Archive for the 'Podcast Hosting' Category

The Pittsburgh (PA) Tribune-Review reports that Wizzard Software Inc. “entered into an agreement with four institutional investors for $7.5 million in equity financing.”

Wizzard has, in the past year, acquired three podcast-hosting networks, Switchpod, Blast Podcast and Liberated Syndication (Libsyn). This new batch of financing follows a $1.75 million investment announced last October. That earlier financing round came hot on the heels of the announcement that the company was acquiring Libsyn.

Chris Spencer, Wizzard CEO, issued a statement about this most recent investment: “This capital infusion allows us to continue funding the growth of our recently announc[ed] podcasting acquisitions and will allow us to accelerate expansion of our overall podcasting efforts, in which we see tremendous potential.”

“Management believes that upon an effective registration with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), Wizzard will qualify for a listing on a national stock exchange,” said company Chief Financial Officer John Busshaus. Wizzard’s stock currently is listed on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board.

Wizzard Software, a software company that specializes in speech-recognition technology and also a podcast service provider, today announced record revenues for 2006, thanks in part to (we’re not making this up!) “Rex” - the talking pill bottle.

Wizzard recorded record revenues of $2,943,578, an increase of $1,249,503, or approximately 73%, from revenues of $1,694,075 in 2005. Wizzard credits Rex for part of their increased revenue.

“Rex” is a prescription pill bottle that “talks” to the patient, using text to speech technology, allowing them to distinguish what type of medication is in the bottle and hear critical information on dosage amounts and refill parameters.

Wizzard generated a gross profit of $1,064,115 in 2006, versus a gross profit of $703,070 in 2005, an increase of 51%. (more…)

Northern Voice, the Canadian personal blogging conference, just wrapped up at the University of British Columbia over the weekend. For this third edition of the annual gathering, an estimated 300 participants met for one day of “MooseCamp“, a BarCamp- unconference- Open Space workshop, followed by Saturday’s more traditional conference offerings. The blogging conference was held at the University of British Columbia February 23 - 24.

Alberta-based Paramagnus Developments, parent company of Podcast Spot, has volunteered to record and host the sessions for this year’s conference. The company is making audio and video recordings of the 2007 Northern Voice conference sessions available free of charge at http://northernvoice.podcastspot.com.
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DivShare, a free file hosting service, has introduced the DivShare Uploader Plugin for Wordpress.

The plug-in lets you upload large files directly from the WordPress “Write a Post” page to your DivShare account, and insert the files into posts with a single click. The option can be used to post images, MP3s and all types of files to blogs.

The plug-in replaces the standard Wordpress upload form with a DivShare form, which is linked to your DivShare account. Maximum file side for uploads is 200MB.

Veoh Networks has announced its official launch, offering publishers and viewers a “new era of Internet television”, according to the company.

According to the Veoh, their automatic syndication and reporting features lets video publishers reach and manage the largest audience on the web. For viewers, Veoh offers a comprehensive set of features and viewing options, including a downloadable player that turns a viewer’s computer into a virtual DVR that can download content from video sites across the Internet. Veoh’s peer-to-peer network, built from the ground up for video distribution, is designed to ensure that publishers can provide viewers with a full-screen, DVD-quality experience.

“Veoh’s mission is to bring the next generation of television to people wherever they are–office, living room, or on the go.” said Dmitry Shapiro, CEO, Veoh. “Technology will allow us to dramatically improve the experience, and we believe our formal release today is an important step towards realizing our goal.”

The service offers several interesting new options for publishers and viewers alike. (more…)

First Beat Media has launched MyPodcast.com, a free podcast hosting service that offers a free recorder, hosting, unlimited bandwidth, and the ability for users to earn money with their podcasts. The site’s recorder application lets users include ad spots directly into recorded podcast episodes and earn a portion of the revenue.

Users can:

• Choose a podcast template, and set up a custom URL where their podcast will be hosted.
• Record podcasts using the site’s free recorder application.
• Host an unlimited number of podcasts and episodes, including unlimited bandwidth at no charge.
• Earn money through the podcasts by placing ad spots in the episodes.
• Have podcasts integrated into the iTunes music store.

via Digital50

SolidSpace has announced that new features have been added to SolidCasts, a business-centric enterprise podcast management system for both audio and video.

SolidCasts is a free, easy-to-use multi-platform, cross-format system that offers:

• Secure Password Protection- Businesses can arrange for podcasts to be released in a secure environment.
• Futurecasting- Users can arrange podcasts to “go live” at a programmed time.
• Authoring Tools- SolidCasts let users attribute a podcast to another author.

Mastro Auctions recently began using SolidCasts to create a more dynamic auctioneering process. With items ranging from Elvis’ hair to Rosa Parks’ bus, podcasting offers collectors an in-depth look at items up for bid, more effectively illustrating the true nature of the items than still photos.

For example, Mastro Auctions sold the Cook County gallows during a recent auction that utilized SolidCasts. Due to the item’s uniqueness, podcasting gave bidders a better understanding of what the gallows entailed, leading to its purchase by Ripley’s Believe It or Not for $68,000.

“Broadband is finally at the point where people can sufficiently stream video to their desktops,” said Doug Allen, president of Mastro Auctions. “Also, people are now truly using their iPods as a business tool. We have found that an overwhelming number of collectors are subscribing to RSS feeds, automatically receiving video highlights of the latest items that have been added to the next auction, and placing higher bids than ever before. We directly attribute this success to SolidCasts and look forward to watching this trend grow.”

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Diversion Web Publishing has introduced a new site, DivShare, that promises to let you upload anything and share it to the Internet forever.

“DivShare is a free file hosting service for everyone,” according to the site. “No registration required!”

The only catch is that, at some point in time, DivShare will have to come up with a business model to pay for this.

Features (per DivShare):

• Upload unlimited files
• Serve unlimited downloads
• Files stay online forever
• No pop-up ads or spam
• Incredibly fast, reliable servers

Digg, a popular social networking news bookmarking site, introduced an update today that makes podcasting a major feature of the site. The site is also emphasizing video bookmarking, making multimedia much more prominent than it had previously been.

The change could dramatically change the face of podcast discovery, as Digg focuses on the viral spread of new podcasts. It may also tend to draw listeners away from podcasters’ sites, because you can listen at the site. Community discussions may be more active at Digg than at podcasters’ sites, too, because Digg has hundreds of thousands of active visitors.

Digg also announced several other changes.

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Sonique, a London-based technology company has launched Podooch, a website designed to let anyone create a podcast without the need for technical knowledge or specialized software.

The site lets anyone with a web-connected computer upload a podcast or video podcast in minutes, and turn it into a podcast. The site gives users full management of their podcasts, from scheduling the release of new episodes to archiving old episodes.

Other features of the site include a free month trial, unlimited bandwidth and disk space, a personal microsite, a content management system giving users the power to schedule the launch of their podcasts and full statistics of each podcasts so users can see how well their podcast is doing.

According to Podooch, hosting is currently free. They plan to offer free and premium membership options next year.