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You realize, of course, that video is taking over the Web, right?  I mean, with all the video sites online, it’s become so easy to just watch instead of read. We’ve been trained to watch since birth. Yes, even people my age grew up with television.  But the Internet brought us back to the written word. The connections just weren’t fast enough to make video viable.

I remember way back in the  late 90’s when I was amazed that someone could actually watch a video on a 56K modem, and was pissed because mine was only 28K. I had to upgrade!

Well…

How things have changed in a little more than a decade. Now, the Internet is full of site, sound and moving pictures. It’s awesome!

There are several ways that you can get online with your own personal movie. You can use a web cam, which is pretty inexpensive, or perhaps you have one of those newer laptops with the web cam built right in. Sweet.  Yet, there are drawbacks to web cams. You can’t leave the computer.

In steps the Flip Video from Pure Digital Technologies. I have the Mino. No, not the HD version. Got mine before that was available. But as my husband says, I don’t need you folks seeing every line on my face. It’s bad enough, already.

But I love it. You turn it on, point, and record. That’s it! It even has it’s own USB connector, and you just open it up and transfer the film into your computer.  It comes with software built right in, as well. You can’t do much editing with it, so you’ll still need Camtasia, Cam Studio, Windows Movie Maker, Sony Vegas, or another editing software to make the films A-#1, the Duke, but it’s fun.

Yesterday, Tellman turned me onto Seesmic.com, where you can post a question and start a conversation on video. I answered a couple of his, but I’m going to start posting questions of my own soon enough. It’s a blast! Only problem there is that I can’t seem to upload from the Flip Vid to Seesmic. I was able to make videos with my crappy web cam and post them, so before I really get into the swing there, I need a better web cam.

Anyway, if you aren’t into video yet, get into it! It’s an awesome SEO tool, as well. When you post to multiple directories, and use the proper keywords and descriptions, you’ll see traffic to your site. And now that Google has universal search going, your videos will actually show up in the SERPs. (Search engine results pages.) Cool, non?

Do you know about  Blip.fm? It’s an awesome site! You can look up all the great music you like and add it to your playlist. Become a DJ! I just started today because I’m always reading Tweets from @frankparker (who’s bluebrummie on Blip.fm) and enjoying the tunes he posts. So, I decided to become EclecticRocker there and just do some of my own tuning. Totally fun!

Here’s another set of apps for Twitter you might enjoy: http://twtapps.com This is cool… TwtCard… Twitter greetings, like greeting cards. You choose a little square-head icon and write a Tweet message, then just send the link. Cute.

With TwtPoll you create a poll with a 140-character question, and TwtPoll keeps the stats. Neat!

TwtVite lets you create an event and invite all your Twitter friends.

I swear, every day people are coming up with the coolest Twitter apps and it’s tons of fun. If you aren’t on Twitter, you’re really missing the biggest thing online right now.

My Space?

That was so… yesterday.

And while we’re on the subject of cool Web 2.0 apps, have you tried TechSmith’s Jing yet? You can create short films of your screen, kind of like Camtasia. Well… that figures since Camtasia is a TechSmith product. Jing doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, but still pretty cool. And what’s really cool is that it’s free.

Oh, and there’s Animoto. Did you see the testimonials montage that Tellman made for the launch? Wow! Sweet. Check it out here: http://budurl.com/OEtestimonials I have to say that it really touched me to see how many people we help. It’s not about the money, really, is it? It’s about the relationships and the people we can make happier in life. God, I love my job! Anyway, Animoto allows you to take photos and text and such and upload it. You choose music, and Animoto makes a really cool professional-looking movie from your stuff. Neat-o times two.

There are so many cool things to do in Web 2.0, and a lot of it is totally SEO helpful. Get ou there and explore!

So, I opened this free site last week called EasyBlogTricks.com, right? It’s all about the tech stuff when it comes to blog. Just simple stuff, like installing a blog on your own server, using plugins, changing your theme and stuff like that. Easy for me, but hard for people who aren’t experienced, and so…

Everything was working until I got an email from one of my site members saying that the video wouldn’t play. I’m like, “Sure it does. Just let it load.” Mea culpa. I didn’t check the site in Internet Explorer, a HUGE duh on my part, and something I never remember to do.

So, then, the trial became how do I do this so that the videos play in Internet Explorer, right?

