Webware

ShoZu (coverage) recently added a new dimension to its multimedia messaging service--the ability to post photos and video clips to a preset cadre of destinations, while only paying for a single data transfer.

On the Web site, ShoZu users select from 30 popular sites their multimedia submissions will auto-update each time they upload an image or video. The sites include Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, YouTube, plus the usual trove of blog hosting sites like TypePad, WordPress, and LiveJournal. Also fair game are personal e-mail and FTP addresses.

The new service also incorporates a tagging architecture that lets users assign tags to photos uploaded into a common group, like a pile of vacation or birthday pictures.

There are two main benefits to ShoZu's new MMS upload system. The first is simplicity--after choosing the recipients for auto-updating, you just MMS or e-mail ShoZu's processing e-mail, go@m.shozu.com, any time you want to publish. With minor tinkering, you can convert the address into a contact for a quick-launch, and if you're not sure how, ShoZu has even created a ready-made contact for you.

The second benefit is monetary. Since your MMS merely tells ShoZu to push media to your prechosen upload package, you only pay for one message total. The setup is similar to Utterz, which also supports voice and text pushes.

Forget Descartes and his classically profound notion of human existence, "Cogito ergo sum." These days, cracking a short cryptograph is what proves hominid status.

ShoZu's cryptogram proves you're human, and can follow directions.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Assailed by several DDOS (distributed denial of service) attacks, ShoZu (review), a mobile and Web media-sharing service, switched from the 6 to 8 character authentication system to a series of encoded glyphs you have to translate in order to pass the I'm-a-human qualification required of ShoZu account holders.

While uploading and downloading media feeds between the mobile phone and Web doesn't seem like such a security risk, ShoZu CEO Mark Bole explains that for companies like his, the more complex system reduces financial risk.

"To make things simpler for the user, we're sending invisible SMSs to verify the device," said Bole, a cost ShoZu shoulders. The more false accounts are created by bots or dedicated cyberhooligans, the more expenses ShoZu has. Just be glad ShoZu also provides a key.

A whole heap of Web 2.0 companies are competing for recognition of their phone-to-Web and Web-to-phone services. Most are mainly media storage, sharing, or manipulation companies like Thumbplay and 3Guppies, that have added a proprietary push-to-phone service to make their brand do more. ShoZu, a 2007 Webware 100 winner, is one of the few I've seen whose actual goal is to push content to your phone and from it, using as many partner services as they possibly can.

Today ShoZu announced a partnership with Flickr that lets users subscribe to friends' individual media feeds. A lot has changed since Webware.com's previous coverage, including greater handset support that made it possible to get a really thorough hands-on evaluation. While the Flickr photostreaming feed is one small part of the multimedia volley you can engage in with ShoZu, it hints at greater mobile powers to come.

I ShoZu my photos, you show me yours.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Here's how you do it. Install the ShoZu app and open it. ShoZu is divided into two functions--pushing media from your phone and siphoning media into it. In Share-It, click into the destinations menu and click or tap the soft key to pull up the Options. From there you can browse the media partners and add Flickr as a destination. Adding your password comes next, and if there's a hang-up, you can verify your account by adding Flickr at ShoZu.com. Once enabled, you'll be able to publish photos from your camera to Flickr, or Facebook, or 22 other outlets.

Next, click into the other menu, ZuCasts. Click again to "Get ZuCasts" and scroll until you see Flickr. Your contacts have been populated and you can go through and subscribe to their feeds at will. ShoZu's settings let you control photo quality and download frequency among other things, to mitigate your phone bills if you've got a less-than-generous data plan. Otherwise, you're ready to keep up with pals by swapping and commenting on Flickr photos.

ShoZu is a neat service that withstood my rigorous testing, though some of its organization occasionally bewildered. More big announcements are on the way with ShoZu's ease of use, CEO Mark Bole hinted, which will expand ShoZu's publishing network and device accessibility even more.