Graspr (sharing the wealth of knowledge)

Ask away at Graspr Answers

We've watched our community ask each other questions, then ask us for referrals and then more questions that we've redirected back to our fantastic producers. After all they are the experts and we simply facilitate the learning experience! So in the end we could not get away from building you Graspr Answers! An exciting new release that promises to be more than just Questions and Answers as it grows. Come share your knowledge at Graspr Answers - chanda dharap

Unleashing Experiential Knowledge

I think often about why we’re here – caught up in the Internet movement – how we’re supposed to contribute and shape the world for generations to come. I look back at history to glean insights and help illuminate the path forward…

History shows us that the industrial revolution in manufacturing was driven by cheap energy, reliable transportation, and standardized parts. Railroads brought affordable shipping and distribution systems, enabling remote assembly of products. Production processes were defined and broken into discreet steps, allowing entire work packages to be moved physically outside a company. The workforce became increasingly specialized over time – each worker performing specific tasks. These transformations during both industrial revolutions opened the door for globalization and led to increased worker productivity and scalability of manufacturing. Companies that didn’t adopt these practices went out of business.

For the past 50+ years, there’s been a global trend toward services. In the U.S., services now account for 78% of the GDP. Half of all workers are “knowledge workers” – individuals who are hired for their expertise and experience vs. their ability to perform manual labor. For decades, service companies improved efficiency by reengineering business processes, automating routine tasks, and outsourcing functions such as accounting and customer support. These innovations were made possible by rapid advances in communication and information technologies. Again, companies that didn’t get on-board were acquired or went out of business.

Today, the information economy has been succeeded by a relationship economy. The specialization and division of labor that grew from the industrial revolution have created massive webs of interdependent, global networks. Today’s workers still have specialized roles and report in to organized functions such as marketing, engineering, or operations. It’s quite common for a worker’s success to be dependent on a colleague, partner, or supplier half way around the world. Managing these complex relationships not only requires expertise and experience, but also involves judgment and creativity. Competitive advantage isn’t about the know-what or the know-why; it’s about the know-how – that experiential (or tacit) knowledge that largely relies in individuals’ minds.

So when the history books are written, what will they say about our contributions to innovation and effectiveness. Companies will go out of business if they don't do - what? I believe that the next wave of performance improvements and boosts to worker productivity will be driven by our ability to extract experiential knowledge so that it can be retained, exchanged, and easily expanded upon. Though we are at the very early stages of doing so, we will find a way to easily package people’s experiences and make them available to the right person at the right time. We will be able to effortlessly tap into our trusted networks and relationships for recommendations, referrals, and guidance.

Knowledge is the single largest, untapped, renewable resource in the world. I am humbled by our generation’s opportunity and responsibility to unleash the wealth of knowledge that has been gained from our experiences, yet remains trapped in our minds. It is our vision that Graspr will help make experiential knowledge accessible and affordable to people everywhere. And it is the enormous opportunity we have in doing so – the ability to make a difference in people’s lives – that keeps me fired up and coming to work every day!

Food for thought...

Teresa Phillips

Welcome Facebook users!!

Facebook and status updates... who said this, and who said that, and who looked like what in high school!  We've not missed the fact that your social networks are important to you.. Our developers have cranked away for the past few weeks and we are happy to announce that you can now login to Graspr using your Facebook account!

Come connect with Graspr using your Facebook account, and invite your friends to share the wealth of knowledge!

whats important to you is important to us..
- chanda

2009 - new looks, new hopes..

Welcome to 2009! the Graspr team wishes you all a year of prosperity. May the markets be with you!

On our path of continued usability improvements, we are back with a crisp new look that might be here to stay. I say that with fingers crossed, hoping no one here gets a bee in their bonnet about the colors or the corners or the fonts! This is by far my favorite Graspr look!

Searching for videos was always easy, now browsing is just as simple. Just roll over the Videos tab and browse through our category list. We have 30,000 videos under 17 different categories! Look under the Collections tab and browse through the Collections that our users have created. The Peoples tab will take you to our list of Producers who have been busy uploading videos and sharing their knowledge on Graspr.  We've also significantly improved our Profile pages, find out more about our Producers by viewing their profiles, contact them, browse their video gallery, add them to your Favorites list.

This is an exciting year, a year of hope as we like to say here at Graspr, and we want you to join us for the ride!

-chanda

Take your Collections "To Go" on Graspr...

With this release, one of the easiest things to do on Graspr is to get a Collection "To Go"! With literally hundreds of collections on Graspr, I guess the only difficult part remains in choosing a good one. Well, why stop at one?? We encourage you to take as many as you wish. Graspr has collections on making perfect drinks, collections on food and cooking, on home improvements, you name it... 

Taking it "to go" is really easy, just search a topic you are interested in, go to the Collections tab and preview some collections. Once you have what you need, right there on the Collections page you will find the correct embed code to copy.  Whether you are signed in or not, you can embed Graspr Collections anywhere you choose. Of course, if you want to keep earning revenue you should sign in.... but we leave it to you!