Grr…

It is very difficult to find out how to do that online, and so I thought I’d give you the simple, down and dirty.

Down at the bottom of your HTML page for the video, there is a <–comment–> that says:

“<!– Users looking for simple object / embed tags can copy and paste the needed tags below.”

and it makes this block of code all comment because it ends with –>

So, I’m thinking, OK (and while we’re at it, let’s just say I’m a very good PHP guesser. I haven’t a clue how to write it. I understand what it says, and over time, I’m sure I’ll be clicking away writing code, too. Don’t know why, but I just think it’s a good skill to have.

Anyway, I copied this whole block of comment, and added it into the HTML Write window of WordPress, it didn’t work. So, I looked at the code, and realized that I needed to add the full path to my video, so it’s like this:

<div id=”media”>

<object id=”csSWF” classid=”clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000″ width=”400″ height=”318″ codebase=”http://active.macromedia.com/flash7/cabs/ swflash.cab#version=9,0,115,0″>

<param name=”src” value=”ping.mp4″/>

<param name=”bgcolor” value=”#1a1a1a”/>

<param name=”quality” value=”best”/>

<param name=”allowScriptAccess” value=”always”/>

<param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”/>

<param name=”scale” value=”showall”/>

<param name=”flashVars” value=”autostart=false”/>

<embed name=”csSWF” src=”ping.mp4″ width=”400″ height=”318″ bgcolor=”#1a1a1a” quality=”best” allowScriptAccess=”always” allowFullScreen=”true” scale=”showall” flashVars=”autostart=false&color=0×1A1A1A,0×1A1A1A” pluginspage=”http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash”></embed>

</object>

</div>

But here’s what I did wrong…

All I needed to use was what’s inside the <embed></embed> tags, and center them. Then, put <div></div> tags around it, so make it look like this:

<div>
<center><embed name=”csSWF” src=”http://yourdomain.com/video/video.mp4” width=”400″ height=”318″ bgcolor=”#1a1a1a” quality=”best” allowScriptAccess=”always” allowFullScreen=”true” scale=”showall” flashVars=”autostart=false&color=0×1A1A1A,0×1A1A1A” pluginspage=”http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash”></embed></center>

</div>

Notice the path to the video. Just tell the browser where the video lives, give it the URL.

And voila! It worked. I should have saved the page that, just in passing, mentioned that you only use the portion that says <embed>.  Argh! I mean, it was obscure information. Why should it be so hard?

I’ll bet you that there are programmers having a good laugh.

But you know, being stupid about a subject is great! You get to learn every single day. I learn by doing, so the more I do, the more I take chances and mess around with this stuff, the more proficient I become. It’s great! Learning things is what really turns me on. Love to learn.

What’s that Nike used to say?

“Just do it!”

Today is a big day online, and people may not even be aware of the fact.

First, Camtasia 6 was just released, and Wow! The new features are great. You will now be able to separate the video from the audio to make edits, which was impossible with the previous versions. You can do it in Sony Vegas, but Camtasia is just so much easier for new video makers that this improvement really makes sense. Sony Vegas needs a guidebook just to figure it out. Camtasia is so easy that just about anyone can use it right away.

But it has other cool stuff!

• There’s now a YouTube present for production
• They’ve added hot keys for splitting, callouts, zooms, and transitions
• There’s a cool new 3-D effect that lets you twist images
• You can now import .mov files for editing

And a lot more. Love it! See their video on all the great new changes at: http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia/whatsnew.asp

The other really important thing going on today has to do with Social Marketing. It’s about your blog. You only have until MIDNIGHT tonight to get your blog entered into 9Rules.com for review. This blog site publishes articles only from accepted blogs, and they’re high quality articles.  I enjoy sifting through the blog entries there and always come away with cool information.

So, get over and get your blog entered, but only if you have a really good blog. You have to have been blogging for at least 6 months, too. Otherwise, it’s not fair to waste their time. But if you provide great information in a clear, easy to read style…

They only accept entries like 4 days out of the year, so if you’re ready for prime time, you’ve only got a few hours. Run!

