PhotoShowTV and PhotoShow.com
Company: SimpleStar
What they do: SimpleStar, maker of the PhotoShow Deluxe desktop software, expands its presence with PhotoShow.com, an online service that will let users make their own “PhotoShows” online; and PhotoShowTV, which works with cable TV companies to let users post their shows on a special TV channel. A PhotoShow is a presentation of photos, audio and video clips to create digital experiences that go beyond just a normal photo slide show. Currently, PhotoShow Deluxe users can burn DVDs of their shows or watch them on a PC.
Memories trapped: SimpleStar CEO Chad Richard says most of our memories are trapped in our minds, or in shoeboxes and photo albums – or even stuck on hard drives, memory cards and other devices. In the meantime, we’re surrounded by screens everywhere – in our pocket on our cell phone or PDA, with huge TVs in our living rooms and on the multiple monitors connected to the PCs in our home and at work. The new services being announced at Demofall 2006 aim to get the memories and experiences off the hard drive and onto the “screens of our lives,” Richard says.
Like YouTube on TV? The first phase of the PhotoShowTV service will let users post their PhotoShows onto a community channel for others to see, Richard says. For example, highlighting a local little league game, the school ballet recital, or other local events can be produced by individual users through PhotoShows and shared with the community. The second phase of the PhotoShowTV service (likely to launch next year) will allow individual users to upload PhotoShows to friends and family on a very personalized cable TV channel, which involves working with several cable companies to make sure that when you send a show to Grandma, she’ll be able to watch it.
In terms of user-generated content, however, PhotoShowTV reminds people of “YouTube on TV” or “Flickr on TV” in the sense that users can share their digital content with large groups of people, but with the local cable community feel that’s missing with personalized Web sites. For example, home sellers can post a PhotoShow of their house that includes photos, audio and video, and home buyers looking for homes in a particular market then could watch the PhotoShows of all of the different homes being offered for sale.
Who will use this? Any consumer who wants to take their experiences and share them with a mass audience. Expands on the idea of “citizen journalism,” whereby regular people can become local correspondents for their communities, via the local cable channel.
Why cable companies like this idea: For cable companies, this gives them a chance to market their high-speed Internet offerings and cable TV services together. In addition, the PhotoShowTV service provides free content to the cable TV’s video-on-demand offerings, Richard says. Getting users more comfortable with video on demand can lead to more paid content purchases down the road.
