Emily Chang - eHub Interviews

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Posted May 25, 2006
eHub Interviews PixPO

Thanks to Aidan Henry and the team at PiXPO for this email interview.

eHub: What is your web application/service about?

PixPO: PiXPO is the ultimate tool for broadcasting your videos and media files (photos and music) from your own PC. There are no uploads or transcoding needed. Up until now, trying to get more than one or two videos onto the Internet has been a huge hassle. Now, all you have to do is dump all your media files into PiXPO and hit one button. This will create your own video (or media) portal with tags, RSS, and other functionality. It’s extremely easy to use and very useful for anyone trying to share a lot of video clips. All you have to do is pass a link on to friends.

eHub: Why did you start this project?

PixPO: We started this project with the aspiration of helping people around the world share their experiences. This initial goal eventually led into video, photos, and audio. The surge in user-generated content (UGC) combined with the ever-increasing “always-on” users has created a great opportunity.

eHub: How much time do you devote to its growth?  Do you have a day job?

PixPO: This is a full-time endeavour. Each team member works at minimum 40+ hours a week.

eHub: How large is your team and what are your backgrounds?

PixPO: Currently, our team consists of approximately 20 team members. Backgrounds range and vary to a large degree. From the technical side, we have software developers, server/IT guys, and web developers. From the business side, we have a marketing department, business development, and an executive crew.

eHub: What is your design philosophy?

PixPO: Our design philosophy is to first create a fully functional product with incredible technology. The next step is to create usability and functionality that the end user can, not only understand, but use to it’s fullest potential.

eHub: What technologies are you currently using?

PixPO: We’ve adopted a ‘peer2web’ (P2W) approach stemming from peer-to-peer technology. We have combined it with some very cool caching, routing, streaming, and optimization technologies.

eHub: What are the most requested features from your users/community?

PixPO: As we speak, we are working on a commerce system to allow users to sell their content and channels. We’re also working on a commmunity-centric experience, which includes ‘edge of network’ search functionality, comments, ratings, and personalized templates.

eHub: Does your user base reside in a primary geographic location or is it distributed?

PixPO: Because our product can be used by anyone looking to create personal broadcasts, we are not constraining ourselves to a geographic region. Anyone with media files can use the program. Having said that, we see most users from the US and Canada, as well as Brazil, France, Great Britain, and Asia.

eHub: Where do you see the project heading in the next 6 months?  The next 2 years?

PixPO: Over the next 6 months, we will be focusing on enhancing the online viewing experience and implementing a broadcaster revenue model. We are also working on an API for developers which is also very exciting. Within 2 years, we hope to have spread the “personal broadcast” message to millions worldwide.

eHub: What is the greatest challenge to your success?

PixPO: Our greatest challenge will be to manage the growth we’re starting to see.

eHub: What is the one thing you need to get to the next phase of the project?

PixPO: Maintaining the energy and focus we’ve had to date.

eHub: Do you have a business model?  If so, what is it?

PixPO: We are working on a revenue-sharing platform for broadcasters. Essentially, any advertising revenue for PiXPO will be split accordingly with the broadcaster. In addition, there will also be a premium subscription model which will include added functionality above and beyond the free product.

eHub: If you’re able to disclose this information, how much traffic or usage do you see on an average day?

PixPO: Web traffic to our site is up approximately 70% since our launch in April.

eHub: What is the one thing you’re most proud of about the project?

PixPO: Empowering people to broadcast to the world from their PC for free.

eHub: How would you describe the shift that’s occurring with the web right now to future generations?

PixPO: Right now, we’re seeing a shift toward democratization. Using a old cliche, the Internet is ‘bringing the power back to the people’ and to a large extent, away from large corporations. We’re also seeing a surge in broadband usage due to increased demand for video, voice, and audio. From another perspective, we are also witnessing the “outside-in” phenomenon - where users are inviting the outside world “in” to their experiences.

eHub: What site(s) do you visit everyday other than your own?

PixPO: Digg, Technorati, Wikipedia, Craigslist, TechCrunch, and obviously eHub ;)

eHub: How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

PixPO: Not as much as I would like.

Thanks to Aidan Henry and the team at PixPO for this email interview.

Visit PiXPO
Originally added to eHub on May 03, 06

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eHub Interviews is a series with the creators of Web 2.0 applications and services by Emily Chang, author of eHub, designer, and co-founder and principal of Ideacodes, a strategic web consultancy in San Francisco that she co-founded with Max Kiesler.

Also see eHub Interviews in Japanese at CNET Japan