InformationWeek Stories by Marc Canter

InformationWeek Stories by Marc Canterhttp://www.informationweek.comInformationWeeken-usCopyright 2012, UBM LLC.2011-09-07T16:45:00ZTalking Jobs And Heading To WashingtonMacromedia founder and BYTE videoblogger Marc Canter's Digital City project is all about that four-letter word President Obama addresses Thursday: Jobs.http://www.informationweek.com/byte/news/231600973?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors What do they get in Cleveland that we don't get here in Silicon Valley? You'll see in my video, below, the fourth in a series about jobs creation. (Note: the Obama talk on jobs I refer to as next week in the video takes place Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011, at 8 p.m. before a joint session of Congress.) Check it out. <object id="flashObj" width="420" height="236" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="@videoPlayer=1146252580001&playerID=991561270001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAF14eAc~,GZC-YoxXneipa9bRIkZsgcIk-7WR-zx_&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="@videoPlayer=1146252580001&playerID=991561270001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAF14eAc~,GZC-YoxXneipa9bRIkZsgcIk-7WR-zx_&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="420" height="236" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object> Disclaimer: The opinions of BYTE columnists are those of the columnists and not of BYTE. Based in Cleveland, Marc Canter co-founded Macromedia and a number of social media startups. Reach him at marc@digitalmechanics.com.2011-08-19T15:00:00ZMarc Canter: Ain't No Jobs Out HereIn installment three of his videoblog, the Macromedia founder takes on tech training for the midwestern masses.http://www.informationweek.com/byte/news/231500312?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors My latest rant ties together many themes I'm currently working on. The fact I've tied them all together is one of the themes. There's great value in finding synergy between seemingly disparate topics. Collectively, such out-of-the-box thinking adds up to what I think is a better approach to creating tech jobs, and I'll explain in my short videoblog below. That's what my Digital City project is all about.The fact that I can walk around Cleveland--while holding my iPhone at arm's length and recording my rants on jobs and racism--is what makes this job so fun. In the video, definitely check out my t-shirt. Bet you can't tell what it says or exactly what type of tomatoes I'm growing. Don't laugh. In Cleveland, these things matter. <object id="flashObj" width="420" height="236" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="@videoPlayer=1116883063001&playerID=991561270001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAF14eAc~,GZC-YoxXneipa9bRIkZsgcIk-7WR-zx_&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="@videoPlayer=1116883063001&playerID=991561270001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAF14eAc~,GZC-YoxXneipa9bRIkZsgcIk-7WR-zx_&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="420" height="236" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object> Disclaimer: Like all BYTE columns, this videoblog does not necessarily reflect the views of BYTE. These are the views of the author, Marc Canter. Based in Cleveland, Marc Canter co-founded Macromedia in the 1980s and countless startups since. These days he's growing tomatoes and thinking deeply about how to get more tech jobs for people from various ethnicities.2011-07-25T18:08:00ZAre There Any Humans in Silicon Valley?Marc Canter's video column on scaling local, while automating global.http://www.informationweek.com/byte/news/231002593?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors Software is about changing the world -- and it's great if you can make some money along the way. But that's not what it's all about. For me, the goal of it all is bringing intimacy back into the mix. That means local. But you'll only succeed if you're willing to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. That's why I moved from Silicon Valley back to Cleveland. That -- and the pierogies and corned beef. And the half-pound brownies! Note: I shot and uploaded this on July 4th. Just so you know. I like to keep these things timely. Check out the video. <object id="flashObj" width="420" height="236" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="@videoPlayer=1069445092001&playerID=991561270001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAF14eAc~,GZC-YoxXneipa9bRIkZsgcIk-7WR-zx_&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="@videoPlayer=1069445092001&playerID=991561270001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAF14eAc~,GZC-YoxXneipa9bRIkZsgcIk-7WR-zx_&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="420" height="236" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object> Based in Cleveland, Marc Canter is a senior contributor at <a href="http://www.byte.com" target="_blank">BYTE</a>. He's also a co-founder of Macromedia and CEO of Broadband Mechanics, which produces People Aggregator. Follow him <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/marccanter4real" target="_blank">@marccanter4real</a> and email him at <a href="mailto:marc.canter@byte.com">Marc.Canter@BYTE.com</a>.2011-07-20T05:21:00ZMarc Canter: My Life As a Social NetworkMarc Canter's take on social networking.http://www.informationweek.com/byte/news/231002054?