Heres a nice one for the holidays..

enjoy!
-chanda

Crank up your "karma" on Graspr

Hello,

Along with Graspr's new facelift, one of the things we cleaned up that is not tied to UI is our karma calculations!  Some of you have asked why they are what they are and how to go about earning karma. While I cannot give you all the gory details of the algorithm, I can tell you that your karma is an accumulation of your actions and activity on Graspr.

Graspr is all about sharing your wealth of knowledge.

We place high value on anything you upload becasue you, the guru, share your knowledge with the Graspr community. We value good citizenship practices of rating and reporting any videos you watch, we take this to mean that you are invested in keeping the Graspr content clean! Our gurus love to teach, they would love to get feedback and comments and continue to enhance the content they upload. Your comments are appreciated and valued!

So go ahead and continue to learn on Graspr, continue to teach on Graspr, and crank up those karma points. We might have some surprises in store for those of you with high karma.

- chanda

Graspr Extends with Diet.com!

We are excited to announce our partnership with Diet.com -- read all about it in our recent press release! Diet.com is one of the premier online nutrition and health solution providers on the Web today, so it's no surprise their content is some of the most popular on the Graspr network. Diet.com's high-quality content appeals to many because, while their instruction on diet, health, fitness and lifestyle is professional, it is presented with a fun flare. Through this partnership, Diet.com will distribute their original video content on the Graspr site as well as through the Graspr network of over 2,000 syndication partners.  Check out Diet.com's videos on Graspr now to start getting healthy!

Shannon
(aka grasprina)

The gCard Has Arrived!

Building on our "connected learning" platform, today we announced the gCard! We at Graspr believe the content producer is as compelling as the content itself. The gCard allows Graspr producers to travel with their videos wherever they are on the Web. Whether viewing videos on the Graspr site or embedded elsewhere, the gCard serves as a portable digital media portfolio for the producer. Through the gCard viewers can learn more detail about producers' experience and qualifications, reference all their work in a video gallery, and contact them directly for inquiries. Producers can also embed their gCard on other websites to further extend their reach, build their brand, and foster collaboration and connected learning with their audience! 

How does it work? To see the gCard in action, check out a collection of videos from one of our most prolific producers, thequiltingcoach. Within any of her videos, click the gCard tab in the middle-right of the player screen to activate the gCard and learn more about thequiltingcoach or contact her directly. Similarly, in collections that showcase multiple producers as in our Halloween collection, each producer behind a given video is equally available via the gCard embedded in their respective videos.

How do I get a gCard?  If you've uploaded a video to Graspr or created a collection of videos, your gCard will be automatically associated with your videos. Be sure to complete your profile with a description of your background and experience, your contact details (including email and website) and a compelling photo of yourself or your business logo to attract even more prospective followers!

We are excited about the possibilities the gCard will bring you and your business! For more detailed information, be sure to read our press release and check out what the folks at TechCrunch and Mashable are saying about the gCard.

Shannon
(aka grasprina)

Graspr and TubeMogul Joined Forces to Make Uploading Easier!

It's a typical constraint we hear from great producers like you everyday: 'I have produced lots of great videos, but I just don't have enough time to get them up on all the relevant video sites'.  Problem solved! Graspr has come together with our friends at TubeMogul in an effort to make that process a lot faster and that constraint a distant memory. You can read more about the great news of our partnership in our press release.  But suffice to say we're thrilled to work with TubeMogul because their universal upload tools allow our producers to easily upload their videos to Graspr as well as other major video sharing sites with just one click!

So, when you know you want to upload your video to Graspr as well as other sites, visit TubeMogul to sign-up, sign-in and use their 'Quick Upload' tool. It's so simple: upload your video, include your Graspr account information (they will even archive your Graspr username and password for all future uploads) and be sure to include Graspr as one of the destination sites you'd like to publish to.  Be sure to click the 'More Options' link and properly categorize your video within Graspr's category scheme - doing so will help ensure your video gets high visibility and traction with the people most interested in it! One last click to 'Launch' your video and it's submitted to Graspr for content review and approval, after which it will be available and attributed to your account. 

Yes, it's really that easy. Upload away!

Shannon
(aka grasprina)

Laura Banford of EasyInternational Makes Her TV Debut!

You all likely recognize Laura Banford as the lovely lady who's been taking us virtually around the world to share her many tips and tricks in making those oh-so-easy meals.  Well, Graspr's own Ms. 'EasyInternational'  shows us her star power yet again in a recent appearance on CBS's Good Day Sacramento morning show where she touts the benefits of using Graspr's video technology and distribution services to help build and market a business.  Thanks Laura, we think you're pretty amazing too, and so clearly ready for primetime! Be sure to catch a glimpse of Laura's big TV appearance here - this is surely the first of many to come.

Shannon
(aka grasprina)