ImageSpan’s LicenseStream platform clearly resonated with the crowds attending the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco last week. The fact that so many attendees were looking for Web-based tools and solutions that deliver real value and ultimately, real revenues in an otherwise weak economy was great news for ImageSpan. Web 2.0 attendees flocked to our booth quicker than jackrabbits on speed dates.
All of which leads us to key takeaways from Web 2.0 Expo 2009 that underscore how LicenseStream offers a great solution for today’s media owners and consumers:
Gone is the giddy hype with Web 2.0 consumer-focused social applications. In its place: a sober interest in monetization models beyond advertising, such as the model offered by ImageSpan’s LicenseStream. LicenseStream turns content into the storefront by making it intelligent, so that it flows freely across the Web with defined ownership, rights and restrictions, enabling flexible pricing based on use. These powerful services allow content creators to raise the profile of their portfolios online and accelerate distribution of their work. As a result, they can increase the pace of transactions and drive additional revenues.
- “Social business” sites that leverage enterprise uses of social computing are gaining momentum and starting to eclipse some of the initial hype around consumer “social networking,” as chronicled by ZDNET’s Jennifer Leggio on her “Social Business” blog (newly renamed and previously known as “Feeds”) and Bob Thompson, editor and publisher of CustomerThink.com on his site. ImageSpan’s LicenseStream fits into this new “social business” category. For example, LicenseStream enables you to share with your friends and customers tailored selections of photos via its Lightbox sharing feature. In addition, and as we’ve pointed out in the past (see “Social Networking for Creative Pros – LinkedIn”), if you can participate in an online community by answering questions with responses that genuinely add value, the recipient may be more than happy to tell others about you or direct them to your LicenseStream gallery.
- As Web 2.0 matures, there’s a growing interest in a new generation of Web-based applications and services that blend the social functions and scalability characteristic of Web 2.0 with what’s been called the semantic Web -- the ability to digest and analyze all the data on the Web – the content, links, and exchange of information between people and computers -- that enables computers to readily transact business.
- LicenseStream exemplifies this new generation of services. For example, it links content search and payment by enabling content creators to publish their content directly to major search engines. That means any potential buyer who finds content through search (as do more than 60 percent of buyers, according to a recent survey) can click on it and complete a transaction on the spot.
To learn more about ImageSpan’s LicenseStream service, check out recent coverage of us at Web 2.0 Expo:
