Chris Morrell

This post is a follow-up to my previous post about video platforms.  I didn’t get to check out all of the platforms on my list, but here’s what I did find.  We ended up choosing Ooyala for a number of reasons, which I’ll touch on below.

Continue reading “Video Platform Roundup (follow up)” »

We are currently evaluating a number of e-mail marketing services for InterNACHI and NACHI.TV, and I thought I’d post the list here.  They are in no particular order.

• VerticalResponse
• AWeber
• Constant Contact
• Campaign Monitor
• FuseMail Campaign Connect
• MailChimp [$30 free credit]
• RealMagnet MagnetMail
• Your Mailinglist Provider
• listrak
• ExactTarget
• iContact
• newsberry
• Mad Mimi
• Experian CheetahMail
• Pedrera eNews
• ListPilot
• Lyris HQ
• SalesForce.com (added 1/8/2009)
• JangoMail (added 8/31/2009)

I’ll be posting full reviews as we finish evaluating them.  Right now I’m most impressed with AWeber, Campaign Monitor, MailChimp and newsberry, but iContact and MagnetMail have been suggested to me by a few people, and I haven’t looked at demos of all of ‘em yet.  We’re also looking into a service called AuthSMTP which handles the delivery and lets you sort out the mailing system.  So far it’s been fantastic for our bulletin board and other systems that have mail integration.

We’ve been evaluating a number of online video platforms at NACHI.TV, and I expect to post some reviews of our experiences once I’ve played with more of them.  But for the meantime, here’s a quick roundup of the video platforms that I’ve found most interesting (based mostly on their product demo videos or online reviews).  Please note, we’re evaluating end-to-end platforms, with transcoding, management, delivery, etc built in, so I’ve excluded a number of companies that don’t seem to offer these services.  We’re also in the small-to-medium sized company range, so some providers might not match that requirement.

In no particular order:

• Brightcove
• Delve Networks
• Entriq
• Magnify
• Maven Networks
• Vidego
• Ooyala
• Permission TV
• The Feed Room
• The Platform
• Fliqz (added 12/17)

My initial thoughts are that Brightcove and Ooyala look like great matches for us.  I’ll post more comprehensive reviews later.

If there’s anyone I’m missing, please add it in the comments.

Continue reading “Video Platform Roundup” »

“I’m not going to do [a] because I need to get [b] right first.”

I, like most people, am a master of procrastination.  I clean my desk, file my e-mail, make a few phone calls, write a blog entry, etc, just to avoid whatever it is I should be doing.  Recently I discovered a new*, and troubling form of procrastination: “getting it right.”

For the past few months I’ve been working on a major restructuring of one of InterNACHI’s core web systems.  Lately I’ve found myself not moving forward because I want to make sure the architecture is right, or I have some concerns about how certain decisions will affect search rankings, or I’m not sure if it will perform well, etc.  So instead of sitting down and finishing the project, I pull out a pad of paper and start outlining or graphing or whatever it is I convince myself I need to be doing.

Now that’s not to say that preparation isn’t important, but I’m starting to think that the agile guys got it right: build early and build often.  And I realize that this is nothing new.  Heck, nearly all of “web 2.0″ is built on the constant “beta” principal.  But I also know that as businesses grow, there’s a tendency to add unnecessary formality to otherwise simple things; at least I know that’s what we’ve done.  It’s almost like you get into this mentality of “this is how the big guys do it,” when it’s the little guys who are more compelling and innovative.

And on top of it all, “getting it right” is just a fiction.  There’s no such thing.  Today’s “right” is tomorrow’s “what was I thinking?”  I might as well get something “close” today, and “better” tomorrow.

So where is this post going?  I’m not really sure… I think I’m done, but I really don’t feel like getting back to work

So what do you guys think?  Am I the only one who procrastinates this way, or is this a common thing?

* By new, I mean newly identified.  I’ve been doing this for years.