, you have the chance to get a lot more. Participating advertisers... T-Mobile, Toyota, & XM Radio.

Here's the definition of a "Pod"... which is a bulk of the content on the site.
A pod is a short video that tells a story, profiles a character and/or shares an idea. Current TV pods are nonfiction videos that are anywhere from one minute to seven or eight minutes; it's a self-contained story, a profile of an interesting character or a dose of information. It's like the atom of the Current TV universe.

Great Design. Great Functionality. Great Idea.
Etsy.com. One of the most unique shopping experiences out there. They're an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade. Very human to human products. None of the mass-manufactured stuff. Polar opposite of Walmart.

First off, all content is consumer generated. To design a beautiful interface with that fact alone is impressive. But beyond that, Etsy has built in some fantastic search features. Not only fantastic in function, but in form as well. All designers and developers should take note. Check some of them out... like the Time Machine, Geolocator, Connections. They also offer online classes, a community forum (social network) to connect with other Etsy users and other useful little features.

Etsy defines: "A positive first impression & a positive user experience". Good job Etsy.

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