Browser Meeting - Video Conference as it Should Be!

Meet the Browser Meeting!

The worlds first multi video conference tool for the browser only.
It started as a simple demo a couple of month ago. But with some help from funders in Sweden, Magnus Thor and Ulf Bjorklund have created a fully working demo for everyone to use.
It is as simple as real life. Decide a time for your meeting, book a room (name) and meet up.
No registrations, no usernames and no adds.
Browser Meeting can be used as it is or you can implement it behind your own firewalls.

Additional features

The Browser Meeting is ment to be more than just a ordinary video chat. Therefor Thor and Bjorklund has implemented some additional features such as realtime text chat. Which can be boosted with translation features if needed.

Thor is also working on a file sharing options, were participants can share documents during the meeting.

More to come

In January Google Crome will release screen sharing options wich will make applications like Browser Meeting even better. Though you easily combine video, sound and all type of sharing in the your browser.

Due to the fact that both Firefox and Ericssons Bowser Project are using webRTC (Real Time Communication) I am convinced that we soon will see loads of clever P2P solutions in the nearby future.

With the help of Bowser Thor and Bjorklund can build apps for smartphones also. While we wait for the web to reach all devices... ;-)

Websockets Return on Investment (ROI) (Part 2)

I was expecting more criticism for the generalized call that was made in part 1 of our ROI for real-time web projects. Because it sure is possible to measure certain parameters when you want to future-proof your web projects.
Below I will show you some important things to consider when starting a realtime web project, regarding your return on your investment.

The first thing to do

The first thing you should consider is the selection of developers. Many call themselves web developers, but far from any guarantee that your application is designed for the future. Responsive design is easy to check off but what about the database, code-language and choice of hoosting partner? Beautiful and cool is not equal functional

The Second thing

The second thing you should take into consideration are: do the developers work with standardized frameworks? For you as a client, this is vital. What happens if you want to re-place the web producer in the middle of the project and no one can continue with the work they started?!

The Third thing

The third thing you must do is to read about the different options that are out there. If your manufacturer chooses a framework that requires 2000 lines of code to run your application in realtime when there is others that can be implemented with only 25 rows and performs the same function as the first.
Why shell you pay for the time that the extra 1975 rows takes to write?

Entire systems

For those who want to upgrade their internal systems, I would like to point out difference between choosing a framework that is self hosted over cloud-based services. Do you really want to send data out of your system and back just to increase speed, when you can get better performance while retaining all the data inside your firewalls?! I guess not.
Or like Phil Leggetter - Real-Time Web Software and Technology Evangelist says in his tweet October 26, 2012:

If you're looking for a .NET self-hosted solution then XSockets, SuperWebSockets & Alchemy are options. 

At last

The last thing you should consider is the proof of concept. Have your web agency done anything like this before? Or are YOU their proof of concept?
Today there are a lot of applications that are only created just for proof of concept. The market is so young. And then the side effect of a variety of applications which only serves to show what can be technically.
You want the customer benefit. You want to make money from your application.
Ensure that this is the case!

Websockets Return on Investment (ROI) (Part 1)

The classic ROI model is one of several parameters that purchasers uses when choosing which team to create the "new" web app  for the company. Obviously, the status, qualifications, price, etc. is also included in the discussion, which all suppliers are used to relate to. But how do we measure an investment in real-time technology?!

In the simplest cases, such as casino and gaming sites, increase loading speed with 20% and it will be equal to 20% more gaming on the site. The less the user needs to wait, the more time he has to keep on playing.
In other cases, such as financial markets, rapid decision is a must to do great business. Milliseconds can be translated into millions of dollars - plus or minus - depending on whether you are number one or number two to buy or sell. Here, it becomes obvious that new technologies like WebSockets fills an important function in the future.
But how do you describe the ROI for a government agency that wants to make its intranet smoother? Or a major newspaper who want to make their digital editions more attractive in tough competition with other newspapers?
Or the example of the small shop just around the corner that has just opened an e-commerce with a minimal budget?

I say: Forget ROI, because you have no alternative?