Over the past year or so, I’ve become quite enamored of video. I’ve been making lots of short films for my blogging business, for Overcome Everything, and for a special project I’ve been working on for more than a year. If you want to get into a sci-fi video novel, this is my client’s site: http://CugelsCastle.com

Anyway, these are all different types of videos… screen capture, talking head, and Power Point. The first thing I did was buy Camtasia. Why not, right? Everyone uses Camtasia.

OK… Works great for most stuff, but when I started working with the video novel, I bought Sony Vegas Pro 8 Editing Workshop. Wow! I mean it’s so much more powerful! It’s very easy to add rolling credits, a watermark, and to edit. I totally love it. I know I’m only scratching the surface with the software, so I plan to learn tons more about that.

Cameras were a problem, too, believe it or not. We bought a digital camcorder last year and though that would do the best job for the talking head videos. Wrong. When it came time to render them, it was a total hassle. I had to reformat them, and then the sound didn’t always meet the facial expression. I worked that out with Vegas, but there were just a ton of glitchy things that happened.

Well…

Brian Edmondson, our resident video guy at Overcome Everything, told me to get the Mino Flip Video Camera. It’s like $150 less than we paid for the other camera we bought, so I didn’t think too much about it. Then, Brian made some videos with it for The LIst Building Club, and the picture and sound were so clear that I went out the same night that I had seen Brian’s videos and bought one for less than $200.

Wow!

If you’re doing video or contemplating it, the Flip Cam is the easiest way to go. I LOVE that thing! Plus, you can take it anywhere because it’s so slim and small. (Yeah, I was lucky enough to have waited until the slimmer version came out.) It’s just the best.

So, if you’re hesitating about doing video, don’t. It’s becoming more and more important online.  And, I have some great advice for you, which can save you tons of aggravation and time:

1) Get a Flip Cam

by Douglas Spotted Eagle

2) Get the free version of Sony Vegas and work with it until you feel you’re ready to upgrade. Then, work with it for a while. Try not to get too frustrated. But if you do, there’s a book you ca buy: Sony Vegas Pro 8 by Douglas Spotted Eagle. I haven’t had to look much up, but it sure comes in handy when you’re scratching your head.

3) If you’re lucky enough to be in Stomper Net, watch the Stomper Vision videos by Mike Stewart. Awesome! If you aren’t in Stomper, buy the course. It’s totally worth it and helped me to understand Vegas a whole lot better.

And then, shoot some video! It’s a blast!

I’m getting to be a real whiz with Camtasia. I guess when you make enough videos, that happens. Well, if you go through Camtasia’s course, which I plan to do someday, you know all this stuff up front. But I’m the kind of chick who likes to learn by doing, you know. I just jump right in and only look for help when I want to do something that I think is cool, but don’t know how to do. I’m terrible that way. I never read directions, either.

Anyway, today, I was making a pretty simple video, and I didn’t like the beginning. But… I thought. [see the little light bulb go on over Pat's head] Well… hmm… a PowerPoint could spice this up a bit.

But the trouble was: How the heck do I get the video and the PowerPoint to live together in one short film?

huh.

Well, when I thought about it, it was pretty simple actually.

• Record a video for both the PowerPoint and the screen capture. (I did the screen capture first, which was smart because then, I knew what I had to say when recording the PowerPoint. I left pauses where I wanted the video to kick in, you know? You can edit those out, which is pretty cool.)

• Then, on the storyline, put the PowerPoint in first, then split it where you want the video to come in.

• Plug in the screen capture video at that point

• You can split the video where you want the PowerPoint to come back. If it’s the end, that’s really easy because the end of the PowerPoint will still be there. But if you want PowerPoint and video to alternate, you can just continue splitting and alternating.

You may think it makes things jerky, and it probably will if you do it too much. Yet, Camtasia does a good job of making smooth transitions. You can always add transition screens to make it look even cooler, too.

This is probably soup simple for the video tech heads, but it’s an adventure for moi.

I’m really getting into this video creation stuff. It’s not just fun, it’s important! I really think it’s the way of the Web, folks. If you’re not at least exploring the possibilities of video, you’re behind the curve. I’m learning a lot working with Brian Edmondson, who’s doing some kick butt stuff for Overcome Everything, too. Brian is da video guy and he rocks.

But… I’ve also been watching Andy Jenkins’ videos about making videos over at StomperNet. Whoa.

Nothing like learning from a pro. I feel blessed. And thanks, Andy! You rock — out loud.