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors Social networking has grown over the past 15 years from a nascent glimmer in some software entrepreneur's eye to a full-blown industry. Behemoth megabattles now define the landscape, but along the way we've seen tremendous blunders, stupid strategic direction and phenomenally shortsighted decisions -- they've come back to haunt even the so-called smartest media execs. My own experience in social software started back in 1996 when my team and I built an operating system for what we then called "location based entertainment." The idea was that patrons would go to a cyber-themed restaurant and log into their table by having a video grab of their faces added to the screen. <object id="flashObj" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d- 11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="420" height="236" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="@videoPlayer=1044385442001&playerID=991561270001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAF14eAc~,GZC-YoxXneipa9bRIkZsgcIk-7WR-zx_&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" /><param name="name" value="flashObj" /><param name="flashvars" value="@videoPlayer=1044385442001&playerID=991561270001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAF14eAc~,GZC-YoxXneipa9bRIkZsgcIk-7WR-zx_&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed id="flashObj" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="236" src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" name="flashObj" allowscriptaccess="always" swliveconnect="true" allowfullscreen="true" seamlesstabbing="false" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" flashvars="@videoPlayer=1044385442001&playerID=991561270001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAF14eAc~,GZC-YoxXneipa9bRIkZsgcIk-7WR-zx_&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"></embed></object> The patrons would then order food and drinks, play games, browse the Web, play music and video and in general interact with others at their table and around the restaurant -- or around the world. <img src="http://i.techweb.com/infoweek/byte/BLOGS/marc_canter/musicjuke.png"> I made sure that this technology broke any potential patents in the future by creating prior art around the notion of "human face in a software interface." No one can ever patent that unless they were doing it before 1996. We also set the precedent for "multimedia human faces designating being logged into one machine." We called it the MediaBar. <img src="http://i.techweb.com/infoweek/byte/BLOGS/marc_canter/MediaBarlogon.png"> We parlayed that work on the MediaBar into a gig in Trieste, Italy, where we started to build a "Digital City." That city architecture imagined clubs which had people logged in remotely as a wall of faces. Jump forward to 2001 and we did an interface for AOL that had folks sitting around and watching TV together -- virtually. <img src="http://i.techweb.com/infoweek/byte/BLOGS/marc_canter/AOLTVroom.png"> Then in 2002 we came up with a design called the "Community Commons." This would be called a social network nowadays, but we didn't know what to call it back then. I showed this design to Mark Pincus and he immediately hired me for a project called "Tribe.net". <img src="http://i.techweb.com/infoweek/byte/BLOGS/marc_canter/CommunityCommons.png"> I was a member of Ryze -- which was actually a predecessor to Friendster. Pincus had just invested in Friendster, and so he wanted to do something similar That became Tribe.net. Paul Martino and I came up with the notion of 'Tribes,' which today has evolved into what Google's Google+ calls Groups. During 2003 I also designed something called 1UP.com, built a site called aSmallWorld.com, and was involved in a number of other social networks, including Red Herring founder Tony Perkin's Always-on and Going-on networks. I had a run-in with Jon Abrams--watch the video above to find out more on that. And so it was time to build my own platform, which we called the "PeopleAggregator," a white-labeled platform we offered in pen source form, or software as a service. I became an early active member of Orkut and burned out on social networking by the time MySpace came along Tribe and MySpace, by the way, launched at about the same time. Oh -- did I forget to tell you that we tried to help Cyworld come to the U.S. and that we designed systems for EMI and Conde Nast which never were created? Or AIMpages? And did I tell you about the 27 systems we built for clients, including the U.S. Army ROTC, Bell Canada, Nvidia, RadioOne, Rafat Ali, TheTimes of India, Mondadori and countless others? They all either failed or never shipped. The white-labeled social networking game--which at one point had 50 players!--sure was fun. While it lasted. So I was delighted when Facebook opened up its platform. And now I'm delighted to see Google+ give Facebook a run for its money. What a spectator sport. Here from the sidelines after experiencing all this first-hand. I can tell you for sure this is far from over. What if Marc Canter back in 2001 had called this Facebook instead of Face Wall? <img src="http://i.techweb.com/infoweek/byte/BLOGS/marc_canter/StockFacewall.png"> Marc Canter is a senior contributor at BYTE. A co-founder of Macromedia and the many and various social networks he mentions in his video and text above, he now lives in Cleveland. Email him at Marc.Canter@BYTE.com.