Samsung Instinct Fails to Upload YouTube Videos

If you've been following my Twitter feed at all, you've noticed I've been trying to start using my Samsung Instinct for more than just it's phone calling capabilities. Today, I thought I would upload my first video to YouTube. I think it would be cool to share with family, friends, and the public the things I get to witness in my life.

The process seemed to be fairly simple. I registered my phone with YouTube, then shot a quick 25 second video of my sleeping dog. I then uploaded it to YouTube, received a confirmation that it was uploaded and then proceeded to YouTube to view my work.

What I found was a cute video of the dog, but no audio. After searching to see if I did something wrong or if there was a problem with YouTube or the phone, I came across a forum thread that describes in detail what the problem was. Apparently, Samsung and/or Sprint failed to make sure the audio codec they were using would work with YouTube.

The irony in it all? Back when the phone was released, Sprint kicked off a marketing campaign where they would pay you $20 to upload videos of the Instinct to YouTube. Apparently they never consulted with Samsung on whether that was a good idea(you know, since they never tested to see if the phone can upload videos properly to YouTube). It kind of makes me feel like the marketing team at Sprint probably never used the phone themselves.

Too bad for me, I guess. I'll either have to wait for a fix or start looking for another option. Here's the video if you care to watch, without the audio of course.

Web 2.0 - Contribution is Key

I've spent most of my night cleaning up Google Reader, trying to ship eBay auction items, tinkering with my new phone, and learning about more things I won't have time to use. I turn into a technology-sponge when I sit at my computer. I just enjoy plowing through all the feeds and info. According to Google Reader, I browsed through almost 1200 items today, and we didn't I wasn't even home from our 3 day weekend until 4PM.

All this to say, did I just waste the last 5 hours? Did I do something productive? Did I affect anything in a positive way? I don't know. Maybe someone will read something I have done and say, well done, who knows. I think I need to train myself to contribute to the web 2.0 sphere, not just feed off of it. Although I really haven't found the time to get involved in FriendFeed yet, my limited experience with it has taught me if I want to contribute, I can't sit on the sidelines. If I really want to learn, I have to be involved and open up. I can read 1200 items in a day, but have I shared with anyone what I have learned or how it makes me feel? I want to be part of an interactive web, not a self-affixed knowledge sponge. I need to start finding ways to sqeeze the sponge after it has been soaked up. Once I start squeezing, hopefully my experiences can be shared with others in a way that inspires.

Can You Be a Casual Internet Junkie?

I was pondering this question over the last few days while I thought about my interests in the web 2.0 'sphere. Can you really be a junkie if you only have the time for it to be a casual interest? Sometimes I don't feel like I have time to keep up with the internet. I am signed up on so many sites that I don't have time to use. I just signed up for Freindfeed just because I heard it was cool. I could spend hours reading through feeds, writing reviews, updating a blog, or tweeting it up. I sign up for sites that I just hear about, I'm not even sure if I'll use it or not.

It really leads me to my next question. Why do I enjoy web 2.0 so much? Well, I think it comes down to contribution and interaction. I want to be able to learn and share with others. I want to have fun and intelligent conversations about technology, local issues, the economy. I want to learn what's interesting to other people that have the same (or sometimes differing) interests. That's what makes it so great. You don't have 1 site to check for news or opinion, you can see the ebb and flow of what's important to people everywhere.

For now, I think I'll be a casual junkie. I'll get to the computer when I can. It's a hobby. Maybe some day it will be more than that, but that's definitely not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for opportunities to open my mind and to contribute to the greater cloud of the web.

What I Really Look Forward to Reading Online...

If you've taken any notice to the Google reader shared articles feed, I probably read a blog called TechDirt the most. It keeps me up to speed on a lot of different things that are going on with media, patents, business models, and how it affects consumers, businesses and the world as a whole. Their articles encompass a lot of different subjects. They also post around 10 times a day, so there's always something new. I took a little break from content for about a month, so I'm trying to catch up to today's posts. Only 80 more to go. If you really want to keep up to date on what's going on in the technology world, with some great commentary and discussion, I suggest you check them out.

My Inconsistent Blogging

I just realized that I blog so little that my wife has taken me off of her list of blogs she reads. I'm probably still in her Google reader though. But can you blame her? I'm still pretty involved with Facebook, at least enough to keep up with the friends updates. I'm also a little enthralled with twitter right now, so maybe that's my new outlet. The content I do get to read I usually share through Google reader or comment on in either Facebook or twitter. So my web 2.0 usability just seems to come in waves. I really only keep up with 1 to 2 things at a time. We'll see if I can keep up with anything long enough where it is considered a sustainable hobby.