My site on blogging is all step-by-step video, so this is making it better all the time. Love it!

If you aren’t into making video for your website, your blog, or a membership site or whatever, you probably don’t know about the “Chipmunk Issue.” How did Alvin and his friends get into all those videos online?

It was an upgrade for Adobe Flash that did it. That new version of Flash wasn’t compatible with any Camtasia made before version 5.0.2. The new upgrade, and how most videos online are rendered, gave all those videos the effect of garbling in the audio, but only intermittently. It was weird.

There is a fix for it, but don’t bother. It doesn’t work.

The only solution that I’ve found is that you have to re-render all the videos in Camtasia 5.0.2 . Lots of incentive for upgrading, eh?

And it’s a total pain in the butt. It takes a while to render videos, but to re-upload them if you have a lot of them takes like… forever.

I had someone berate me for this in my membership site and ask for a refund. Argh! People can be very unforgiving, especially when they’re paying for something. So… beware.

If you have videos made before Camtasia 5.0.2, get busy. It should only take, like…

For.ever

Grrr…

Are you into using video yet? If not, and you’re well on your way with blogging, it’s time!

There are several reasons. First, you don’t have to make your own videos. Finding a video in your niche and adding it to your blog is a great way to add content and not have to think too much about it. Here’s how to embed video in your blog, if you grab it from YouTube, for example.

1. You go to the video page, and on the right hand side, as the video is playing, you’ll see a line of code in a box, and above it says, “Embed.” So, copy that code and put it into a plain text editor like Notepad (Don’t use Word. It does creepy stuff when you try to translate to HTML.)
2. Go to your WordPress blog dashboard.
3. Click on the Write tab
4. Give your entry a headline and write whatever introduction you want for the video into the blank.
5. Above the writing pane, you’ll see a tab that says “Code.” Click on it.
6. Under the introduction you just wrote, type in <center><embed>
7. Paste in the code you copied at YouTube.
8. Directly after it, type in </embed></center>
9. Go back to the writing pane and click “Save and continue editing.”
10. When the page refreshes, you won’t see the video in the writing pane, so DON’T FREAK OUT!
11. Click on Preview
12. You’ll see that the video is indeed working and you can give just a little shout of victory!

Adding video is very cool and easy to do, and there are plenty of sites to get it from–Google Video, Blip TV, Daily Motion, and so on. Just look for the embed code for the video and do what I mentioned above.

If you make your own videos, it’s not that different to get it into your blog, you just have to store the video on your own server, create your own code, and embed a player. It’s much easier to upload to a video directory site and let them do all the work, plus save space on your hosting account.

But if doing all that is beyond your realm of expertise, you can actually buy a product called “Video Web Wizard,” which I have used in the past, and it will do all the dirty work of embedding the video in a web page for you. It’s really inexpensive and works very well. It comes from Keith Gilbert, who’s like 18 years old. Wow! Wish I’d have started that young. But then, Tim Linden of StartXchange (the best traffic exchange on the planet) started when he was 15. All these Wunderkind. I think it’s awesome. Anyway…

If you use Camtasia, you can produce the video as a web page. The current Camtasia version is Camtasia 5, but you can get Camtasia 3 free at this blog:

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/11/22/techsmith-offers-free-camtasia-studio-download/

Lemme tell ya, Camtasia is the Bomb! If you’re going to buy it, however, it’s about $300 for the current version. I bit the bullet because video is where the Web is heading.

Then, when you’re done creating and editing your video, you can spend hours and hours uploading it to a gazillion different video sites. If you want a great way to do it and only upload the video once, you need to check out Traffic Geyser. It will upload the video for you to many different sites.

A new place, Tube Mogul, will allow you to upload to several sites free, but it has nowhere near the power of Traffic Geyser. Then, you can supplement by adding to sites that Tube Mogul doesn’t have by going to Jack Humphrey’s Friday Traffic Report and checking out his list of 50 video sites. Great post. Great blog. If you’re not a subscriber, well… You aren’t thinking straight.

But here’s the deal… People want to turn their computers into televisions, and with the speed of broadband and the fact that the majority of people have high speed connections now, it’s possible. And guess what? I bought Camtasia about 6 months ago and already made the money back and then some. So…

Get into video. Seriously. If you don’t, you’ll be left behind.