Mash-up So Easy A Kid Can Do It
There’s more than one great mash-up tool out there, but only one I’ve found that a “regular” person can use. It’s made for kids, but it’s genius is its simplicity. I know I’m the slow one in class. I was late catching on to Twitter, and now I can’t seem to get Pipes. Anne Gentle wrote a great post last week on Pipes and some interesting and useful mash-ups created by techier people than I. But I’d really like to connect some pipes of my own. Couldn’t someone invent a mash-up tool for grown-ups that is easy and intuitive?
I’m not a programmer, so even though some claim Pipes is easy to use I can’t seem to master it. I tried to create a pipe using the TMZ celebrity feud RSS feed and the LAPD crime map just to see if I could come up with something, but I couldn’t figure out how to create a pipe output. I’m sure I could if I wanted to spend a lot of time wading through help files and video clips, but I don’t.
Pipes disconnected
Really, that’s what it’s about for me. I want the tool—all tools really–to be intuitive, without a lot of how-to instructions. Though I sometimes write user manuals for a living, I don’t necessarily want to read them before I can use the product. I want the software, gadget, device, or tool to work when I pick it up and turn it on. If I can figure out how to set the time and date, upload some photos, or hammer it together without a lengthy explanation, I’m in love. If not, I don’t want to be bothered.
You see, I am a typical user. And I always feel compelled to speak on behalf of other typical users. I’m not stupid, just busy. Several months ago I was complaining about Pipes to my friend Scott. He told me about Microsoft Popfly, described as Pipes for mere mortals by Jack Schofield on The Guardian technology blog when it was released in its Alpha version in May 2007.
It looks like an advance on Yahoo Pipes in being much prettier, more powerful and easier to use… but it’s still far from finished.
Now that Popfly is in its Beta version I’m still not convinced it’s any better than Pipes. Sure it’s drag and drop—a huge improvement over Pipes’ Visio-like network of boxes and connectors—but I still can use it.
I was thinking this whole idea of mash-up just wasn’t for me. Until . . . that is. . . my six-year-old nephew came over. He begged me to get on the Transformer’s web site with him to look at toys. We looked at toys, we played games and . . . we created mash-up. Hasbro.com has a web site for kids and grown-ups (like me) who happen to think cars that morph into dinosaurs or military vehicles is both plausible and cool.
And they have a Transformers video mash-up tool that is both intuitive and fun. It has a one-page graphic illustration of how-to-use. Did you hear me? One page!
One page how-to
But you don’t really need it. You can see how to use it without any explanation. Grab a video clip—drag it to the video track. Need a laser gun sound effect? Drag it onto the SFX track and align it with Optimus Prime hitting Megatron with his blaster. Take a metal-sounding sound track and back up the whole thing. Then play it over and over, save it, email it to yourself or a friend, or send it to Hasbro for posting. It’s that easy.
Though our video project didn’t get posted to the site, check out some others made by a kid or a regular grown up like me—then go to the Transformer Video Mash-Up page and try it yourself. It’s the most fun you’ve likely had in a while on a rainy afternoon. Send us your video if you want. And if anyone can figure out how to mash the TMZ celebrity feud feed with the LAPD crime map, send me that one too.