Your customer is already there. They are aware, they does not like to wait, and they are very used to getting what they wants - exactly when they wants it.
Studies show that even at a half-second waiting time for loading webpages results in losing the visitors. And lost visitor is lost revenue. Depending on half a second!
Or as the slightly ironic comparison that Scott Gilbertson does with Google's developers that states that you lose customers already at 250 millisecond latency. (Most likely an exaggeration if we think beyond real-time games and real-time control via the device)
You will not be able to measure how fast you earn back your investment in real-time technology by getting more visitors. Your sites content and your marketing actions will determine whether you get new visitors or not. Real-time technology will help you keep them!
The same principle prevails in all segments. Your users are learning to make demands on speed. We are daily fed with advertising that says "select us as the supplier for your internet connection - we provide xxx mbit to you!
Your customers take for granted that you will deliver this experience. The've paid for the fast connection ... (they do not realize that your not in charge of the lines)

So what do we do?

So in the case of the State agency that operates a web-based intranet: Upgrade to realtime communication within the network so that your employees do not experience your working tools as a problem. Though they expect them selfs to surf at lightning speed.

You who drives the big newspaper: Besides web optimizing your material in size and shape you need to ensure the download time to your mobile newspaper readers.
We are born all the time with information from all directions, so when we have chosen to look for it - then we do not want to wait! (Especially for heavy ads from your advertisers)
For the little shop on the corner, I just want to say: Can you afford to lose a single customer because they can not bear to wait?
An obvious answer would probably be "no, nor can I afford to pay extra for a real-time web functions on my site..."
But here is the little store wrong. For it is no longer very expensive to implement real-time functions in your web sites. It just depends on which provider you choose (which we will cover in another article)

Anyway, the conclusion is quite simple:

What are our alterntiv to future-proof our web sites now that our customers are so spoiled?

 None.

Future Shopping via Multiple RealTime Variables

For me there is only one web. A website for browsing with mobile, tablet or my desktop. The Web is there to be used and I think we have only seen the beginning of its possibilities.
So far fills native applications certainly a variety of purposes (such as providing the opportunity for Apple to fill the fund) But as our browsers are allowed to take a larger part in our hardware, reduces the importance of native solutions.

Why build the same thing several times for it to be used by everyone?

One can not say that I'm the first to have that view. And I have no hope that it would feel so unique. Though it is essential for the rest of my reasoning.
Today was one of my techniques (Ulf Björklund) how he used a NetDuino to get some random data and then he showed how to filter it through XSockets. It enabled him to create some cool conditions that depends only on web communication.
I sketched a simple usecase to explain some of the opportunities this offers:

An idea of the future the store

Let's say you have a system that connects a people-counter in the entrance hall with a variety of digital screens in the store and some NetDuinos that senses where people are moving. To this you add QR codes, NFC or another opportunity for customers to connect their mobile devices.
You will receive the following variables to experiment with:

• Time of day
• Geoposition
• Number of visitors in the store
• Selection of connectivity
• NetDuino Data
• Data being sent to customers

Some of the conditions created are the opportunity to control the store's communications depending on the number of visitors in the shop or a unique visitor's position in the store. Imagine being able to send information or offers depending on time, location, number of other customers in the store and previously sent offers. The possibilities are almost endless.

But

Which is thrilling for us in the industry, but a deterrent for those who must fill the system with information and offers (read our clients - those who will pay the bill)
Here you will easily administered web-based systems in handy. Update in real time (if required). Update only one site that appears everywhere in the system.

Everything is digital so we can measure outcomes and impact (which scares us marketers though we have to do better jobs) And last but not least, we can reach all our customers while they are online. Thus, we can control their behavior! (or we hope to control their behavior in all cases).

How?

What if we could send to our customers depending on what decisions they take in the store? If we send an offer depending on the time, place and number of visitors in the store. But if we notice that the customer chooses to slip his phone in his pocket after the reading the offer we just sent (Geoposition) what would we choose to do?
Calling the customer? Send a new even better deal? Or ...
Think on. You will soon be faced with this kind of scenarios.
How cool is that!?

Browser based Video Chat for Multiple Users

When Google released its latest version of Crome October 29 it opens doors for the future web communication. webRTC (web real-time communication) provide opportunities for peer to peer connections and audio / video connections between users.

We will soon see lots of copies of (more or less) known applications such as Skype, ooVoo and others in the market.

Discussion of browser-based applications often present differences for the user experince, using familiar products and its solutions, instead of using new ones. One example among others are Skypes history on the market and the addresses in their system.

But it is quite obvious that the browser is about to take the lead as the most important application of our devices. For example, we see Mozilla's focus on Gecko. It will not be about a single new browser, it's about creating opportunities beyond the native way of thinking.

Regarding the example with Skype it is possible today to build video chats for multiple users, completely browser based. Magnus Thor and Ulf Björklund Team XSockets shows in his demonstration that it is possible. Even before Google released its latest version. The problem with the direct users and channels, they have solved using XSockets Live Service and its APIs.

