On TouchCast: One Year In

The First Mile of a Long Hike

“Every second-grader in the school knows what a vApp is.”

This remark came from a teacher who somehow found my phone number and called to ask a few technical questions about TouchCast. She also took the moment to praise our iPad app. When we launched TouchCast a year ago, not in my wildest dreams could I imagine seven year-olds roleplaying in front of green screens and using our vApps to tell their stories.

We constantly receive messages like this. It’s inspiring to see so many kids embrace our technology and run with it.

In my 25 months of working on TouchCast, I’ve enjoyed watching our team grow (which will soon be over 60 people scattered around the world). And we’re still self-funded, determined to grow this thing the right way: revenue.

At TouchCast we have a belief that real innovation needs time to breathe. For better or worse, we’re not focused on attention, growth hacks or investment, but rather executing on our vision of what video will become. And because we think video will become many things, we choose to focus on many possibilities.

In other words, it feels like we’re in the first mile of a long hike.

So instead of a list of pats-on-the-back from year one (see the annotation if you’re curious), here’s what we’re aiming to do in year two and hopefully far beyond:

1. Build a video camera of the 21st Century. It’s no longer just about hardware or resolution, but pushing the boundaries of the recently possible. A camera connected to the web can do amazing things.
2. Democratize video creation through powerful software. Make video making easy. Make it easy for video to be beautiful. Make it mobile. Give educators new teaching tools. Allow creators to collaborate.
3. Make video smart. Video should be as interactive as the rest of the web. Think of video as the primary medium that functions as a container for all other types of media, as opposed to video sitting as one of many elements inside a webpage. Like attachments inside an email, allow video to carry information, media and files that viewers can take with them.
4. Redefine the relationship between the video author and its viewer. The internet is about communication, community and commerce — all experiences best served when the transaction runs both ways. Video should enable a conversation that’s immediate and intimate, making it the most powerful communication tool.
5. Free video of the constraints of time and space. Unlock virtual studios to teleport imaginations like a time machine.
6. Free new stories. Make possible new modes of storytelling and reach new audiences.
7. Think outside of the box. Literally, think outside of the 16:9 aspect ratio and create video born for 360 degrees.

There is a lot of work ahead to execute all of the above and our tools are very much in their early stages. But as mobile devices get faster, TouchCast will get smarter. And we’ll continue to work just as hard, because for all 60+ of us at TouchCast: this is our passion. We promise to continue to do our best to make certain TouchCast is a great tool for 2nd graders, journalists, or to anyone with a story to tell or something to share.

Please come join us on the trail.

Happy Birthday ☺