zenvesting
4 years ago
This company's product, Mediasite, is enabling distance learning for many of the largest and most prestigious Universities, including all the Cal State Universities. They just turned the corner to profitability last quarter, and their Chairman recently converted $5 million in debt to common shares @$5/share.
This news today:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/university-wisconsin-madison-distance-teaching-100000695.html
University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Distance Teaching & Learning Conference Goes Online with Mediasite Events; Triples Virtual Attendance, Cuts Costs in Half
Sonic Foundry
GlobeNewswire•August 4, 2020
Mediasite Events provides complete virtual event solution with 100+ streamed sessions, e-posters, an expo hall with sponsors, interactive activities and more
MADISON, Wis., Aug. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 36th annual Distance Teaching & Learning (DT&L) conference can not only go on this week thanks to a complete virtual event solution from Mediasite Events, it can actually triple its virtual registration and cut conference costs in half.
Nearly 900 educators will come together via Mediasite through Friday for professional development and to strategize for the fall at DT&L, put on by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Continuing Studies.
For the past decade DT&L has offered a small online option with Mediasite for people who couldn’t attend in person. As organizers planned this year’s event in the face of COVID-19, they pivoted to a fully virtual conference.
“We are thankful that we’ve teamed up with Mediasite Events once again to offer a virtual participation option, because this is the largest virtual conference in our history. We’ve significantly expanded our registration from years’ past and cut our event costs in half by saving on major big-ticket items like the venue and dining,” said Wendy Fritz, Director, Learning Design, Development & Innovation, UW-Madison Division of Continuing Studies.
Mediasite Events is helping organizations of all sizes create virtual and hybrid experiences, complete with features like a customizable event website, live or simulated live session streaming, a content catalogue, e-commerce options, a virtual expo hall for sponsors and attendees to connect, e-poster sessions, interactive features like live chat, and more.
“We have a very small team planning the conference, and we’d never be able to do this on our own without Mediasite Events’ expertise. It’s been such a relief that we can say ‘OK, we trust our partner, we know we can rely on them and trust that they will create an excellent experience for our attendees,’” Fritz said. “We are very excited to stream all of our sessions and offer a virtual exhibit hall. The technology is amazing. Attendees can click to chat or make an appointment with vendors, and sponsors can create their own sites to embed promo videos, company information and connect with attendees. Having the virtual expo hall is really incredible, and we wouldn’t have been able to sell sponsorships without it.”
Fritz continued: “Sponsors are really excited about the virtual exhibit hall, too, because they don’t have to pay to travel and ship their booth materials – a costly endeavor. Plus, the leads are actually better in a virtual hall because only the people who are interested in their products will sign up for an appointment.”
Mediasite Events technicians will capture all keynotes and sessions. Each speaker connects with a technician via a virtual speaker ready room, and the technician handles all the technical aspects throughout the entire presentation to ensure a smooth experience. Speakers present from anywhere via Zoom, while attendees watch and interact the stream from anywhere in a secure and robust Mediasite player. Delivering the content via Mediasite means viewers can benefit from interactive features like live chat, polls and speaker Q&A.
“I think virtual experiences are going to become forever part of our DNA, because professional development funds are going away, people can’t travel like they used to, and people want flexible options. Higher education needs to reach new audiences, and we can’t go back to where we were. We have to keep innovating,” Fritz said. “As much of a tragedy as COVID is, it has opened a lot of people’s eyes. Instructors who have vehemently opposed teaching at a distance are now big fans because they see how being a good virtual teacher makes them a better teacher all around. We can’t go back to the old way of doing things.”
“I absolutely think that virtual events will be a big part of the future of the events industry,” said Michael Norregaard, CEO, Sonic Foundry, maker of Mediasite. “There will be a gradual return to some physical events in the next year, but it will never be what it was. Virtual is here to stay, and event planners who are willing to ‘think new’ and redefine their roles will lead the way in this changing dynamic. Virtual events have potential to deliver more for less, and Distance Teaching & Learning is an excellent example of that – they’re saving money and reaching a much larger audience. We are honored to help them achieve that outcome with our virtual events solution.”
