DEMOblog

The first afternoon (and second afternoon) sessions are probably the toughest for demonstrators, as you have a bunch of attendees coming back from lunch and the afternoon sleepies begin to kick in.

Still, there were several demonstrations from companies that gave impressive demos and have interesting product pitches, including:

SupportSoft’s System TuneUp looks impressive for its ability to help computer users speed up their PCs, as well as its Security Audit tool that helps consumers secure their systems from malware and other threats. I would bet a majority of the audience has been asked by family members at some point in their lives to help fix PCs or other tech systems — it’s good to see other options available (Uncle Ed, I’m sick of trying to fix your PC!). The company also got the ultimate shout-out when another demonstrator later in the day had some technical glitches during their demo and said, “I guess I need the SupportSoft people to help me.” You can’t get a better endorsement than that.

ClipSyndicate offers vertical Web sites the chance to receive additional videos for their sites, and broadcasters and other video content producers can extend the life of their clips through this online syndication service. There’s some revenue sharing going on, but it seems like a good match between sites looking for additional content and content producers looking for additional sites to have their videos seen. One small quip, we could have used less of the “long tail” and other buzz words during the presentation.

I’m a big fan of the OurStory team — maybe because I’m a bit older than the “typical” blogger, but the user interface on the OurStory site and the emotional appeal of creating life stories — not just for you, but for family members and groups — impressed me. The site not only gives budding biographers (or auto-biographers?) a blank canvas for them to spin their tales, but actively encourages the community to write stories through the use of some engaging questions. The ability of users to keep their thoughts public or private is also good, and the price for premium membership ($40 per year) is well worth the extra investment for the ability to create multiple stories for other family members or groups. Kudos, I’m rooting for this one.

Preclick showed off its Preclick IPM application, which merges the photo sharing concept with quick convenience of instant messaging application. Preclick aims to solve the problem of family members and others who often “share” photos by sending them in attachments in e-mail (often causing large, bulky e-mails), or recipients who receive these large attachments and then don’t have a good place to view them. I may swing by later today to talk with them to figure out whether software is needed on the receiving end, but anything that can let my mother see family photos easier is a plus in my book.

eJamming’s system that lets musicians from around the world play together in a virtual jam session was also impressive, and it’s always good to end the first day with some well-played music. The company definitely won some converts with its performance on stage, and while I’m not a musician (other than my Guitar Hero video game skills), the technology behind the real-time synchronization fascinates me, and could have far-reaching impact on other business applications.