Marketing yourself or your products through Social Media can be a cost effective way to get exposure or generate traffic to a website or blog.

Using broadcasters and agregators can leverage your time and allow you to update dozens of sites at the same time. Using time saving tools like social broadcasting sites like ping.fm, posterous or hello.txt means you literally can be in more than one place at a time. Social agregators like Friend Feed and Plaxo Pulse can also be great ways to compile your online activities automatically.

Be carefull about broadcasting to your agregator sites or “pulling” from more than one social site you are broadcasting the same content to. You don’t want multiple posts with the same message!

I was reading my emails this morning when I came across some troubling news.

I have set up google alerts for a number of terms or phrases that I like to follow so that I am always up to date on the latest news that is of interest to me. One of the keywords I follow is “podcasting”.

“As consumers recognize the convenience of automatic downloads for episodic media, podcasting has gone mainstream with major media companies and more than 37 million U.S. consumers engaged. This automatic downloading of episodic media closely resembles how one-third of U.S. households are using a DVR to watch television today. This patent recognizes our technical leadership in setting the trend for a broad-based movement towards downloading episodic television shows and making them portable,” said Murgesh Navar, founder of VoloMedia.

Yesterday the US Patent and Trademark Office granted a patent for “episodic media” to VoloMedia, a California based company that offers services to podcasters and media companies. VoloMedia’s products deliver advertising and reporting solutions for portable media, which extends the reach and monetization of video and audio podcasts. They apparently filed for the patent in 2003, before podcasting became a popular method of media distribution. The patent doesn’t only cover podcasting, which is the distribution of media over the internet via RSS feeds but covers any technology which would accomplish the same result.

The US Patent number 7568213 can be viewed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office Website.

Volomedia founder, Murgesh Navar, wrote a blog post responding to the initial reaction to the patent. He states that the company is not interested in interfering with podcasters and has the industries best interest at heart.

… sometimes, patents end up in the hands of entities that have neither products nor technologies, but just obtain and hold patents to pursue infringing behavior through litigation. VoloMedia is not one of these. We are a real business, a founding member of the ADM, and an engaged participant in the episodic media download ecosystem with marquee publisher customers such as ABC News, MSNBC, Fox News, Washington Post and PRI, to name a few.

VoloMedia may be a real company, firmly entrenched in the podcasting and new media industry. They may be motivated to improve distribution of podcasts, increasing exposure and bringing podcasts into mainstream consumption. Nevertheless, I find this development extremely disturbing.

Companies can be bought and sold, or taken over. Intellectual Property can be sold or transferred to other entities. In the short run VoloMedia and their patent may have a positive effect on the industry but in the long run I don’t think so. Having one corporate entity controlling the distribution of “episodic media” can not be a good thing. I am a big proponent of the open source movement and believe that the distribution of episodic media should not be owned by anyone.

…specifically to VoloMedia’s motivation: The episodic media download “technology” ecosystem needs to become more seamless, more standardized, and more interconnected before it can become a mass medium. There are a few ways such seamlessness can be achieved: (1) A standards body is created with all the constituent technology providers (e.g., directories, media players, devices, analytics, advertising, etc.) participating and agreeing to common standards, (2) a large company with a lot of market influence and momentum creates a de facto standard, and everyone else follows or (3) a company uses its intellectual property to help drive a standard, using its IP to help define and improve the ecosystem for the benefit of all participants. VoloMedia’s motivations are primarily driven by the desire and need to make the episodic download ecosystem work, so consumers have a real choice in how they consume any media that is available on the Internet – whether in a web browser at an aggregation site like Hulu, or on a downloaded and portable basis using Apple’s iTunes and iPhone or Microsoft’s Zune. We will use our products, technologies, and patents towards this goal…We are intent on helping accelerate the growth and viability of downloadable, episodic media – much of its potential lies in the future.

The future of podcasting now lies in the hands of one company. Podcasting enables anyone to create content and share their passions with the world. At no other point in history has the individual had the ability to distribute their message to the masses like they can using Podcasting and Social Media. I sincerely hope that “episodic media” continues to be freely distributed and open to the public.

www.wolframalpha.com

Daimler AG has announced the acquisition of almost 10 percent of fledgling Californian EV producer Tesla. The deal, which should help Tesla meet its planned 2011 launch date for the Model S sedan, is the latest news in an ongoing relationship between Tesla and the German automotive giant which also includes a previously announced agreement to supply lithium-ion battery packs in the first 1,000 units of Daimler’s electric smart car. Read More at GizMag

Ever since I was a little kid I’ve wanted a jetpack.  I remember thinking it would be cool to have a jet pack to go to school or work.  Jetpacks are now a reality but at a high price. The latest is a water sports vehicle which uses water as the propulsion mechanism with the fuel and engine in a separate unit on the water. This levitation / personal flight device is sure to sell once the price comes down to a reasonable price for the upper middle class market. Currently, the $130 000 price tag will limit jet pack ownership to resorts, tour operators and the very rich.

Flu86 launched a new website to provide information about “the flu” and natural products to treat and prevent the flu!

http://www.flu86.com

Mobile Service Available

L’Unique Spa offers the Detox Foot Spa therapy, in the Vancouver Lower Mainland, for detoxification and rejuvination. The Detox Foot Spa, also known as the Aqua Chi, Ionic Cleanse, Ionizing Foot Bath and Ion Cleanse, uses an electrical array to create a magnetic field in warm water which draws toxins out through the sweat glands in the feet. The treatment is a relaxing and energizing experience.

L’Unique Spa is located in Vancouver’s West End Community and also offers a mobile Detox Foot Spa service. L’Unique Spa will come to your home or office! Click on the image above for more information about L’Unique Spa and the Detox Foot Spa.

Pain Free Fat Loss

Vancouver Lipo Laser is now open in Kitsilano! The LipoLaser is a safe, non-invasive alternative to Liposuction. The technology utilizes cold, low level lasers using a wavelength that targets adipose (fat) cells specifically, leaving other cells unharmed. The lasers create pores in the fat cell allowing the contents to spill out into the interstitial space in the form of triglicerides. The LipoLaser is perfect for body scultpting and spot fat reduction.