Kids can already publish their own stories in book form thanks to Tikatok, which we covered earlier this year, and soon they'll be able to record their own voices narrating classic stories, fairy tales, nursery rhymes and lullabies with accompanying video and music.

Speakaboos is a site that aims to bring classic children's stories into the digital world, primarily through storybook videos featuring celebrity narration, illustrations and original music. Stories including Arthur, Snow White and Aesop's Fables are available for free viewing on the site, accompanied by links to educational activities, games and contests. The stories can also be downloaded for USD 0.99 per title, and are available on iTunes.com and Rhapsody.com as well. Launched in October with more than 30 titles, New York-based Speakaboos just recently added a holiday collection. The company donates at least 15 percent of all revenues to child-focused charities including the National Education Association and The Creative Coalition.

There are other sites out there that offer digital storytelling for kids, of course—including Storyline Online, which also features celebrity narrators. What's especially interesting about Speakaboos, however, is a forthcoming feature that will let parents and kids create their own versions of its video stories. The site's "Record Your Own" feature will allow kids, parents, grandparents or even teachers to record their own voices reading (or singing) their favorite story, song or nursery rhyme. The result will be a fun, karaoke version kids can share with their friends, for example, or a personalized story a parent or grandparent can use to help tuck their loved ones into bed even when they're not there.

If there's anything better than a site with high-quality content, it's a site that lets consumers create and share their own. Now, how about adding a marketplace feature that lets the storytelling whizzes of Generation C(ontent) turn their creations into some well-deserved C(ash)....? That's a story that will continue to be retold again and again!

Website: www.speakaboos.com
Contact: www.speakaboos.com/contact_us

Spotted by: Roberta Steinberg

For many passionate runners, listening to the right music is the key to a good workout. No real surprise, then, that a number of services have popped up to help runners get the best mix for them.

UK-based AudioFuel, for example, offers 20-, 30- and 40-minute compilations of music designed to fuel workouts with varying levels of intensity. Since the runner's foot typically meets the pavement on each beat, each AudioFuel compilation comes with a graph illustrating the number of beats per minute on each included track, thereby giving an indication of the compilation's intensity. Voice-over coaching, meanwhile, includes counting aloud to the beat, motivational statements and tips on running style. Warm-up and cool-down guidance is also included, as is a printable guide to running and related issues. Starting this month, a range of programs will provide workout sessions designed with a particular goal in mind, such as getting fit for the first time or training for a specific event. Prices range from GBP 5 to GBP 10 for AudioFuel's compilations.

MP3 Running, meanwhile, offers tracks both with and without voice-over coaching to help runners get the most out of their training sessions. A variety of paces and intensity levels are available, as are both male and female coaching voices, training packages and new tracks each month. Packages are available for 30, 45 and 60-minute sessions; pricing begins at USD 5.99.

It's a fitness-challenged world out there, so anything that helps consumers achieve their goals is bound to be met with a warm reception. Possibilities for this one? How about offering something like it as a perk for members of a health club, running group or other fitness-related organization, possibly sponsored by a well-known fitness brand? Or, to return to one of our favourite themes, how about letting customers design their own....? (Related: Gyms for kids use gaming to keep them hooked — More sightseeing on the run.)

Website: www.audiofuel.co.uk — www.mp3running.com
Contact: contact@audiofuel.co.uk — www.mp3running.com/contact.htm

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

Last year, we featured two ventures offering online music tutorials by professional and famous artists: Now Play It—with tutorials by artists including Paul McCartney, Au Revoir Simone and The Dandy Warhols—and Mucony, which focuses on classical music and features tutorials by musicians from the New York Philharmonic, faculty members of the Juilliard School, and other esteemed musicians and teachers.

Smart concepts, since they give (aspiring) musicians easy access to a level of teaching they could otherwise only dream of. So we were pleased to see that Apple is now offering something similar: earlier this week, Apple announced that it has added Artist Lessons to its popular GarageBand application (part of the iLife software suite). Lessons are sold separately through GarageBand's Lesson Store, for USD 4.99 a piece, and participating artists at launch include Sting, Norah Jones and Sarah McLachlan.

Like Now Play It, the tutorials include step-by-step instructions for chords, finger positions, and techniques. Artist Lessons also allow students to slow down playback for easier learning, and let them control a song's mix and instrumentation, enabling them to tune out Sting and play with his band, for example.

Website: www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/#lessons

Hobbyist leagues have long offered amateur athletes a way to enjoy their favourite sport—whether it's hockey, baseball or bowling—in an organized way. It wasn't until recently, however, that amateur rock musicians had something similar.

The League of Rock is a music-based community that lets hobbyist rock musicians join a band for 10-week sessions. Designed for people with day jobs in other professions, the group lets members enjoy playing in authentic rehearsal spaces, live venues and recording studios, as well as participating in hands-on workshops with a long list of professionals including Jim McCarty of the Yardbirds, Robin Le Mesurier of Rod Stewart fame, Rik Emmett of Triumph and Dan Clancy of Lighthouse. Each session costs CDN 98 per week, and members begin by picking a name for their band along with three songs to focus on. The ensuing weeks include rehearsals, workshops, and live performances, culminating with a studio session to record the band's work on CD and a showcase performance that's open to the public. The League of Rock's first chapter is about to celebrate its second anniversary in Toronto, and other chapters are planned for Vancouver, Winnipeg and St. Johns in Canada, along with major American and European markets, the group says. League of Rock also offers music-based incentive and rewards events for corporate clients. Sponsors include Gibson, Blackberry and the Toronto Argonauts.

The lesson to be learned? Find a part of Generation C that doesn't yet have a full-fledged outlet for its content-producing proclivities, and make it happen. Don't forget to add community and some status stories through professional involvement. Next, open the doors and stand back, because the resulting mix is likely to be a hit! ;-) (Related: Music school for generation YouTube.)

Website: www.leagueofrock.com
Contact: info@leagueofrock.com

With the advent of YouTube and other video-sharing sites, there's no doubt film-making has become an art of the masses. But while such user-created movies are typically viewed within the confines of the internet, a group of Dutch cinephiles are hoping to do them better justice by bringing them to the big screen.

Upload Cinema is a film club that aims to take the best web films and show them on the full-sized screen at the De Uitkijk theater in Amsterdam. On the first Monday of each month a different program of internet shorts is screened, generally chosen based on a particular theme or topic. For its October launch, for example, Upload Cinema's theme was "Homemade Remakes." Since then, monthly topics have included "The Perfect Speech," "Video Gastronomique" and "The Best Web Videos of 2008," which is January's feature. The films included in each showing are chosen from among those members submit. Only members can view the films, and membership is limited to those who have been invited or who have entered a film that got accepted into a screening. Upload Cinema is sponsored by Amsterdam advertising agency Draftfcb.

We've already covered numerous examples of online phenomena entering the offline world, and Upload Cinema is another shining example. Want to undertake a similar effort of your own? First, see our sister site's OFF=ON briefing for more on the online-to-offline trend. Then, contact Upload Cinema, which says it has prepared a soup-to-nuts kit to help launch similar cinemas in other towns. Lights, camera... action! ;-) (Related: Pop-up drive-in movies — A being space for cinephiles.)

Website: www.uploadcinema.nl
Contact: info@uploadcinema.nl

Spotted by: Robert de Koning