November 20, 2013
Earlier today, we held a Twitterview with innovative mobile video sharing service Ferris. You can check out the condensed version of our interview via our respective Twitter handles (@iiabroadband, @seeferris). Here’s the extended interview. — IIA
What is Ferris and how does it work?
Ferris is a mobile video sharing service which aggregates content based on a number of metrics in order to provide a continuous relevant viewing experience. Videos are organized and searched via tag, location, channel, user, etc. allowing users of the Ferris service to explore the ecosystem quickly and efficiently. Ferris allows users to capture, organize, and view content in a simple manor, with stunning results. Users may organize their videos into collections of their own, or add to a larger pool of content by contributing to a particular tag, or by filming at a location where other Ferris users are filming. Once the content is captured and tagged by the user, the Ferris service uses all available metrics to aggregate the content automatically. This aggregated content is available as an interactive, seamlessly stream-able collection of videos requiring little to no user interaction.
Who uses Ferris?
Ferris is meant for anyone who needs a platform for sharing mobile video. There are hundreds of use cases. Beyond the obvious personal and family related uses (birthdays, graduations, weddings etc.), the chronological arrangement of videos in the Ferris ecosystem is favored among journalists trying to keep the hottest breaking news “above the fold,” while the automatic aggregation of individual videos into a continuous streaming experience is a major selling point for business owners and Realtors who use Ferris as a conduit for advertising and showcasing their products and properties. Ferris is simply the canvas, the user creates the masterpiece.
How does high-speed broadband relate to Ferris?
While Ferris is fairly efficient, it of course uses networks to complete its tasks, making HS broadband very relevant. Whether uploading/consuming content at home over a cable network, or at your favorite pub using the newest LTE technologies, HS broadband is increasingly important for a positive user experience. The faster the network, the faster content is delivered to the user, which improves the overall experience greatly.
Will Ferris be dependent on mobile broadband for helping to build, develop, transform and/or grow? Explain.
While using Ferris on the best and fastest networks is advantageous, Ferris is comfortable even on the slowest networks. As networks become more robust and as speeds increase, Ferris will leverage this technology to provide the absolute best user experience. However, Ferris scales well with available resources by allowing users to upload content at a time and place where solid broadband service is available, even if the content was captured in an area without any mobile broadband at all. Ferris does not “rely” per se on mobile broadband networks to grow, but will scale to take full advantage of mobile broadband offerings going forward. Existing mobile broadband networks already provide a solid user experience and should continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Does Ferris rely on high-speed wireless networks being reliable and widely-available for consumers? If so, in what capacity?
As stated in the previous paragraph, Ferris does rely on wireless networks, and of course high availability and reliability is beneficial. It would be great if every user could always experience Ferris on a true high-speed network, but that is simply not a reality in this country. Whether “3G,” “4G,” LTE, or WiFi, Ferris provides a great user experience.
Do you foresee more spectrum, the invisible airwaves that carry voice and data signals to and from electronic devices, being needed to support the app economy?
The question should not only be total spectrum, but how efficiently that spectrum is utilized by the government and the private sector. The move away from analog television is a perfect case in point. DTV utilizes less spectrum while delivering better content, faster. As technology progresses, spectrum will be used more efficiently through advanced compression algorithms etc., which should help mitigate the need for an ever expanding spectrum requirement. More spectrum is great and could prove necessary in the long term, but efficient use of allocated spectrum is absolutely paramount.
How would a ‘spectrum crunch’ impact Ferris?
Obviously a spectrum crunch would impact the average mobile device user in a number of ways. Users of Ferris are no exception. If mobile broadband networks fail, the user experience of most any app relying on communication with the cloud will decrease significantly. Mobile devices do have WiFi, and because of this the Ferris platform could still be utilized in its entirety, however the accessibility of the service would certainly decrease as fewer devices would encounter a robust data connection.
Our thanks to Ferris for participating. You can download their app at the Apple App Store.