Great example of how to create a slidecast

I thought just share this really useful slidecast on how to create a slidecast.

Slidecasting 101

View more presentations from Jonathan Boutelle. (tags: propaganda slideshare)

Online PR is a marriage, not an affair

I occassionally browse online sites where people post projects that they require freelance support for. This morning one caught my eye because it's right up my street - a small company wanting support to boost their online PR. Great! A small company thinking along the right lines. Many don't even yet understand the benefits of online PR, so fantastic to see one that not only understands the benefits, but realises that support is potentially needed.

Then, this line in the description of their requirements:

'We estimate approx 4 days, 2 days for each website should suffice.'

Not so great. 2 days work, then nada, for online PR for a website? Online PR isn't a 'project' that can be done and dusted in 2 days. It has to be a sustained effort, ongoing, nurtured and loved. Otherwise it is doomed to failure! Sure, in two days you can do enough to improve your SEO in the short-term, but for real online PR, companies should be dedicating much more time and resource to supporting an ongoing campaign. Think of online PR as a relationship - it interests you, yet you begin with caution at first, then you get carried away in the rush of excitement and can't tear yourself away, then you settle down into a nice comfortable routine - at ease, dedicated, devoted even - with the odd pleasant surprise but otherwise a nice routine of committment and sustained effort. Online PR is a marriage, not an affair!

Planning for a video production - thoughts and considerations

Tomorrow I'm helping out at a session at the University of Warwick introducing students to communicating through video. During the three hour session they will be tasked with filming and editing their own short video. I'm being drafted in to help advise them on planning a video production. I thought it might be worth sharing here the various stages that I'll be talking them through:

What are you trying to communicate and why?
What are your objectives?
What are your key messages?

Who are you trying to communicate with?
Define your audience
Understand what your audience likes (a particular style of video?)
Why will your target audience be interested in this?

Where is your audience? How will you reach them?
Where will your video be broadcast?
On a website?
At an event (big screen, small screen?)
How long do you have to grab your audiences’ attention?

Is video really the best means of communication?
Does video appeal to your audience?
Can it communicate everything you need to communicate?
Is your subject visual enough?

How will you structure your video?
Prepare a storyboard
Think about key messages and statements
Be prepared for your structure to change
How will you ‘join up’ sections of your video?
Do you require a voiceover? What kind of voice should this be?

What shots/interviews etc do you require?
Do you need cutaway shots to illustrate a point?
Do you need cutaway shots to make editing look seamless?
What access requirements/permissions might you need for filming?

Who will you interview?
Do you need a release form?
Are you working with children?
Who is going to ‘work’ well on camera?
Does your interviewee(s) have media experience?
Why are you interviewing them?

Where will you interview them?
Is there a location relevant to the interview?
Think about light
Think about noise and other distractions
Do you need special permissions to film there?

What will they wear?
Avoid bright colours (and too much white)
Avoid too much make-up
Avoid fussy patterns
Be comfortable

What will they say?
Preparing interview questions
Planting key messages
Asking provoking questions
Will you require additional cutaway shots after the interview?

Testing out Word 2007 blog publisher

Anyone using Microsoft Word 2007 might have noticed that it has a blog post option on it, so I thought I'd give it a go for my blog. I'm travelling on the train at the moment so even with 3G card in laptop, connection is a little flakey so this could be a useful alternative for drafting blog posts while in transit. I like the theory behind it – just open Word, click new and select blog post. I seem to have configured it to send to my blog without any problems (just a matter of username, password then selecting which of my blogger blogs I wanted to add). So here goes, time to see if the post actually works!

Is there a benefit to be an 'older' person signing up to Facebook

I've been reading this blog this morning by Samuel Bradley giving tips to college students on using Twitter (though the tips could extend beyond that audience). Bradley advises:

Don’t simply link to your Facebook bio if there’s anything on your profile that you wouldn’t show in front of the class. Rule of thumb: If a link leads in any way to photos of you throwing up after consuming too much alcohol, omit it!

This got me pondering, are those of us that signed up to Facebook in our post-university days in an advantageous position? Okay, so the photos of us throwing up after drinking too much probably still exist, and perhaps they even exist in a digital format (though I'm old enough that most of my uni photos are from good old fashioned film so exist only in hard copy). I would like, at this point, to point out that I am not what you might call a dinosaur. I am 28 years old, so was only a few years out of University before signing up to Facebook, but I just can't help thinking that the photographs of student antics that we enjoyed at university, but might haunt us in our professional lives, are far less likely to find their way onto Facebook. Finally an advantage to hurtling my way to 30!

This argument isn't fully thought through, just my musings, but I wonder, if there is any truth in this, if it could spell an interesting phase for Facebook. I'm perfectly happy for potential clients, employers, and anyone else in my professional life to check me out on Facebook. There are plenty of silly photos of me, but that just shows me being me. There's nothing to worry about. However, for younger folks not yet into their professional lives, I wonder if there might suddenly be a move to close their Facebook accounts down as they start searching for jobs, for fear of what potential employers might see. Dare I say it, could Facebook become the realm of the 'older' generation (I lose that term very loosely indeed!)? It probably will anyway in as much as the 'kids' will have something diffent to amuse themselves, and Facebook will be 'old hat', but for those already on it, could younger antics spell the end of individuals Facebook accounts as they strive to protect their employment prospects.

Online video is getting quicker and quicker

I've been playing around quite nicely with my new flipvideo camera recently, mostly for personal use though I'm sure it won't be long before it's put to good business use too.

Last week I attended a close friend's wedding in Ireland. I took the flipvideo camera along and within 12 hours of stumbling to bed after the festivities of an Irish wedding (I hit the sack at 3am and the bride, groom and Irish family were all still up singing in the bar), I had an edited version of the video online on facebook thanks to the excellent built-in software on the camera, instant usb connectivity and free wifi in the hotel.

I thought that was quick! Then this morning I received the latest updates from animoto and learn that they've now created an iPhone app so you can create animoto videos on your iPhone (or touch iPod) whilst still on the move. I haven't tested it yet (might steal my partner's touch iPod later to have a play around), but in theory this is a very cool idea and just speeds up even more the ability to go from a photo (or in the case of flipvideo a video clip) to a fairly polished looking video online in a matter of minutes - and at hardly any expense at all.