Globe Pixlink: Pose, smile, shoot, send - all in one go

MANILA, Philippines - “Globe Pixlink is a cellphone-optimized application that instantly allows users to share and publish photos via WAP or through a website,” said Minette Navarette, head of the Globe multimedia business group, at the launch of Globe Pixlink recently.

“In simple terms it is a way of keeping friends and family members updated with what’s happening in our lives, instantly,” she added.

What Pinoy doesn’t love to get his photo taken? Sure there are a few who don’t, but that is the exception. For most Pinoys a gathering is complete only if there are lots of food, many stories to share and the all-important photo-op session to “make the memories last.”

Such photo-op lovers are Pinoys that the term kodakan has become part of our vocabulary. Really, every and any opportunity to have a kodakan session is never lost on a Pinoy, whether he or she is here in the country, on vacation abroad or even just showing off a new pair of shoes — a picture is a must.

In this sense, I am as Pinoy as Pinoy gets. I use any and all opportunities I can to get take photos of my pet companions. I just love cellphones that take cool photos because if you have ever tried to capture your pet on a cellphone, it isn’t an easy task. They don’t

smile or pose on cue, you know. “As more and more photos get taken on cellphones and cameras, the harder it is to   download them when the memory is full,” said Navarette. 

“What Globe Pixlink does is it makes it possible to share the photos instantly, just with a single push of a button on the cellphone. This way, you can free the cellphone memory for more photos and the photos are also saved instantly on the Web.” Globe continues its evolution as a total communications company by providing its

subscribers a social media service that allows them to communicate through images, Globe Pixlink.

The service allows subscribers to post photos online using their cellphones.

Even when on the go, you can post photos and access your pages using a Globe handyphone. Globe Pixlink also enables subscribers to backup, share and publish media content from their mobile phones to the Web, all with a single click. Just snap a photo or capture a video, and Pixlink will handle the rest. Globe Pixlink categorizes the media automatically according to date of capture.

It also allows easy uploading to a secure online account, sharing of contacts and publishing to the user’s favorite websites. It also offers both mobile and online interfaces. The mobile interface is through a mobile client, which allows subscribers to upload, view and share photos. It also allows users to edit the photos and to publish them in popular social networking sites.

Its online interface is accessible through a website which offers the same features as the mobile client but also includes public media viewing, account management capabilities, and widget publishing.

The Globe Pixlink widget feature allows users to display their content on sites that are not included in the list of supported sites for automatic publishing. With the widget, users can showcase their content on their blogs and online communities with an easy-to-use copy-paste HTML code.

The Globe Pixlink’s media publishing feature allows users to automatically distribute their media to other third-party sites as it is uploaded from the mobile client to the site. This allows users a one-stop way of posting media to various sites simultaneously. Currently, supported sites include Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Blogger, Picasa and G-Blogs.

Users can also share their media via Short Messaging System (SMS) and e-mail. For SMS,

recipients get a text message with a WAP link. If the user has the Globe Pixlink client installed on his handset, he can view the shared media through the client.

“We are the technology behind Pixlink. What we do is to generate content where social media can be used for uploading, sharing, publishing and geo-tagging photos,” said Adnan Agboatwalla, founder and vice president for technical of PixSense. “It is not a standalone application that we have. Rather, we have a platform where we can keep on adding new services as the customers

demand for services.”

Agboatwalla explained that with the platform of PixSense services can be customized by them to suit what Globe subscribers will need as the user base grows.

If you have ever downloaded a game, then you know that once you complete all the levels of the game it is over. This is not the case with Globe’s Pixlink service, here the first step is getting onboard and once there, the many interesting ways Pinoys have of staying in touch through photos can be explored. 

Globe met with PixSense last year as it was in search of newer ways to enrich the lives of its subscribers. Globe is happy to have partnered with PixSense and both companies are sure that Pinoys will learn to love Globe’s Pixlink.

But isn’t all this technology geared to the younger market? “We think that it is targeted for the younger market,” said Elvin Ivan Uy, head of mobile 2.0. “But that does not mean we exclude parents who want to keep in touch with their kids.”

Uy is convinced that uploading of photos might be what the younger people will use. He added: “As social networking becomes more pervasive, I am certain that more young professionals will come to see the value of Globe’s Pixlink.”

After all, Globe Pixlink is about capturing moments as they happen. Because it’s Web to mobile, it allows users to share what’s happening in their lives through their sites, as close to real time as is now possible.

“What would we never leave home without?” asked Navarette. “Wallet, keys, and of course, our cellphones. With Globe Pixlink, we will always keep in touch, not just through words, but also through photos — what better way is there than that.”