Shespeaks

SheSpeaks is an online forum for product reviews. Only at SheSpeaks, there's no cost for product testers, and products are chosen for reviewers based on their interests. (At Cherrypicka, members do the picking.) And as the name indicates, SheSpeaks is for women only, which isn't surprising since women control over USD 5 trillion in spending in the United States and are responsible for 83% of all consumer purchases.
How it works: when users sign up, they complete a questionnaire about their interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes. SheSpeaks selects an appropriate product match, which the members receive in two to three weeks. Products are theirs to keep, as they try them out in their own homes and as part of their everyday lives. In exchange, members provide their candid feedback online on the SheSpeaks website. Discussion boards allow testers to exchange views and opinions with other women who have tested the same product.
Membership at SheSpeaks is free, and the site also offers free products, special offers and valuable coupons for members to pass onto their friends. Not only does this form of tryvertising equal efficient and effective product research for manufacturers, but it's a great way for them to connect directly with their intended markets. Product testing and sampling combined with an online community: definitely a concept that easily could expand to other product categories, countries and demographics. As long as opinions aren't filtered or censored.
Read More:: www.shespeaks.com

Xbox And Instant Messaging

Microsoft have just announced that they will be introducing their Windows Live Messenger service to Xbox 360 consoles, allowing gamers to "I.M. directly from their couch" and consolidating what have traditionally been two distinct friend lists.

The NYT's writes:

In the second week of May, those two worlds will begin to converge. Xbox Live members will be able to link their “gamertag,” the online identity they use within the Xbox community, to an existing Windows Live Messenger account. Players will then be able to chat with their instant-messaging contacts using a virtual on-screen keyboard or a U.S.B. keyboard plugged into the game machine.
For more:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/technology/09microsoft.html?ex=1333771200&en=de55381c10972fc4&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Live Tube

One of the theories floating around is that people are far more likely to pay for live experiences than archived content. For example, you don't mind paying for your mobile phone call but you don't like paying for voicemail, or you don't mind paying for a ticket to a band's gig but you won't buy music, or you'd pay to watch your team's game live on cable but you won't pay for replays.

A new service plays on this idea of broadcasting live content that viewers pay for. Jalipo is an online distribution network for high-quality TV and video content which is signing deals with folk like the BBC to show live sports, concerts and more independent films.
For more:http://www.jalipo.com/epg/

Transforming Spoken Messages Into Text

Jott transforms spoken messages into text. After signing up for the service online and validating their phone number and email address, users dial Jott’s toll free number (877-568-8486), say ‘me’ or the name of a contact or group of contacts, speak for up to 30 seconds and then hang up. Jott transcribes the spoken words into writing, and sends the message to its destination as an email or text message. Transcription usually takes a few minutes, or up to 20 minutes during peak hours. The original audio message is retained, and is linked to in the email for reference.

The service is deceptively simple, and lends itself to countless applications. It can be used to leave notes to oneself, from a reminder to buy a carton of milk, to capturing a brilliant idea. Or to draft emails, memos, or the next chapter of a novel while driving home from work. Lawyers and doctors, accustomed to speaking their correspondence and notes, can dictate on the fly.

Intriguingly, Jott has humans transcribing voice messages. Since phones are often used in noisy environments, and Jott’s founders didn’t want members to have to train speech recognition software, Jott uses a mix of machines and overseas agents that also work on medical dictations. For privacy protection, agents have no way of associating personally identifiable information with the recorded jotts they’re transcribing (unless a users makes that information part of the recording).

Jott is currently free, but will at one point offer members the choice between a free, ad-supported version, or a premium version for a fee.
For more:: www.jott.com