Mashup of Web-Based Tools and Voiceover Narrative Enables People to Create a Brand New Type of Webcasting Multimedia Experience

SAN FRANCISCO (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) September 30, 2008 -- Flowgram(TM) Inc. (www.flowgram.com), maker of the next generation of web-based communication and sharing tools, today introduced its flagship product, a new web platform that enables any person or organization to combine, annotate and share digital content as an interactive multimedia experience. This free, innovative new service allows users to combine various digital assets into a unified package with a guided audio narrative called a Flowgram. Like the Internet, Flowgrams are interactive, nonlinear, and live – but they also leverage the best aspects of presentation software and screencasts. Consumers and businesses can now use web pages, PowerPoint presentations, videos, documents, and other web-based elements to easily make Flowgrams for virtually any purpose -- to teach, entertain, sell more efficiently and effectively, or simply to express ideas.

Flowgram is for anyone who wants to communicate in an engaging, interactive way on any topic

For a Flowgram creator, the entire web serves as a palette -- you can mash it up in any way you choose in order to bring your message to life.

We've tapped into a wellspring of pent-up demand for a new form of communication and presentation on the Web, and believe that Flowgrams will quickly become a standard form of communication, akin to an asynchronous WebEx

Flowgram is a fantastic interactive communication tool both inside and outside the classroom—for instructors and students alike

Using a Flowgram, I was able to pull a variety of examples from the web and package them into an easy-to-follow presentation on how to use technology to help teach writing.

At any given time, I'm in touch with a multitude of new business prospects from all types of industries, and with vastly differing needs, so it's not sufficient to send everyone the same canned proposal

Before discovering this tool, I struggled with how to pull together various bits of information in a way that would be interesting and personal enough for someone to view it, without actually having to schedule a phone call or synchronize meetings for each and every request. Flowgram has proven to be an effective, hassle-free way to get my message across.

With the web becoming the world's primary reservoir of content, everyone is seeking new ways to cut through the clutter

Flowgram addresses this need by providing an easy, yet compelling, way to share information.

Flowgram is so unique that it's difficult to describe what it does in a simple sentence. The best way to describe Flowgram is to think of it as a hybrid of online screencasting and presentation. Think JingProject meets Google Presentation or Camstasia meets Powerpoint, but there's much more to it than that.

Every once in a while, I come across a Web 2.0/social media tool that not just speaks to me but sings to me. Right away, I get it and really, really want to use it. Flowgram is like a screencast, only better.

Flowgram is an interactive screencast, a way to synthesize the Web by pulling different pieces together. The voiceover acts as the glue. It can be used for slide shows, travel guides, tutorials, sales pitches, or just to explain something to a friend.

Flowgram melds the essential components of presentation apps with web technologies to offer a hassle-free platform for creating presentations, called

that can be shared in just about any way imaginable.

“Flowgram is for anyone who wants to communicate in an engaging, interactive way on any topic,” said Abhay Parekh, CEO of Flowgram. “For a Flowgram creator, the entire web serves as a palette -- you can mash it up in any way you choose in order to bring your message to life.” View Abhay’s Flowgram explaining “What is a Flowgram.”

For the growing audience of Flowgram viewers, the customized audio narrative and other guided capabilities make for a powerful multimedia webcasting experience. Since Flowgrams consist of ‘live’ pages, viewers can interact with Flowgram content and tailor the viewing experience to their individual needs.

“We’ve tapped into a wellspring of pent-up demand for a new form of communication and presentation on the Web, and believe that Flowgrams will quickly become a standard form of communication, akin to an asynchronous WebEx,” added Parekh.

Flowgrams can be used to share and comment on all kinds of web-based information, including videos, music, news, politics, travel, technology and more. The interactive screencast platform is especially ideal for bloggers, educators and consumers, who are looking for new ways to communicate and share their ideas. People can share Flowgrams directly from the Flowgram web site, via a link, or through widgets that can be embedded on blogs, sites and on social networks like Facebook.

