Matt’s Cuppa

In my recent eHub post about restaurant review aggregator, BooRah.com, I mention that one of the most difficult things about writing the article was deciding on what I should leave out. I called the website “…the tip of the BooRah iceberg.” Perhaps I should have added that my review touched on only the tip of the tip of the BooRah iceberg. (Maybe that makes it an ice cube instead of an iceberg…)

Talking with Brian and Nagaraju prior to preparing the article was quite different than many of the interviews and demos in which I’ve participated. In speaking with people who operate in the world of “web 2.0″, you inevitably run into a wide spectrum of professionalism. (While that’s true elsewhere as well, I sometimes think that the speed of change on the internet doesn’t always leave time for professionalism in our interactions.) Throughout our communication, there was a general sense that these two weren’t strangers to the business side of Silicon Valley.

This became more apparent as we discussed what BooRah actually was. While a tremendous amount of energy and investment has gone into building BooRah.com, the website is really only BooRah’s public face. The technology behind the face, the semantic aggregation of data that meets particular criteria, is really where the future lies. Our conversation in this direction was naturally limited. There is the whole corporate secrecy thing, and besides that, I would have immediately gotten lost as they tried to explain how exactly BooRah did what it did.

It was explained to me that BooRah definitely has plans to move beyond the bounds of a website. Indeed, they have already made in-roads by establishing partnerships with media producers to incorporate BooRah’s technology into their own sites. And there is no reason that BooRah can’t expand beyond aggregating foodie blogs and restaurant reviews, either. According to Nagaraju, preparations for such an expansion are already underway.

It very evident, and rather refreshing, that BooRah is one “Web 2.0″ startup whose business plan extends beyond being bought out by Google. Although the demo was rather one-sided due to some Skype issues on my end, I was shown a multi-faceted product built on a flexible and future-oriented technology. I was introduced to a team who is able to speak very competently about their business, not just their product. And as an added bonus, I learned a lot about the restaurant scene in Chicago just in time for SOBCon08.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Freeware is one of the most under-utilized resources on the internet. That old adage that says the more something costs, the better it must be? Doesn’t apply to software. I’ve been a vocal advocate of free and open source software for many years and for many reasons . When I was first introduced (thanks, dad!) to freeware, the concept of software being portable was irrelevant. That was back in the day when Apple sold actual Apple computers and most software applications fit on a floppy disk or two.

I can’t recall the first time I visited Andrew Lee’s no nonsense freeware directory, The Portable Freeware Collection. What I do recall is that I couldn’t justify the cost of a USB flash drive at the time. (Hey, those things were expensive once!) Even though I didn’t have a need for software applications that were specifically portable, I kept coming back to TPFC because I knew that I could always find quality peer-reviewed applications.

There is also much to be appreciated in the design of the site itself. TPFC is blessedly free of gaudy colors, over-CSS’d menus, and encouragements to try some non-freeware application or another. In addition, the site is well-indexed and well-organized. And because of its light-weight design and efficient organization, I regularly check the site for updates from my phone’s mobile Opera browser. Now that’s portable!

***

>>Briefly, what is The Portable Freeware Collection?

The Portable Freeware Collection (TPFC) is database for portable Windows apps; “portable” not in the traditional CS meaning of the word (as in source code portability), but “portable” as in “you can store the application on a USB memory stick, and it should be able to run on any machine without reinstallation or reconfiguration”.

>>What is your typical user like? Who is most likely to use The Portable Freeware Collection?

All sorts, I guess. Most people just browse the database and look for portable apps they can use. Some actually find time to sign up with the TPFC forum and ask questions (eg. is there a portable app that does X?) Then, there is a small group of users who actively participate in the forum by suggesting apps that can be added to the database, or get down to pretty detailed discussion about how to bend certain apps so that they can be used in a portable manner.

>>Where did the idea for The Portable Freeware Collection come from? Is there an exciting story behind it?

I wish there is! But no. TPFC pretty much started off as a PHP programming exercise. I was doing too much Java at work, and wanted to get my hands dirty on something new. So I decided to see if I could write a small PHP frontend to index my collection of portable freeware. I have been collecting portable apps for quite a number of years prior to that because I got really tired of reinstalling and reconfiguring software every time I change machine. Then I started working and I needed to carry some apps to the office (eg. email clients, web browser, text editor) without having to travel with a bulky laptop. The habit got addictive rather quickly, and I started looking around for portable versions of everything (image editor, troubleshooting tools, media player etc.) I ended up with hundreds of them, and it was on one fateful day in 2004 when the two came together and I had a couple of weekends to work out something.

>>Can you talk about the community that has built up around The Portable Freeware Collection?

