Remember The Jetsons? They were my first indication of what the future would look like – flying cars and video phones were my favorites. Apparently we aren’t much closer to flying cars, but video phones are here – sort of. We’ve had the technology for quite a while, and many of you have probably used video chat at some point, but it hasn’t caught on quite like the creators of The Jetsons thought it would. I’m sure that you can come up with a number of reasons why, but I think the big thing holding us back from more video communications is the lack of a common platform. If I want to call someone, I can pretty safely assume that they have a phone that I can call. If I want to video chat with someone, I need to make sure that they not only have the right hardware but also that they have software that is compatible with mine. TokBox is a San Francisco based startup that is using the common platform of the web browser to enable video chatting. When you want to video chat, you just go to TokBox and they’ll give you a link. You send that link to a friend, they click it, and assuming that both of you have webcams and fast enough connections, you’ll be video chatting in no time.
I first came across TokBox when I got an e-mail from a PR firm about their internships program. Yes, that’s right. They hired a PR firm to promote their internship program. That’s a big sign that they value their talent, but it’s obviously about more than their internships. They’re using their web based video chat platform to accept internship applications, which means that all the people who don’t get the internship are going to give the TokBox product a test drive. The e-mail I got described TokBox’s contest to select one intern for the summer:
TokBox is offering one college (or graduate) student the opportunity to get real start-up experience working for them in downtown San Francisco this summer. In return they will pay $1000 a week plus room, board, and round-trip air travel. Pretty sweet set-up if you ask me. To apply, all students have to do is complete an online application form, submit a 1 to 3 minute video using TokBox at www.tokbox.com/theultimateinternship.com and invite friends, family and professors to submit video mail references. All they need is an Internet connection and a webcam. After April 22, 10 lucky finalists will then be invited to a live video interview, via TokBox.
The hiring process is always a contest, so it’s fun to see more companies using the contest approach to select interns. You can find more information about the contest at TheUltimateIntern.com, and if you don’t win the contest, you can always be a TokBox Brand Ambassador. The internship will have you working with the CEO and VP of Marketing, so it sounds like it’s more geared towards Business and Marketing students, although I’m sure they’ll tailor the internship to your talents. This is an awesome opportunity (especially because $1,000 per week is a lot of money), so get familiar with TokBox and apply ASAP.
Links to Help You Begin Your Research
Have you tried TokBox?
Do I Know Anyone at TokBox? - Check LinkedIn | Check Facebook
Tags: California, Internships, marketing, paid, video, web development
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