Revision3

The 404 685: Where we get the Fflick outta here (podcast)

Our guest on this morning's episode of The 404 Podcast is Ron Gorodetzky, CTO of Fflick.com, a new site that uses Twitter to aggregate public opinion on popular movies. We're anxious to talk to Ron about the new site, but first Wilson grills him about his former position as Systems Engineering Manager at Digg.

Ron is certainly not a newcomer to the world of start-up Web sites. Back in 2004, he was asked by Kevin Rose to be part of a small social news site you might have heard floating around the Internet: Digg. After helping build Digg into the ubiquitous powerhouse it is now, Ron left and joined up with three other former Digg employees to found Fflick.com, a new online tool that uses Twitter to show you instant movie reviews from your online social circle.

Here's how Fflick works: the first step is to log into your Twitter account on the Fflick home page that also shows all the newest movies in theaters and opening soon, and a small percentage rating that represents the public's general sentiment about the film.

If you see a particular title of interest, you can click through to see public tweets and even filter through your friends' posts as well as positive tweets, negative tweets, interesting tweets, and the latest tweets. There's also a convenient menu on top that routes you to information on show times, ticket purchasing, Netflix queuing, and more.

Ron tells us about the team of engineers who work in the background to ensure the site stays populated with opinions, including the learning machine that scans for keywords to help Fflick recognize a title within a tweet and quality it for the site. Not to worry though, as much as it sounds like Skynet, Ron assures us we're safe...for now.

Ron also gives us a quick preview of the long-term road map for Fflick, and while the site focuses only on movie reviews for now, the engine behind Fflick can theoretically be used for scanning the public sentiment for a variety of issues, including political opinions, music reviews, and more. There are lots of exciting things in the works for a company that's been around for less than two months, so start Fflicking and be sure to tell your friends you heard about it on The 404 first!

Episode 685 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 611: Where Wilson is a guest star on Miami Rice (podcast)

Wilson's meticulously groomed and highlighted hair is a constant topic of conversation on our show, and this morning we force him to tie it back in honor of so many evil movie villains from the '90s.

On today's episode of The 404 Podcast, we're wrapping up iPhone 4 news from the weekend, including reports of 1.7 million units sold, design backlash from left-handed smartphone users, and a new phone sex service that uses Apple's FaceTime video chat program to connect users to a live show.

Apple announced that it sold 1.5 million iPhone 4s … Read more

Reporters' Roundtable Podcast: Product launches

Should you launch your product at a trade show like Demo or CES, or should you try to drum up interest on your own? This week on the Roundtable, Revision 3 CEO Jim Louderback and Stage Two Consulting's Jeremy Toeman discuss successful and doomed strategies for introducing new products to the market.

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Today, we're talking about product launches. The reason we're doing this show now is that the Demo conference just ended, a week after the TechCrunch50 conference. One hundred and twenty products were launched at these shows. Is that smart? Is this how products should be launched? Is there a better way? To talk about this issue in some depth, I have two great guests....

As usual, watch or listen to the podcast for the content. The notes below are for those keeping score at home.

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Audio slideshow: Digg-ing Revision3

Inside warehouse studios and lofts in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood, Internet television network Revision3 is leveraging the viral nature of the Web by chasing the latest memes and creating content that showcases the best of geek-tech culture.

Founded in 2005 by Jay Adelson, Kevin Rose, and David Prager, Revision3 is a TV network for the Web. It's on-demand content you can watch when you want and where you want.

We stop by the studio, as well as Kevin Rose's loft, to see what it's like to shoot The Digg Reel and Diggnation.

The 404 277: Where it's too early for Veronica to podcast

Veronica Belmont of Revision3's Tekzillaand PlayStation's Qore rubs the sleep out of her eyes and joins us on today's show all the way from San Francisco. We chew up a little East Cost/West Coast beef, address Justin and Veronica's fleeting encounter at CES 2009, and jump right into our Valentine's Day plans. The three of us discuss our lonely and pathetic V-Day schedules, but we're all floored when Veronica reveals her top-secret wild and crazy plans. I'm not even sure where she rented a crane and a trailer full of Capuchin … Read more

Video start-up Revision3 joins the layoff club

Revision3, the online-video production company started by Digg executives Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson, is the latest company to go through a round of layoffs. A source close to Revision3 tells us that nine people have been let go, plus a tenth who will be retained as a freelancer. Before the layoffs, Revision3 had approximately 35 employees.

Not surprisingly, news of the layoffs is all over Twitter: the first report of it appears to have come from Rocketboom founder Andrew Baron. He said he had received an e-mail from Damon Berger, senior director of creative and business development at Revision3, … Read more

Diggnation, now on Hulu

Everyone's favorite beer drinking techies, Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht, are now breaking down Digg's weekly top stories on Hulu with their wildly popular show, Diggnation. Thanks to a deal between Revision3 and Hulu, announced back in May, Diggnation is now featured on Hulu, alongside popular mainstream shows, such as Heroes and SNL.

While Diggnation has gained immense cult popularity, its availability on Hulu could help bring it to an even larger, more mainstream audience. Hulu (along with other online video sites) has definitely played a role in bringing even more popularity to shows in the past, with prime examples being the current It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and a renewed interest in the dearly departed Arrested Development. By putting this content in front of the eyes of a lot of potentially new viewers and allowing them to get into shows that they may never have seen before, these shows have been able to broaden their audiences.

Revision3 is leading the way in terms of becoming the poster child for web TV networks. Deals like this one with Hulu will only extend their reach. Click through for a Diggnation clip, courtesy of Hulu.… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 740: iTunes bombing

How to get to the top of the iTunes podcast list--we think. We'll let you know Monday. Also, breaking news! Amazon goes down midshow! Was it something we said? In other news, we attempt to solve issues of global hypercapitalism, the growth imperative, and their inevitable consumer-unfriendly consequences. Plus, we find out why you have to go through voicemail hell when you call customer support, and the answer makes us lose our ever-loving minds. Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 740

ISP secretly added spy code To Web sessions, crashing browsers http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/06/isp-spying-made.html … Read more

The 404 110: Where it's not a virus, it's a worm

Mess with the best, die like the rest! We don't hack the planet, but we do spout off about the MediaDefender's hack (code name: IRONY), pedagogical foursomes, John Wayne as a weapon, and Korean child star Ju-On's surprise appearance in Denver. We also bust out the old squawk box for some much needed Disney sing-alongs. EPISODE 110 Download today's podcast