Tuned-in to Pandora at TechCrunch

Tuned-in to Pandora at TechCrunch
Originally uploaded by lyndon.

I headed over to the TechCrunch BBQ (#3)last night, in part to find out what all the fuss was about, and to see how the audience might respond to the Pandora demo. This fuzzy cell phone photo captures the attention Pandora attracted. Everbody appreciates a personal DJ at your service 24/7, spinning tunes you love and catering to your every wish. Pandora does just that via a practical AI implementation matched with a zen-simple user interface.

Tom Conrad closed his demo thanking OpenLaszlo, the GUI technology behind Pandora, and gesturing toward Jim Grandy and I. That was most thoughtful of him, and we were surprised by the spontaneous ovation.

Without doubt, the gracious tone of the whole event was set by the hosts and organizers - from opening up their residence, to creating an event t-shirt, and serving food and beverages for 200 strangers. With more gatherings such as this one, Web 2.0 may prove to be a more social version of the original Web boom, in several senses of the word.

Tags: techcrunch, pandora, openlaszlo, laszlo

Neil Mix of Pandora with Laszlo team

Neil Mix of Pandora with Laszlo team
Originally uploaded by lyndon.

Pandora CTO Tom Conrad and lead engineer Neil Mix paid Laszlo Systems a visit yesterday to discuss the experience of launching their new music discovery service. Much of the Laszlo engineering team is pictured here, digesting both pizza and Neil's remarks on the evaluation process and final decision to base the Pandora UI on OpenLaszlo.

I continue to be amazed everyday by the growing impact of the Web. Perhaps part of the secret behind it all is captured in this photo. Tom and Neil will demo Pandora again, tonight at TechCrunch.

Tags: openlaszlo, pandora

SoundBlox, Remix Culture and the Digital Life

The Laszlo SoundBlox, an open source MP3 blog widget, has quietly gathered an enthusiastic following around the world since its initial release in December 2003. Just this morning, I received a note of thanks from Patxi Trapero from the Basque region of Spain, who informed us of his wonderful use of the SoundBlox, complete with a mix of acoustic music, beautiful photographs and endearing personal videos. Patxi's SoundBlox is another example of the human impulse driving what some call the digital life and others dub the remix culture. I find this impulse supremely humanistic and hope-inspiring. Thanks Patxi, for sharing your life, and for having the patience required to program the SoundBlox XML file! The SoundBlox of today requires substantial technical prowess to customize. In the years ahead, Laszlo Systems hopes to make this kind of digital life activity far more accessible to the world-at-large.

Tags: laszlo, digital life

The Boom is Back: Web 2.0 2006

Conversation with Terry Semel
Originally uploaded by lyndon.

Technologists, investors and journalists have packed the Argent Hotel today for Web 2.0, including many gilded as well as scarred veterans of the first Web boom. The Web 2.0 Conference, now in its 2nd year, feels much like the Demo conferences of the late 1990's - meaning, John Battelle's hand-crafted industry gathering has quickly established itself as a preeminent gathering and oracle of the information technology sector.

My modest contribution to the event coverage takes the form of a photostream, mostly capturing a defacto reunion with numerous colleagues from the once-mighty ExciteAtHome.

TAGS: web2.0

Mobile Media and Blogging

SF BridgeToBridge 12K, Oct 2, 2005
Originally uploaded by lyndon.

On this morning's BridgeToBridge 12K race in San Francisco, I finally internalized the reality that everyone with a modern cell phone is a potential reporter of events in the world, complete with still photos, video and sound. Are you curious about my morning today? Probably not, but that is beside the point. The amazing thing is that I could report on it with minute detail even while on a rigorous run.

A commentator this morning on public radio station KNPR observed that all of us spend increasing portions of our lives consuming media. I would add that going forward, more of that will be the personal media of our family, friends and colleagues rather than the professional or mass media of prior decades. In this way, with the help of the latest generation of Web applications, the world potentially grows more intimate for each of us.