There are members of the TPFC community who help maintain the database, moderate the forum, suggest new portable software, alert us to software updates and so on (thanks guys, you know who you are). Then there is a huge following that has developed around a free application for making any software portable called “JauntePE“, which was developed single-handedly by this genius of a programmer called redllar. Two years back, he started using TPFC forum as a sounding board for JauntePE, and it attracted many fans. Unfortunately, like rock stars, redllar is somewhat temperamental, so JauntePE was available, not available, available, then not available again. Now we are all anxiously waiting for the next release of JauntePE after redllar tempted us recently with some screenshots of the new version.

>>Do any of your own values or concerns, things like global warming, politics, or poverty, make their way onto the site?

One recent case concerns censorship (which I am opposed to), and it cropped up when someone submitted Columbine Massacre for inclusion in the database. This is a game that is portable in the technical sense, but others objected to its inclusion due to the subject matter. I myself am a die-hard liberal and I hate censorship of any form, but sometimes it’s a difficult call when the feelings of so many people are involved. I am also surprised we actually have to deal with a matter like this in a forum where it is more typical to discuss DLL’s or registry entries.

>>What is the craziest, most outside-the-box way that you can imagine The Portable Freeware Collection having in impact on world peace? (If you think of a more realistic and down-to-earth idea, please share that too!)

Can’t think of any. In fact, if your readers can think of any association between TPFC and world peace, I’d love to know! Maybe if TPFC could play a tiny part in getting more people to use portable apps (and more software developers to release portable titles), then it helps reduces the overall rage quotient when people don’t have to waste a lot of time reinstalling/reconfiguring applications when their PCs break down. Yeah, that’s a nice thought.

>>What will we see from The Portable Freeware Collection in the future?

There are a couple of things on my todo list (eg. I’d like to implement a Google-style spell checker for the search keywords), but it pretty much depends on how much free time I have, and how motivated I am to do it. The latter is particularly tricky, since I don’t seem to have a lot of control over it. I could be sitting in the toilet and suddenly I have an idea to do something, and I will be able to hack it up in one or two hours. Otherwise, I could force myself to sit in front of the computer for the entire weekend and not have anything to show!

>>What is your favorite part about working with The Portable Freeware Collection?

Downloading cool apps and testing to see if they are portable. In a strange way, it’s a really zen and fun thing to do, especially if the app itself is novel. It’s like unwrapping a brand new bar of chocolate and savoring it for the first time. It really makes my day when I find something portable that I would personally use, and add it to my personal USB harddisk that I carry around with me.

Popularity: 28% [?]

What draws me to Kollecta is the genuine enthusiasm of Barney, Kollecta’s mastermind and chief ‘gatherer’, which is Kollecta jargon for a person who collects things. You know that your inner pack rat is welcome as soon as the page loads. And I’m certainly not the only one who has felt this way, judging by the 1.3 million items logged on the site.

It’s difficult to find where Barney ends and Kollecta begins, which is, I believe, a major reason for the site’s success. When asked about himself, he prefers his collections to do the talking. Among the items that Barney gathers are: “New Order, 808 State, Cabaret Voltaire, Durutti Column music, Stephen King, Amy Tan, Faye Kellerman, and Nick Hornby books, PS2 and PSP games, just about anything with a fish on it, some anime and superhero figurines, old coloured glass bottles, the occasional fountain pen, microscope, light emitting diodes, and live corals.” (How cool is that?! Live coral scores points for being quite possibly the most interesting thing I’ve ever heard anyone collect! Apparently, he keeps them in an aquarium in his basement, but I forgot to ask how big his collection was.)

I wanted to get a good feel for the kind of things other people were gathering on Kollecta, too, and I obviously didn’t have time to scroll through over a million items, so Barney filled me in on the Take Five feature. When you click on the Items tab, it pulls up five random items available to the community to peruse, edit, and so on. You can check out the items or refresh the page to see another five. You can also view newest or most wanted items.
After refreshing the page some dozen times or so, exploring various groups, and checking out items for sale, I was left with the impression that Kollecta is something like a flea market, something like a museum, a bit like grandma’s attic, and something like eBay’s alter ego. And not quite like any other online community out there.

***

>>Briefly, what is Kollecta?

Well, I’d guess I’d call it an online collecting site for collectors and gatherers. That’s the simple description. Reading about our member
profiles will help to explain it more

>>What is your typical user like? Who is most likely to use Kollecta?

We have four typical users or profiles, I guess you could say. There are the serious, hardcore collectors of one specific thing, the people usually
associated with the term ‘collecting’. There are however also many people who ‘gather’ more than collect. They typically have a pile of CDs, books,
DVDs, maybe in specific genres, and supplement it with quirky collections like teapots, lighters, and such like.

Some users like to collect in themes … rather than target a specific type of item such as stamps, they collect any item type matching a
theme. For example, I have a friend who loves ‘frog’ things. Bathmats, cups, toys, anything with a frog on it - she wants it. Her house is full
of frogs and she is always on the lookout for more! Finally, Kollecta embraces small traders in specific collecting areas, who may have relevant things they want to sell to an appreciative audience.

