Mashcast: Customizable, Humorous, Slick.....

I had a chance to spend some time with the MashCast team at the 140 Conference this past week in LA. They refer to their video mashup as collaborative expression, a new category of communicating that allows for advanced levels of creative and collaborative interaction using video.

They can essentially drop photos into existing video templates or create new ones, updating statements or images daily depending on the situation.

Within a MashCast network, individual artists and businesses can own and manage exclusive online communities, giving them the power to connect their network to all social media outlets (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc) for one-button-push, net-wide distribution of select content; grant varying levels of rights, roles and permissions to members; distribute content securely to their subscribers real-time or “on demand”; customize and segment content for targeted communications to different kinds of users. The result? The ability to “own the audience” while opening up new revenue streams for their brand.

A proprietary rich internet application allows subscribers and network operators to pass creative content—video, audio, animation—back and forth to each other over the MashCast network in real time.

Take a look at two personalized videos they did inserting my photo into a video - and this is just one small piece of what they're capable of. You can also click play below.

Is Blackberry Doomed?

Is the Blackberry doomed? Check out take from Toktumi. Chart from their post.

PeopleBrowsr's New Functionality

Jodee Rich talks to us about PeopleBrowsr's new functionality, launched at BlogWorldExpo late last month.

Dining by Design 2009

DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS presents DINING BY DESIGN 2009 at the San Francisco Design Center November 18 and Thursday, November 19, 2009.

I attended last year and it's a fabulous gathering with inspiring and creative artists. The event, which is sponsored by Castello di Gabbiano wines and Stolichnaya ELIT, will bring together the Bay Area's social and design movers and shakers for an exclusive look at dozens of spectacular, table-top design installations by leading architects, retailers and interior designers.

At the event, they'll have exquisite sweet and savory hors d’oeuvres served by 15 of San Francisco’s best restaurants and food purveyors paired with wines, cocktails and the latest music.

DINING BY DESIGN benefits the Positive Health Program at San Francisco General Hospital, America’s oldest and the city’s largest HIV/AIDS clinic serving thousands and currently planning the world’s first HIV/AIDS Museum and Learning Center.

Tickets for the TABLE HOP & TASTE PREVIEW PARTY on Wednesday, November 18th are $100 and on Thursday, November 19th for a 3-course meal and silent auction - available online or by calling (415) 597-4650.

The Galleria at the San Francisco Design Center is located at 101 Henry Adams Street in San Francisco, between Alabama and 15th Streets.

A Renee Sandwich

What's a Renee sandwich you ask? Tim Berners Lee in the middle of two Renee's of course. Renee Edelman, Tim Berners Lee and Renee Blodgett below.

The same two Renee's also sandwich TechWeb's David Berlind

101 Questions on John Battelle & Tim O'Reilly: How Many Can You Answer?

Client Answers.com sponsored Web 2.0 Summit this past week. One interesting way to participate was to create 101+ questions on hosts John Battelle and Tim O'Reilly.

Here's a sample of questions on Tim and John. Technology geeks, execs and visionaries: how many can you answer? Go to Answers.com to have some fun with it, as well as to discover answers to other compelling facts and things.

We also had fun with customized t-shirts - why not? Doesn't everyone Google themselves? Why not Answers.com yourself, even if its merely to find out a bit more about where your name originates from.

Below are CEO Bob Rosenschein and product manager Shaya Loney on-site.

Their traffic is growing, up in September from August according to comScore. Answers.com’s combined U.S. unduplicated unique visitors reached 56.4 million in September.

comScore data for September positioned WikiAnswers as the leading community-driven Q&A site in the United States in terms of unique visitors. That means that Answers.com sites now have a higher audience than major brands such as CNN.com, craigslist and New York Times Digital.

Carly Fiorina on Goals, The Senate & Cancer

John Battelle interviews Carly Fiorina on stage this past week at Web 2.0 Summit. She talks about her goals, her reasons for running for the Senate and her battle with breast cancer.

Videos below are in three parts.

Qi Lu on BING's Latest

Microsoft shows us the latest in BING, announced this past week at Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Qi Lu talks about their latest initiatives with John Battelle.

Web 2.0 Summit Mug Shots

Photos for Web 2.0 Summit have been uploaded.

The U.S. Army Talks Social Media

I interviewed a U.S. Army rep at BlogWorldExpo this week. What on earth was the U.S. Army doing at a blogging conference you ask? Dentists and soldiers alike are blogging, tweeting and hanging out on Facebook, from Iraq and throughout the world.

Check out ArmyStrongStories.com (uncensored they say), their Facebook page, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace. Click play to learn more.