The missing link: when sales, PR and advertising are disconnected

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

Apparently, the recent Old Spice ad has been right up there in terms of ‘talkability’, ‘buzz’ and ‘engagement’. This much is true, proven by the fact that the video, and the personalised re-incarnations (which was a great idea, by the way), have been viewed by approximately one zillion people around the world. They have been watched and passed on to friends and family because they are very funny; it’s that great content thing again.

But is this ad going to sell more product? I would never buy OId Spice, nor would my Dad, my brother, my boss, my flatmates…I’ve questioned them all and nobody I know buys it and the ads have, if anything, simply re-enforced this notion. Read the rest of this entry »

Latest YouTube development enables users to get specific with video clip links

Posted by: Mike Shaw

YouTube’s newest trick might not be a giant leap forward, but it’s a handy step for those wishing to share YouTube clips. In the past when you linked to a video, or embedded a clip in a blog post you were stuck with the clip playing from the start (unless you also employed additional tools liked Splicd). However as Jason Kincaid on TechCrunch explains, by adding a small extension to the link, you can now control the point at which YouTube starts playing.

In other words, rather than link to an entire speech, or full video clip, you can now add ‘#t=2m15s’ to the end or the URL in order to set a specific start time. In this case, 2 minutes and 15 seconds in to the clip. Particularly handy if you wish to refer to a specific point in a YouTube clip, or even simply to skip advertising or opening credits.

For an example of what I mean, just compare the two links below…

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VIPS73z5_UY&feature=related

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VIPS73z5_UY&feature=related#t=3m22s

From your Sony Handy Cam to YouTube in 46 easy steps

Posted by: Thomas Rowley

Recently I had the task of implementing a YouTube channel for a client.

I was quite surprised with the amount of effort it took to get video from our ‘Sony HDD Handy Cam’ edited and up on YouTube. The first hurdle was the codec that The Handy Cam used, in true Sony fashion it wouldn’t open in any of the video editing software demos I had.

After multiple downloads of various video conversion and editing tools I discovered Sony Vegas which opened the files directly from the cam with no need for conversion to another format. I found Sony Vegas to be a great tool, especially for quick editing of clips for YouTube. Compared to Adobe Premiere (editing software I have used in the past) the rendering / exporting was a lot faster and previewing transitions and effects was faster too.

So for YouTubers wanting to get video from their Sony Handy Cam (and other brands too) online I recommend Sony Vegas, at about $100 US for the platinum version . I think it’s good value.