Casual Distance Learning with LiveMind (Part II).mov

Image via CrunchBaseShore Communications Principal interviews LiveMind CEO Dave Lynch about online casual learning. LiveMind is creating a marketplace for experts in thousands of topics to share their knowledge with individuals who want to learn.

The Internet unleashed the Long Tail phenomena, where people interested in the most minute of topics have been able to find content and products from people interested in the same topics and products.  These Long Tail areas of interest can seem dull to most of us, but the numbers of Internet-enabled people around the world interested in any particular topic can number in the hundreds of thousands.  And that sure sounds like a market to me.

Like eBay and YouTube, LiveMind is a platform that leverages the Long Tail phenomenon to create a marketplace of teachers (experts in any subject) and students (anyone who wants to learn anything).

In Part II of our interview with LiveMind management, CEO Dave Lynch talks with Shore Communications Principal Peter Propp to discuss the marketing and sales efforts around LiveMind. He's focused on generating a long list of classes, teachers, and students.

Each Live Mind teacher comes to the platform with their own potential network. So LiveMind has a lot to gain from each teacher and student who joins. They are also building out relationships with associations and corporations who want to provide a branded casual learning environment for their constituents.

Interested in teaching? Dave goes into just the right amount of detail about the fee structure and revenue opportunities that LiveMind provides.



And here's the link for Part I of our LiveMind interviews. Part I is with Founder, President and tech leader, Dave Dean.

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• LiveMind.com Launches an Open Marketplace for Live Online Learning - A Revolutionary New Way For People To Teach or Learn Virtually Anything (prweb.com)

Casual Distance Learning with LiveMind

LiveMind is a great example of the Internet's ability to empower "Long Tail" businesses. In LiveMind's case, they can help people who are interested in very specific subjects find people who have knowledge to share on those subjects. 

LiveMind provides a massive marketplace for casual online learning -- where experts in very niche fields can create a new source of income when they share their knowledge and expertise. LiveMind will compete with Community Colleges, but importantly allows students to focus on learning specific topics, subjects and skills. Much like an eBay for learning, LiveMind allows anyone to post a topic that they are expert in, and allow students to search for subjects they want to study. The platform provides a learning experience that is part video, part text, and highly interactive.

In Part I of our two part interview with the Live Mind team, Shore Communications Principal Peter Propp interviews LiveMind Founder Dave Dean on the inspiration for LiveMind and how the platform works.  Apologies for the video quality -- the quality on LiveMind is a ton better!




In Part II, Peter will interview Dave Lynch, CEO of LiveMind about the marketing and sales plans for this exciting startup.

Related articles

• LiveMind.com Launches an Open Marketplace for Live Online Learning - A Revolutionary New Way For People To Teach or Learn Virtually Anything (prweb.com)
• You're Branding Yourself As An Expert - Get Used To It (blogworld.com)

LinkedIn IPO Review - 10 Minute Strategy

Image via CrunchBaseThe forthcoming LinkedIn IPO raises a number of interesting topics.  Shore Communications President, John Blossom and Principal, Peter Propp take a look at this pending deal to discuss all of the opportunities that LinkedIn has to improve their offering and revenue with the investment dollars they will be capturing.

From new revenue streams to improved interfaces and marketing capabilities for LinkedIn Groups, it is clear that LinkedIn has built enough of a core business to really gain some revenue growth once the deal is in place.  Compared to the Facebook juggernaut that continues to grow in unpredictable ways, the LinkedIn IPO looks well priced and full of value for investors.

Related articles

• LinkedIn: A Small Player Tests the IPO Waters (dailyfinance.com)
• Why LinkedIn is More Valuable than Facebook (blogs.forbes.com)
• LinkedIn Files For IPO (techcrunch.com)

Online Translation Goes Human -- SpeakLike.com

Image via WikipediaSpeakLike Founder and CEO Sandy Cohen took some time out of his busy schedule to tell his story to me via the Skype machine. SpeakLike is focused on better communication between English and non-English speaking markets through a remarkable system that puts live human translators to work to make sure you are communicating clearly. Machine translation will never replace humans, but now through SpeakLike you have a tool to get great translated materials through a highly automated process.

Related:

Website Localization Makes the Difference (From the SpeakLike Blog)

 

10 Minute Strategy - Superphones and Content Licensing Strategy

While the Verizon iPhone seems like the smartphone headline this quarter, it turns out that dual processor Android offerings from Motorola and LG are about to re-define the category.  Shore Communications President, John Blossom and Principal, Peter Propp take you through the emerging Super Phone category.