As far as who is most likely to use Kollecta - everyone! Everyone has something they collect or gather, maybe without thinking of themselves as a collector. Many people use it to catalogue and showcase the things they love, while others use it to meet people who collect the same things as they do.

Some people are fascinated by the number and variety of the items on the site, and others focus on meticulously updating and checking
data on ‘their’ items. Someone even suggested using it to catalogue their valuable possessions, as insurance proof should their home ever
be destroyed!

>>Where did the idea for Kollecta come from? Is there a good story behind Kollecta?

A year and a bit ago, in a land far, far away… me and a friend both commented that the big auction sites, while they have a ton of users and items for sale, are very cold. It’s usually a very quick ‘buy it, sell it, next please’ kind of arrangement. Those sites don’t really care about the items, or the importance of the items’ data, or the passion of the people who like to collect certain things.

Collecting or even gathering things you like really has a warmth to it, which is what we’re trying to do with the site. The members are the
experts in their fields, so we wanted to let them update the data, add images of the items, and so on. Kollecta hands the ownership of the
data to its members. As an aside, if members want to trade things, they can, with people who share their enthusiasm and in a ‘quieter’
space than the eBays, and so on.

We also wanted to ensure Kollecta doesn’t discriminate either, which I think is very important. Whether you have a box of comics, Barbies,
coins, pens - it doesn’t matter. You can have a Smurf collection, a Metallica collection, and a china thimble collection. No problem. We
found that if you collect more than a few different things, it can quite quickly be a pain checking in at all of the sites relevant to each thing.
With Kollecta, we hope it will become members’ central hubs for ‘their things’. Sort of a My Space for your things, one of my friends
suggested. Cheeky!

>>If you could tell someone about only one Kollecta feature, what would it be?

Anyone can catalogue online anything and everything they love.

>>How do you imagine Kollecta being used to impact some of the major issues we face today such as climate change, poverty, or violence?

That’s a pretty interesting question. One idea I have with Kollecta is to somehow make it accessible to less affluent communities who could
showcase collectable things made in their region. It might become a new avenue for them to inform others about their economic plight,
their culture, and sell items they’ve produced. Not sure yet exactly how it will work, but I think there is merit in it for sure.

>>If Kollecta were able to contribute or work with a charity, is there a charity that you would choose?

I think it would be neat to somehow team up with a charity for the elderly. Many of the things we’re starting to see appear on Kollecta are from
times long gone. Google is great but you can’t beat learning about something from a real person! People from these eras can contribute so
much through their memories and knowledge of such things, and Kollecta in turn can help them to relive those memories.

>>What will we see from Kollecta in the future?

We have a list of upgrades longer than… a very long thing! We want to make it easier and quicker for members to build up collections, talk
to other members, and so on. We also have some fun stuff planned - maybe a game or two, a competition here, that sort of thing. We’re
always open to suggestions from members too. The site is constantly evolving, and a lot of the cool changes have been made as a result of
a member sticking their hand up and shouting “Oi! What about…”.

>>What is the best part about working with Kollecta?

Definitely the variety of members, and the variety of their interests. People collect the most amazing, beautiful things - and the pride in which
they present their things makes me feel pretty darn good to be doing what I do. p0sitive

Popularity: 19% [?]

Ever since I posted about beYOU.tv, a health and wellness community, on Emily Chang’s eHub, I’ve gone back to explore the site many times. They feature videos from respected trainers and teachers in the fitness and wellness world. I’ve watched streaming videos about everything from Chinese cooking to cardio training. beYOU.tv’s approach is unique in that they offer a subscription service that gives you access to the entire video catalog, but they also let you purchase any video and download it, DRM -free, so you can take it with you where ever you go. This is great if you want to stick to a pilates routine while you’re traveling, or you don’t want to practice your yoga poses in front of your computer.

Since I wanted to learn a bit more about beYOU.tv, I was pretty excited when I got an email from beYOU.tv’s VP of Marketing and Content Acquisition, Bob Kasunic. He wanted to find out how I learned about beYOU.tv, but he kindly agreed to answer a few questions for Matt’s Cuppa. As mentioned, Mr. Kasunic is the VP of Marketing and Content Acquisition, which means that he’s in charge of developing the beYOU.tv brand, as well as beYOU.tv’s blog and radio show. (A quick note: Even if DRM-free Tai Chi doesn’t grab you, go check out the blog. You’ll find well-written and well-researched articles about all facets of healthy living.) He also has a hand in bringing on new instructors and producers, and generally making the world a healthier place to live in. You can see Mr. Kasunic’s genuine passion both for beYOU.tv, and health and wellness in general, in the answers he shares below.