The world's top companies and continuing education conferences trust Mediasite Events to create dynamic virtual and hybrid events that engage global audiences in this new digital-first world. With the most experienced project managers and rock-solid technology in the industry, Mediasite Events is the complete go-to virtual solution with everything needed to take an event online -- turnkey streaming and concierge speaker services and a customized event website with registration, e-commerce, a virtual expo hall, interactivity and more. Mediasite Events is powered by the award-winning Mediasite Video Platform, trusted by more than 5,200 educational institutions, corporations, health organizations and government entities in 65 countries. Learn more at www.mediasite.com/events.
About Sonic Foundry®, Inc.
Sonic Foundry (OTC: SOFO) is the global leader for video capture, management and streaming solutions. Trusted by more than 5,200 educational institutions, corporations, health organizations and government entities in over 65 countries, its Mediasite Video Platform quickly and cost-effectively automates the capture, management, delivery and search of live and on-demand streaming videos. Learn more at www.mediasite.com and @mediasite.
BooDog
17 years ago
Sonic Foundry Releases Preliminary 2008 Fiscal Q1 Results
Thursday January 24, 4:22 pm ET
MADISON, Wis., Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sonic Foundry® Inc. (Nasdaq: SOFO - News), a leader in automated rich media communications technology, today announced that it expects its fiscal first quarter revenue, ending December 31, 2007, to be approximately $2.5 million and first quarter loss to be approximately $3.5 million or $(0.10) per share. Key factors affecting the quarter involve:
-- Slowing economic conditions, specifically within the corporate and
financial services markets on which the company historically depends
for sales in its fiscal first quarter;
-- Lagging sales to corporate customers, leading the company to allocate
more resources to the higher education market, which is seasonally
weaker in fiscal Q1;
-- An increased focus on fiscal Q2 product roll outs and education
bundles supporting Microsoft's Silverlight technology, allowing for
the best cross-platform, cross-browser playback for Windows and Mac
environments;
Business seasonality is increasingly affecting results, with the higher education market buying at a faster rate midyear. However, recent sales pipeline activity is now being derived to a greater extent from higher education and this segment has increased beyond historical levels of 50 percent.
As a result, the company continues to build its product and service offerings to address consistent and growing demand from the higher education sector, where scale and efficiency of sales efforts are emerging most rapidly. Similarly, it anticipates that newly developed service offerings will continue to generate more revenue in application areas such as corporate training and knowledge delivery online. An increase in sales efficiency is also expected with the company's concentration on additional sales to existing customers within these target markets.
With the change in market sector demands, Sonic Foundry is now deploying a greater portion of its resources to faster growing segments. This effort includes the introduction of new product bundles and expanded service offerings in fiscal Q2. The company has also initiated cost savings measures that will reduce its operating costs by approximately $4 million annually and improve its progress towards profitability. The measures include personnel reductions and restructuring of its sales efforts, as well as eliminating various program costs that were not deemed necessary to achieve the company's FY08 strategic initiatives.
Final results for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 will be released on Thursday, February 7, 2008 after the close of the market. The company will host a corporate webcast for analysts and investors that day at 3:30 p.m. CT/ 4:30 p.m. ET. It will use its patented rich media communications system, Mediasite®, to webcast the presentation for live and on-demand viewing. To access the presentation, go to http://www.sonicfoundry.com/q1 on or after February 7, 2008. An archive of the conference call will be available for 30 days.
rwwine
19 years ago
Recent Insider purchases for SOFO
Total shares purchased in last month 96,395 ($103,586)
02/27/06 BUINEVICIUS, RIMAS Chairman 6,000 Direct Purchase at $1.23 per share. $7,380
02/21/06 BUINEVICIUS, RIMAS Chairman 11,000 Direct Purchase at $1.20 per share. $13,200
02/15/06 BUINEVICIUS, RIMAS Chairman 7,900 Direct Purchase at $1.13 - $1.15 per share. $9,062
02/14/06 BUINEVICIUS, RIMAS Chairman 15,400 Direct Purchase at $1.10 - $1.15 per share. $17,002
02/10/06 BUINEVICIUS, RIMAS Chairman 25,000 Direct Purchase at $1.04 - $1.05 per share. $26,002
02/09/06 BUINEVICIUS, RIMAS Chairman 10,000 Direct Purchase at $1.02 - $1.04 per share. $10,002
02/09/06 BUINEVICIUS, RIMAS Chairman 21,095 Direct Purchase at $1 - $1.01 per share. $21,002