Chris, I have to wonder about how much more effective audio and video can be compared to the written word. The applications to organizations and the web are comparatively new so they are still novel.
As audio and video become more accepted and widely used, it will become necessary for businesses to become more polished in using these tools. In some cases it may be better for an organization to stick to writing or risk credibility by dabbling in something they don't do well.
John Meadows
· 1 year ago
Where I've worked, we have recorded "townhall" company meetings and posted them on our intranet site for the benefit of our large remote employee force not in our head office. Our CEO is a very effective public speaker, and it's great to be able to leverage his ability.
The flip-side of this medium is that being an effective speaker, with the ability to project energy and enthusiasm in this medium will become a key skill. Executives won't be able rely on a communications department to craft effective messages for them; someone can write the words, but the speaker will have to make them come alive.
chrisbrogan
· 1 year ago
I think that a lot of organizations get worried about video because of time, worries of production quality, cost, and perception. And yet, some are asking about their "YouTube strategy," or whether video podcasts would work for them. I'm excited when the question comes up, but I'm also always pragmatic about how these things might not all be a good fit.
Geoff Livingston
· 1 year ago
Great post, Chris... I've been wanting to play in Seesmic for a couple of weeks now. I'm looking for a seesmic invite... Anyone, Buehler, Buehler?
Loic
· 1 year ago
Thanks Chris for recommending Seesmic !
Ben Yoskovitz
· 1 year ago
Video for recruiting definitely can work. As much as a company may be concerned with the issues (time, quality, etc.) - which are all valid, but not insurmountable - you can't get past the fact that a video shows off a company infinitely better than text. I have yet to read more than a handful of job posts that would inspire me to apply for a job. But video does a marvelous job of showing candidates what matters to them - the team, culture and office.
I'm simplifying, but video definitely works. A candidate can instantly visualize whether they'd work there or not, and if the answer is "yes" they are going to make more effort when they apply (which is good for the companies.)
Video isn't for everyone, but most companies I speak to are surprised at how easy it is to do it well. And the technology barriers are lowering daily.
whitney
· 1 year ago
I think this gets into choosing the right tool for the job. Video is a great way to get the sense of a person, as is audio- it adds layers you don't get in text, which is more thoughtful, edited, and less immediate in most cases.
Audio and video are the next best thing to being there in person, yet, the tools to search audio and video aren't there unless you are specifically looking for something in audio or video. (ie. you can tag and search video with viddler, audio with everyzing and pluggd, but google is optimized for text search.)
I find that tools like utterz and seesmic are social tools to communicate with friends, more than something I think about in terms of business, although they could certainly be used in that way- but if the rest of the content on those sites is largely social only, so to speak, does it make it more difficult for businesses to adopt because it's not hanging around in the right "neighborhood" for them?
It totally depends on the message being sent and the content, making have a toolbox full of tools, to be used strategically as needed, even more important.
Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
· 1 year ago
Would you really not reccomend straight audio podcasting within this list of audio starter moves? I realize that video podcasting has a much higher barrier to entry, but audio podcasting is one of the simplest things to master out of the gate, and generally pretty effective in spreading the word when used in tandem with other new media tools you've mentioned elsewhere.
Natasha
· 1 year ago
I'm making it a goal of mine to produce media with less anxiety. I always try to produce relevant media, but that ends up making me wait months before I ever put up new videos or other content. I'm trying to be more "everyday" like. If that makes ANY sense..
All Comments
As audio and video become more accepted and widely used, it will become necessary for businesses to become more polished in using these tools. In some cases it may be better for an organization to stick to writing or risk credibility by dabbling in something they don't do well.
The flip-side of this medium is that being an effective speaker, with the ability to project energy and enthusiasm in this medium will become a key skill. Executives won't be able rely on a communications department to craft effective messages for them; someone can write the words, but the speaker will have to make them come alive.
I'm simplifying, but video definitely works. A candidate can instantly visualize whether they'd work there or not, and if the answer is "yes" they are going to make more effort when they apply (which is good for the companies.)
Video isn't for everyone, but most companies I speak to are surprised at how easy it is to do it well. And the technology barriers are lowering daily.
Audio and video are the next best thing to being there in person, yet, the tools to search audio and video aren't there unless you are specifically looking for something in audio or video. (ie. you can tag and search video with viddler, audio with everyzing and pluggd, but google is optimized for text search.)
I find that tools like utterz and seesmic are social tools to communicate with friends, more than something I think about in terms of business, although they could certainly be used in that way- but if the rest of the content on those sites is largely social only, so to speak, does it make it more difficult for businesses to adopt because it's not hanging around in the right "neighborhood" for them?
It totally depends on the message being sent and the content, making have a toolbox full of tools, to be used strategically as needed, even more important.