“Flowgram is a fantastic interactive communication tool both inside and outside the classroom—for instructors and students alike,” said Gina Maranto, Director of English Composition at the University of Miami. “Using a Flowgram, I was able to pull a variety of examples from the web and package them into an easy-to-follow presentation on how to use technology to help teach writing.” View Gina’s Flowgram.

For business users, Flowgrams can be used as a sales and productivity tool by enhancing existing presentations with third-party content and multimedia capabilities. Flowgrams are particularly well suited for vertical industries, such as real estate, advertising/marketing/PR, or ecommerce, where interactive, dynamic presentations can make the difference between winning and losing a client.

“At any given time, I’m in touch with a multitude of new business prospects from all types of industries, and with vastly differing needs, so it’s not sufficient to send everyone the same canned proposal,” said Jonathan D. Nicholas, Flowgram user and President of The Company CEO, Inc. “Before discovering this tool, I struggled with how to pull together various bits of information in a way that would be interesting and personal enough for someone to view it, without actually having to schedule a phone call or synchronize meetings for each and every request. Flowgram has proven to be an effective, hassle-free way to get my message across.” View Jonathan’s Flowgram.

Here are just a few of the things you can do with Flowgram:

• Enhance PowerPoint presentations by integrating any type of content available on the Web

• Highlight important information by automatically scrolling the viewer to a portion of the page

• Export your Flowgrams as videos and share them on YouTube

• Import photos from Flickr and Facebook

• Upload MP3 audio files to provide background music to your Flowgrams

• Developers can add any type of digital content by hooking into Flowgram's content importing API

• Upload PDF, MS Word and Excel files and other text based documents

• Share, collaborate and comment on Flowgrams through the Flowgram Community

Flowgram is based on a patent-pending technology that leverages a number of RIA frameworks, including AJAX, Adobe Flex, and Django. The Flowgram screencast application offers a “zero install” experience that lets people create or view an automated web-experience where the content appears to flow seamlessly, along with a voiceover from the creator – all with no downloads required. Once a Flowgram is created, it can be distributed easily via email, widget, or directly from the Flowgram.com site.

“With the web becoming the world’s primary reservoir of content, everyone is seeking new ways to cut through the clutter,” said Ben Bajarin, Director, Consumer Technology Practice, Creative Strategies. “Flowgram addresses this need by providing an easy, yet compelling, way to share information.”

What people are saying about Flowgram:

Mashable, Doriano “Paisano” Carta: “Flowgram is so unique that it’s difficult to describe what it does in a simple sentence. The best way to describe Flowgram is to think of it as a hybrid of online screencasting and presentation. Think JingProject meets Google Presentation or Camstasia meets Powerpoint, but there’s much more to it than that.”

WebWorkerDaily, Aliza Sherman: “Every once in a while, I come across a Web 2.0/social media tool that not just speaks to me but sings to me. Right away, I get it and really, really want to use it. Flowgram is like a screencast, only better.”

TechCrunch, Erick Schonfeld: “Flowgram is an interactive screencast, a way to synthesize the Web by pulling different pieces together. The voiceover acts as the glue. It can be used for slide shows, travel guides, tutorials, sales pitches, or just to explain something to a friend.”

ars technica, David Chartier: “Flowgram melds the essential components of presentation apps with web technologies to offer a hassle-free platform for creating presentations, called "flowgrams," that can be shared in just about any way imaginable.”

About Flowgram

Flowgram provides a new multimedia experience that brings various web-based assets together into a unified package with a guided audio narrative. Flowgrams allow individuals and organization to mash up anything they can find on the web and share it with others – along with a personalized voiceover narrative.

Flowgram is privately held, and has early stage investments from Reid Hoffman (PayPal, LinkedIn), Josh Kopelman (Firstround Capital, Half.com), Kevin Lynch (CTO of Adobe), the founders of Flickr, Bud Colligan (founding CEO of Macromedia), Rajeev Motwani (Stanford) and members of the founding team of WebEx and Tibco Software. For more information, please visit the Flowgram at http://www.flowgram.com.

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