by randall on December 2, 2011, under Features
We’ve added a couple new gifts for you this holiday season, and we think you’ll love them.
We recently added the ability to integrate Castfire with your Google Analytics account. Additionally, each account can support multiple Google Analytics IDs to track more granularly.
To track all your data, visit your network’s player configuration page. Enter your Google Analytics ID, and events from Castfire will start showing up in your network.
Important: This player configuration only works with Castfire’s built-in player on the web, and not currently mobile devices. (Stay tuned on that front…)
We’re rolling out another feature in beta, this one enables a universal player for your account which will play on any Android, iPhone or computer.
To enable, head to the plugins page (must be an admin) and activate “iframe” for your network.
Some of our customers are using old “global” style user accounts. We’re going to be turning those accounts off next week.
If you need assistance with transitioning off of them, or need help with any of the features we’ve talked about, shoot us an email: support [at] castfire.com.
by randall on January 26, 2011, under Features
We have a little present for you… Campaign Groups! Basically, a campaign group allows you to group ad campaigns together into a group, and serve each campaign based on a weighted percentage. Check out the video below for a five minute explanation.
by Brian Walsh on October 24, 2010, under Analysis, Clients, Devices, Features, Living Room, Mobile, Thoughts
We are HUGE fans of bringing video to the living room using IP. We talk to existing and potential clients about this each and every day. We have dozens of devices, from the original Apple TVs to new ones, from old Roku’s to the newest ones (which are pretty awesome), Boxee, and most recently, the Google TV. An amazing assortment of devices, each with its strengths and weaknesses.
In experiencing the different plays on “interactive television,” the one thing that I am certain of is that bringing social streams (twitter, flickr, facebook) onto the big screen – especially while watching video with others – is broken. It’s out of place. It distracts from the social experience of television.
As my wife and I watch some of our favorite shows, we each have some sort of computing device open. Perhaps we each have our own laptop open. Or iPad. Or mobile phones [Yeah, our house is sort of crazy like that]. Regardless, each of us is able to interact with a variety of services while we watch the “big screen” together. This is key – my wife would get very frustrated watching my twitter or facebook stream on screen. She would go insane trying to follow my ADHD brain as I bounce through IMDB and Wikipedia trying to track each actor.
If interactive television, however, is to connect my personal device, be it an iPhone, iPad, Android or laptop, together with the programming on screen, than we have a HUGE WINNER. I can follow my own whims while my wife can have her own interactions. However, the social aspect of us watching Glee together remains. We can both sing along. We can laugh. We can pause the video and comment. It is an experience that has been with us for our entire life and is comforting.
A couple of Castfire clients are about to launch products that will incorporate behind the scenes footage and additional video on iPads, iPhones and Android at the same time as it is airing on broadcast. The audience can be fully immersed with not only the broadcast, but can explore additional streams in conjunction. An amazing first step.
The future however, will utilize IP delivery and the processing power of the set top device (or directly in the television) to enable audience members to move content from the “big screen” to their personal device. It will keep “companion” apps in sync with the big screen, pushing relevant information to those who display interest. Want to learn more about that Lexus advertisement? How about being able to open a driving simulator on your own device. Want to purchase that same shirt that the star is wearing? What if the Gap store opened in conjunction on your laptop? Want to find out Tim Lincecum’s stats for pitching to left handed batters? Want to know how your fantasy football league is doing in real time? And on and on and on…
In the near future, the majority of people will carry a touch device with an internet connection. These devices should be leveraged to provide the interactive in interactive television. These devices should be the connection between both the content creators and the advertisers with the audience. These devices will allow us to enjoy the television experience together while connecting to our different circles online.
Television is social; social media is personal. Don’t confuse the two.
by randall on October 12, 2010, under Features
We’re about to roll out some major changes to Castfire. Primarily, we’re going to change how users log into the system, and how accounts are managed. Our new user account system will give you additional flexibility when using the system. For instance, users will be able to use their own email addresses and passwords, and will have the ability to have those logins tied to multiple content producers. You’ll also be able to grant specific permissions per account, and we’ve added the ability to create FTP-only users.
All accounts in the new system are tied to specific email addresses, so any email you use needs to be a valid, working email address. Each new user will receive a confirmation email, at which point they’ll be able to add individual information like their password, phone numbers, and other contact info.
We’ve created three new classes of users: Admins, Users and FTP users. Admins have full control over a network and can change all aspects of a network. Users can be restricted by individual content producers, and can have specific rights turned on and off. FTP users can only connect via FTP, and won’t have access to the CMS.
We’ll be phasing out the old network logins over the next week, which means the technical contact for your organization needs to set up user accounts for everyone in your network by the end of October.
If you have questions, send them our way: support@castfire.com
by Charlie Killian on September 28, 2010, under API, Development, Features
If you have been following the Castfire status blog then you have recently seen several updates involving backend changes for the Castfire API. I want to share with you how those changes will manifest for Castfire clients.
There are six upcoming API key enhancements that fall into two general categories.
API key management
API keys will be decoupled from a user login allowing for a network to create unlimited API keys. Separate API keys can be created and assigned to a specific task or third-party. For example, if you are working with a digital agency like Digitaria, an API key can be created and shared with just them.
The API key can also be given a name, such as “Digitaria” and if needed the API secret can be changed or the API key can be deleted easily in the Castfire CMS.
API key access restrictions
Keeping third-party integrations in mind, API keys can be restricted to one or more API methods. For example, if Digitaria only needs details about existing shows, the API key can be limited to the shows.getDetail API method. If later on, the ability to set show tags is required then access to shows.setTags can easily be added in the Castfire CMS.
Restrictions also encompass content producers, allowing for API keys to be restricted to one or more. For example, if Digitaria wants the ability to set foreign keys on all shows in the “News” content producer, an API key can be created that only has access to this content producer and the only the shows.setDetail API method
These upcoming API key enhancements will make API key management easier, give control over access restrictions and allow for more flexibility when integrating Castfire with third-party vendors.