MappingTheWeb //

The other day, the official consumer name of The Venice Project was revealed: Joost. To be honest, the name sounds more fitting for Mark McGwire’s biography, but that’s a whole different story. Nonetheless, the new name is much shorter and easier to spell than its predecessor.

Furthermore, the new name sounds less technical and more consumer-friendly. This shift reminds me of the initial branding strategy of Skype. But hey, if it works, stick with it.

Having said all that, I finally got a chance to download and install the client today. Upon installation, the program opened right into a video that encompassed my entire screen, including the taskbar. Interestingly enough, the video viewing screen doubles as the navigation panel.

If you move your mouse while a video is playing, an navigational overlay appears while the video continues to play. A button at the top of the screen provides interactive information about the programme. Buttons on the sides navigate to your channels or own personalized area, which contains a chat box and optional plug-ins. Finally, the lower buttons provide video controls and settings, as well as a search box.

Currently, there are only 28 channels in the system. But my guess is that this number will increase significantly in the coming weeks, as the founders are reportedly in talks with some of the major TV networks. Thusfar, default content and channels have been supplied by such sources as MuchMusic, Warner Brothers, and Virgin.

Unfortunately, I’m still at 0 invitations. Let the hype continue…