While most of the team is recuperating from the IFFB-whirlwind, I've decided my job in this blog will be to cover (and receive feedback) on two important topics. One will be future plans, as well as questions and suggestions about the future.....

Secondly, is to bring you info about what is going in the net in terms of film/video tools and resources. No, I do not have some kind of magic ball (though it'd be great accompaniment to my magic lamp). I just happen to know.

So in the latter regard here is an announcement that is making a splash. Joost, the company that is considered to be the emerging 500-pound gorilla to face off Youtube, has had massive, massive (and well-deserved) hype, and was until recently in secretive beta, is now permitting current users to make unlimited invites of friends. Until now, every user had a limited number of invites so only a few people have seen what the system will include. Expect them to go public in a few days. A great number of ad companies (Coca Cola, T Mobile) and major content providers (Warner Bros, MTV, Comedy Channel, etc.) have joined already to both sponsor and drive the content engine. We're literally seeing the emergence of the equivalent of the TV networks of today.

If anyone wants an invite contact me with your email address (beanywood.com/safa). I might be able to do something about it.

Another new cool site (though not as likely to entirely change the playing field) is Cruxy.com. They permit you to upload your artistic content (be it audio, video, text, etc. in any format) which you can sell by placing the HTML badge anywhere you like. They basically take a cut of 10% off of it (that includes any credit card expenses as well!). It's a pretty good deal as there's no setup fee at all.

PS: btw, I'd like to encourage people to post comments on the blog (so if you liked the networking party let us know, if you liked the evening with film-makers at IFFB as well).