mike | Shared With: Everyone - Sep 05 2006 | blue dot, radio, pr
The "CEO Spotlight" radio interview ran this morning on KIRO. Jason Brooks interviewed me for this about a month ago.
My only regret ... the story doesn't include our domain WWW.BLUEDOT.US. Hopefully people will be able to find us via a Google seach.
Quoted: Transcript:
Intro: Well, the Internet continues to grow as a way for people to connect with each other. In this morning's CEO Spotlight, Jason Brooks talks with the CEO of a local startup that has a very unique take on the idea.
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Jason: Everyone has pretty much heard of MySpace by now, but there's another way to connect with friends, Blue Dot, a Seattle startup run by Head Cheerleader Mike Koss.
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Mike: It's basically a new way for people to exchange information with their friends and family; keep in touch with their friends by sharing the most interesting web content that they're finding on the Internet.
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Jason: That's the difference compared to other social sites. It's not about describing yourself, but connecting with others the things you find interesting on the net.
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It works like this: You download a Dot This! button toolbar and click on stuff you like.
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Mike: Whenever you publish something, you can share that with your friends so they see it as well. So, now, not only are you saving for yourself, so you can remember something interesting that you've read in the past, but your friends can also see "what is Mike doing today, what is he finding interesting on the web". So it's a great way to learn both from your friends and about your friends.
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Jason: So, how did they come up with the name Blue Dot?
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Mike: There's a saying about the planet Earth from space looks like a blue dot and we think of connecting the whole world and all the people in the world through our service.
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Jason: Blue Dot's basic service is free so the company is relying on advertising that's not "in your face".
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Mike: When they are looking at a Dot that someone created, we will have a very discrete ad that adds value to that. It might be about the same topic that the Dot was about itself.
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Jason: A 19 year veteran of Microsoft who was with the original Excel team, Koss has lofty goals for Blue Dot.
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Mike: Just like "Googling" is equivalent to searching for something, we want "Dotting" to mean sharing something with your friends and family that you found interesting on the Internet.
mike | Shared With: Everyone - Feb 26 2007 | radio, seattle, kuow, blue dot
"Be-Friend" this account, and you'll see a Dot in your friends list each day with a link to the latest podcast from KUOW's call-in talk show, "The Conversation".
Quoted: Conversation Feed on Blue Dot
ShareViewed: 1 Time
mike | Shared With: Everyone - Feb 26 2007 | science, radio, npr, blue dot
"Be-Friend" this account, and you'll see a Dot in your friends list each week with a link to the latest podcast from National Public Radio's "Science Friday" program.
Quoted: Science Friday Feed on Blue Dot
ShareViewed: 2 Times

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You must be Mike's friend before you can comment on this Fave.***QUICKTIME WARNING***
If you've recently installed QuickTime, there's a good chance that it stole your MP3 file association. Your browser will probably crash. You've been warned.
it sounds like the sucker was cut off - right when the question is asked about how the name came about.
other then that - the interview is awesome!
BTW - how does one remove the association between QuickTime and MP3 - I hate that too and would rather media player launch in a new window (the file is a simple MP3 file).
mike - this turned out great, awesome job!
It's best to ask WMP to take it: Tools->Options->File Types.
Hmmm, that used to work. No more. Have I mentioned that I HATE QuickTime? I'm done, enough talk, I'm uninstalling it. If you want me to watch your content, make it available in some other format Internets people.
Doesn't work for me. Quicktime still has the "browser association", even though Windows Media Player has the file association.
I uninstalled QuickTime, now everything is happy. Damn, that felt good.
In firefox, its super easy to change associations. I have no clue how to do it in IE though
also, "Well, the internet continues to grow..." This is some hard hitting reporting right here...
Updated dot with transcript of the interview...
Very cool! Congrats.
Revisting the Quicktime issue. I search several forums, TONS of people hate to have .mp3 files playback inside the quicktime plugin. If I try turning off the plugin, I get a message saying the plugin wants to run when I click on the MP3 file! Arghh!
I'm joining Derek in taking the "I HATE QUICKTIME" pledge. Repeat after me:
I, state your name, promise to never again install Quicktime on my PC. No matter how tempting it may be to watch that video, or listen to that podcast, I vow to only watch content that is available in NON-EVIL formats. I will no longer be a party to the silly "file association" war between Microsoft/Real Networks/Apple.
I got rid of the Real Audio player for the same reasons a couple of years ago. Sheesh, why don't people make a nice little tool to play their content and then LEAVE ME ALONE.
Welcome to the club!
Hi Mike - I wasn't able to hear the whole interview online either. :( I did read the transcript though and it sounded great!! I especially liked your parting remark about "Googling" and "Dotting." Nicely done.
Send Mike a friend request or a personal message instead.