Video

Do I have to?

What equipment do I need?

What technical skills do I need?

Do I really have to get in front of the camera?

The demands of the internet and Web 2.0 do mean that we have to face up to the use of video. For starters, if you want to make use of high ranking positions in the Search Engines then video is the easiest way there.

Google is actively inviting you to give them details of your videos so that they can place you in the top, number1 positions in their searches. How good is that? They want to you to tell them about videos you’ve made. And if you’re placed in to number one position for your search term, think of the traffic you will benefit from.

So, yes, you do have to.

What equipment do you need?

Well, it is possible to use presentations from your computer and use screen capture software like Camtasia to make videos. (This way also avoids your physical presence in front of the camera, if that worries you.) Camtasia can be downloaded for a limited time – 30 days for free. After that it costs $299 for the full package.

However, the TechSmith team, who make Camtasia, have also made available JingProject.com – it’s free, very easy to download, simple interface and it’s free. When you activate it a little sun slips across your desktop and sneaks to the top right hand corner where you can ‘Capture’, see your ‘History’ and ‘More’ whenever the urge takes you.

Click on the ‘Capture’ button and a sliding grid appears where you can dictate how large your filming screen is going to be. If you have a window open it will automatically latch on to that and make it it’s default size, but you can always change that if you want your video to be smaller or larger. Very simple to use. Once you’ve set your filming parameters you click video, do/say what you want, and pause it whenever.

Where is the video stored?

Another benefit. TechSmith also own ScreenCast.com and you can select to have your videos stored with them and guess what, this is also free. All you have to do is establish an account with them.

When you click on the ‘History’ button it takes you to the videos you’ve saved with them.

How do I put it on my site?

When you’ve finished your video there is a ‘share’, or ‘embed’ option. If you click on ‘embed’, when it’s been saved they tell you that the code has been saved to your clipboard and so all you have to do is open up your site, find the code or html option, and Paste where you want it positioned. That’s all I did with the bubbl.us video.

This is so simple it’s not true. This is as technical as it gets.

If you’re new to using video, you must try it out.