September 2012 archive

Sep 04

The Amazing Number of Live Video Streams From The Republican And Democratic National Conventions

DncWant another sign of the way the Internet has changed journalism? Just look at the sheer number of live video streams coming out of the Democratic National Convention when it starts today! Or look at the live streams that were from the Republican National Convention last week.

Naturally, the major US "TV networks" all have their own video livestreams: ABC, CBS, Fox News, CNN. (Interesting to see that NBC was not listed for either convention.) Similarly C-SPAN and PBS will also have livestreams.

This is not really any great surprise since all of those organizations would typically be broadcasting live video coverage from the event anyway over the traditional TV networks, so adding an Internet livestream is really just a matter of putting the technology in place to stream out the existing video feed.

But look at some of the other players...

  • The Wall Street Journal is streaming out the DNC convention on both YouTube and through its own mobile apps for iOS and Android (as it did for the RNC convention last week).

  • The Sunlight Foundation is streaming out a "fact-checked live stream" (as it did last week for the RNC).

  • Politico.com is offering a video livestream tonight as they did last week.

  • Various "Occupy" groups have livestreams of the protests at the conventions via Ustream.

... and I'm sure there are probably others who aren't listed on those GigaOm pages who will be streaming out video from the floor of the convention. It's fascinating to look at what tools like YouTube, Google+ Hangouts, Ustream and so many more have done to make it possible for so many more people to offer video livestreams.

Perhaps more importantly, both the Republican and Democratic parties have their OWN video livestreams and in the case of the DNC their own mobile apps.

They are using the Internet to tell their own story in their own words, bypassing the media entirely for those who want to watch the party's view of the event.

So many different players... from both the "traditional" media and so many newer organizations...

Simply amazing at times to see what this Internet thing has enabled... :-)

P.S. And yes, from a technical point of view, I'd be fascinated to learn more about how the various organizations put together the technical capacity to pull this all off. On a network level, there has to be a great amount of bandwidth going into these convention centers... and presumably multiple layers upon layers of redundancy.

Image credit: I took a screenshot of one of the photos on the DNC website.

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Sep 04

Summer is over… time to get back to IPv6 and DNSSEC – how can we help?

Wonderful day to be out on the water!Here in the northern hemisphere where I live, summer is now basically over. People are (mostly) back from vacations. Kids are returning to school. The rhythms and routines are returning… the weather is getting cooler… the days are getting shorter… people are turning their focus a bit more back to work.

Which means it is a perfect time to get back to deploying IPv6 and DNSSEC!

Let’s make it happen now!  You’ve still got a few months left to get a project underway in 2012!  Or you can be planning for a deployment that will happen in 2013…

Take a look at our IPv6 and DNSSEC resources to see what is out there to help you get started.  If you are a website owner, take a look at our “IPv6 for content providers” page that we’ve created… we’re planning to build out the other pages in a similar style for other audiences. If you have a domain name registered, look at our page about how to sign your domain with DNSSEC using various domain name registrars.

If you don’t see a resource that helps you get started, check out our content roadmap to see if what you are looking for is in our plans… and please let us know if you don’t see what you need.

Now is the time to deploy IPv6 and DNSSEC – how can we help?

Sep 03

FIR #667 – 09/03/12 – For Immediate Release

Interview with Brian McNely on Instagram and image-power is up; Quick News items: local farm store at center of Facebook kerfuffle, Google introduces Google Plus elements to enterprise products, the potential of social influence, how top brands are using Instagram; Ragan promo; News That Fits: addressable TV ads take step forward in US, Michael Netzley's Asia Report, Media Monitoring Minute from CustomScoop, Buzfeed's data report to partners reveals social media trends, listener comments, Denmark pioneers high-tech graveyard memorials with QR codes, TemboSocial promo, Dan York's report, the worst brand page on Facebook; music from Yonder Mountain String Band; and more.

Sep 01

Second Time Running The Covered Bridges Half-Marathon This Sunday

I'm going to do it again... only this time my goal is to run the entire race!

Tomorrow, Sunday, September 2, 2012, is the Swanzey Covered Bridges Half-Marathon, also known as "Elijah's Race".

Last September this was my first - and so far still my only - half-marathon, as I chronicled first in a post about the upcoming race and then in a post about the results which photos and charts.

It was a great race and I really enjoyed running it.  It was fun to put the "13.1" sticker on the back of my car when it was all over.

However, I had a severe problem with my running pace that I hope to change this time around.

If you look at the image to the left with the map produced by my Nike+ iPhone app, you can see the problem. It's showing the pace of my run and you can see from the color legend at the top the speed at which I was traveling going from fastest (green) to slowest (red).

I started out at the very fast (for me!) pace of about 7 minutes a mile... and then...

... I nearly collapsed at mile 12.

Oops.

In fact, I walked through the water station at mile 12 as I had been walking through all the aid stations... but then I just kept on walking!

After what I remember was close to a half-mile, I said to myself that I "just" had a half-mile or so left and that I really should run that final bit. So I picked up my feet and struggled to the end.

My issue was that at the very beginning I had positioned myself in the middle of the pack of runners and so when they all took off... I took off with them all! Running very fast! My "normal" pace is about 10 minutes/mile and so dropping it to a 7 minute mile was a definite - and unsustainable - speed increase.

Added to the situation was that for a short bit near the beginning you run over a trail by some power lines that is quite narrow with little room to pass. So once you enter that section it is really a "channel" through which everyone must go and it's hard not to run fast with people right behind you.

This year my goal is to do the "tortoise approach" and run slower and steadier for the whole race. If I can run it all at around 10 minutes / mile that would be an excellent outcome. If I could even do it a bit faster in between 9 and 10 mins/mile that would be even better. Last year the official results had my overall time as 11:13/mile and I would like to do better than that.

My strategy, such that it is, will be to start out at the back of the pack so that I don't get sucked into the adrenaline-fueled initial surge. I also have a friend of mine who is running with me... and said he'll make sure I run the whole thing! ;-)

I've also had an entire year more of running, along with a set of other races (although none this long).

We'll see.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to the race!

P.S. If you are in the area (or want to travel here), information about the race is online. Online registration is closed but I believe you can register on the morning of the race.