What is happening is that the new technology breaks down the barriers that we previously took for granted. And what we need to do is to prepare ourselves for this change.

I can see the web-based video chats open to all. Like the speakers-corner in Hyde Park, we create spaces where we can communicate outside of our circle of friends (read Facebook) based on our content instead of relationship.

The social graph is perhaps less interesting, and the value of our intellectual capital higher?! Those who have something useful to say, those who are well-informed and those who have the gift - can in real time spread their opinions over the web. Like Ted.com but with interaction between the audience and the speaker...

Cool idea!

Link to Multiple Video Chat Demo

What happened to professional pride?!

What Happened to Professional Pride?!

The market industry has always been a highly prestigious community. All criticizes all and none but I / we do a really good job.

But in the case of QR codes it is different. We are destroying our own industry. There are so many bad jobs, which supplies so many bad user experience, we are eventually going to destroy the incredible opportunity given industry.
Linking analog media to digital, in a user friendly manner is important to us. It creates jobs in both ends of our working day. We start with a campaign in print without the ability to measure interest and profit, to lead our consumers into our digital campaigns - where we can measure everything they do.

Can it get any better?!

Some of us are (to be honest) afraid of the outcome. For this may mean that we get statisitk saying that we did a poor job.
The paradox is that we so often do a poor job with our QR codes and their mobile landing pages, we will only get the impression that our print campaigns do not work. They pull no traffic to our website!
The reality is that we have made for bad QR codes and or poor landing pages for the consumer to use our services.

Examples

Here are two good examples of how we have to work to increase the conversion between analog and digital media:
The right way to tse QR-Codes Brad Blombergs articel from 2011 is not old news, it is very much up to date.

Mobile Landing Page Optimization by Angie Schottmuller is a good mind set regarding proper  landing page design.

What if

• The industry were to allow that we helped each other to do things right from the start?
• It were permissible to notify responsible for a poorly conducted campaign its shortcomings?
• It could be perceived produce a positive way - rather than as it is today?

RealTime Business Case

The most common cases of real solutions today is all about cool marketing apps customized for any unique event or markands action. But the future will require much more of our real-time applications.

We must now begin to think about what really should be included in the concept of real time?!

The techniques involved is designed in a way that they are best presented in large system with many passive users to benefit most from the use of real-time techniques. All unnecessary polling, hand-shaking and headers with useless information can peel away. And there remains the real traffic.
What everyone actually asks for!

A Business Example

We at Realtime Websolutions has just completed a major web project with a client that works on a global market. There difficulties such as sales offices in other continents, time differences and general culture clash complicates the internal work.
Our mission was to create a web-based intranet, extranet and public website for the entire company.
Using real-time technology, we created a bundle of opportunities to simplify the internal work and communication.

Realtime Slideshow / Presentation

By creating templates in the system for web-based slideshows and create the opportunity to control them using a mobile phone. The company received a centrally administered presentation tool for trade shows and sales meetings.
The presenter could be set to show a rolling slideshow, static slides and even be stored as a local copy of a seller's computer. And it is always possible to connect a smartphone to control it.

Realtime "In / Out verification"

As the company works on projects throughout the world and often there were several people at once working with the same data. We realized that it was important to know who was on site a or not. And we did not want to wait for such a status update more than one second. From one continent to the other, worst case scenario can take up to 10 minutes to get the data sent.
Using XSockets we could send this information within 50 milliseconds. And suddenly the staff could start having functional chatroom etc to work together in their projects.

Real Time Chat with logs

We also created a real-time chat for staff to work together in. Where everything that is written is logged and creating a joint working blog for the project. By making all of the text searchable the user easily can go back into the log without knowing the exact content or date.

Real Time Language Support

We also developed a language support, so that messages between different languages ​​is presented differently depending on who is reading. Do you write in English to a Chinese person, you will get the answer in English, as well as your Chinese contact may get his answers in Chinese (the marginal error in translation proved to be a minor issue. Internally, the work log functions like a notebook rather than an accurate record of work )

Real Time Multi-User Video Conference

In the intranet, we are building a video conference for all employees to have their video meetings through.
This enables conferencing via desktop, tablets and mobile phones no matter where you are. This will also simplified the internal communication using real-time technology and webRTC.

These are just some of the features that helped us improve the old type of intranet. Later on we will talk about the opportunities for the public web as well.