UPDATED 10:36 EDT / APRIL 26 2011

NEWS

Echo CEO Talks Real-Time Data: “We’re Like Amazon for Real-Time”

The real-time web has really begun to chart its industry path, delineating several verticals and tucking data into the most obstinate of places.  From local business to virtual services, real-time data and communication methods are shaping our communication mediums as a whole.  Countless factors have contributed to the existence of real-time, and its industry development has only compounded its capabilities.  Looking at the recent strides of “modern” real-time companies, Echo of JS-Kit fame has been an early contributor, and a rapidly evolving one.

Since its last major release last year, Echo’s been discovering its place in the cloud as it pertains to real-time data.  The company’s spent the last year or so building out Echo, enhancing data visualization, unifying language and such.  It was a big shift for a product that once powered simple blog comments, moving to a platform model where publishers can launch a real-time tool for their page.

Echo’s real-time site plug-ins are insertable components for live blogging, forums, media grids, real-time Q&A, and other interactive formats that benefit from a sense of immediacy.  It’s a shift that’s led CEO Khris Loux to liken Echo to a cloud infrastructure service for the real-time web.  “We look at ourselves more like Akamai, or Amazon for real-time,”  he starts.  “Instead of building a real-time data infrastructure, you can just turn on Echo.”

“The philosophical part of it, Loux goes on, “is that the world is now awash in status updates.”  I chuckled at the context in which our unassuming status updates having such an economic impact. “You laugh,” Loux smiled, “but that’s what’s going on!  Quora, Twitter, Facebook…organizing around this information is valuable.  Facebook is a real-time stream of friend activity.  Foursquare is a real-time stream of location.”

So Echo has gone forth to provide a platform around this, using data for all sorts of products.  For publishers in particular, Echo’s approach to the real-time web has evolved comments into conversations, moving them to the center of the discussion.  Converting real-time data streams into usable content is a cloud-powered process, relying on APIs, cooperative development from data providers, and the constant support of end users.  The APIs have been a smash hit for Echo, with clients hailing from top media spots, including Turner Broadcasting, Newsweek, ESPN, Universal Music and the Washington Post, to name a few.  But for Loux, this is only the beginning.

Bringing an entire social network to a real-time, dynamic plug-in, Echo goes beyond data stream aggregation and seeks ways to put that data to use.  It’s content, and can be treated as such.  Organizing the data according to individualized needs is where the power of the cloud comes in.  The shift has had big implications on Echo’s business, though just as its product, the company also seeks a balance for leveraging its own data.  As Loux sees Echo’s business take on real-time,  “it’s an amazing exploration for humans right now.”

[image credit: Businessweek]


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