***

>>Briefly, what is beYOU.tv?
beYOU.tv is a health, fitness and wellness video community. People can log on and search 100s of workouts to find the best ones for them. They can preview most full-length videos for free, then purchase and download the ones they want to their iPod, Zune or computer. All videos are DRM free. Monthly membership gets streaming access to the complete library. Workout videos include core, weight and cardio training, dance, yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, martial arts, meditation and more.

>>What is your typical user like? Who is most likely to use beYOU.tv?
beYOU.tv is for anyone looking to improve their overall health and well-being. We’ve gathered videos from some of the best instructors and teachers in the areas of physical fitness, personal growth and spiritual growth. We are currently developing our lecture series for personal and spiritual growth and are constantly adding new teachers and speakers. And we love feedback from our users regarding other instructors or lectures they would like to see on the site.

>>Where did the idea for beYou.tv come from? What is the story behind beYOU.tv?
beYOU.tv was developed out of a personal need. Most of us were in consulting or finance, which included a lot of travel and very little balance. Our founder & President, Kareem Kouddous jokes, “I gained 25 pounds when I started consulting and lost 25 when I started beYOU.tv. All I was doing was working. The rest of my life was suffering, and of all the the places I searched on the net, I couldn’t find a single site that had everything I needed for the whole me in a format that was useful given my schedule.”
We love knowing that we’re helping a lot of other people out there attain their wellness goals. And we know we are, because they’ve told us.

>>If you could tell someone about only one beYOU.tv feature, what would it be?
That’s an interesting question, because when we started the company, we kept wondering ourselves what people would like best about the service. What we are finding, what we are hearing back is that people love that they can download these videos to their iPod and take them with them to the gym, the office on the road — where ever. They love that there are so many great videos that they can take with them. It’s like fitness at your fingertips.

>>How do you imagine beYOU.tv being used to impact some of the major issues we face today like climate change, poverty, or violence?
You know, I get so angry sometime when I think about my health care plan and what it will and won’t cover. Mostly it won’t cover — anything preventative. I have to come down some type of life threatening disease that can be treated with expensive pills before they will pony up.

While our overall objective is to empower people to attain whatever their personal and individual goals may be, we are also trying to give people the tools, knowledge and motivation they need to take charge of their own health. We don’t want people to have to be diagnosed with Type II Diabetes before they start looking at what they eat or if they workout enough. Or if people are recovering from Chemotherapy, we want them to know they have options like Qigong to help their bodies heal without more drugs. If you are internalizing stress, that takes a toll on your body. Expressing your voice or learning to meditate are great ways to reduce that stress.

So long answer short, I think we could have an impact by being an advocate for preventative health care. We’d love to work with health care companies and providers to develop simple, affordable and accessible ways for people to become accountable for there health and well being to prevent costly and life threatening illnesses.

>>If beYOU.tv were able to contribute or work with a charity, is there a charity that you would choose?
Wow, what a timely question. We were just discussing this earlier today. One of our founding tenants as a company was to give back. In fact, 5% of company proceeds go back to charity. But in all of our efforts to get the company up and running (and generating revenue to share), we have not yet identified an organization. There are so many great and worthy causes, and many that our partners are already working with. Generally, we believe that so many of our healthy (and not so healthy) habits and sense of self are developed at a very young age. So we know that we want to work with a children’s organization that helps them develop a healthy sense of self that will allow them excel in life regardless of the situation they may have been born into. So if any of you reading this have a suggestion, I’m all ears!

>>What will we see from beYOU.tv in the future?
In the very near future, users will be able to participate in our expanded community section. While we are thrilled to be working with such great teachers across the globe, we know that there are also great teachers right across the street from many of our members. And we want to connect them. Our community section will let you search for instructors, trainers, coaches, teachers or gyms, studios or spas in your neighborhood. You can Follow a topic (i.e. Yoga), a person or a place. Local instructors and gyms will have their own pages to keep in touch with the community and allow members to give ShoutOuts (testimonials). The community will help build itself by being able to add their favorite people and locations. It will be a great way for people take their goals to the next level.

>>What is the best part about working with beYOU.tv?
Personally, I get to meet some of the most talented and innovative gurus in the fitness and wellness industry. I’m constantly inspired and motivated by the people we work with. We also have our own radio show on www.healthylife.net, so I get to spend time with them when they co-host our shows. It’s the most most fun I’ve ever had on a job. Writing and developing topics for our blog (www.blog.beyou.tv) is another meaningful way for us to connect with the community at large. Our growing editorial team includes many of our partners as well as our producer Greg Schnese and our Eco-Living expert Michelle Barge. They do outstanding research and work!

But overall, for all of us, the best part is knowing that we’re really helping motivate and inspire people to attain their goals and dreams.

Popularity: 25% [?]