Hoehn's Musings » youtube

Opportunities in video streaming

Charlie — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:01:48 +0000

I’ve had a few people email me saying they want to post business-related videos, but they don’t want to use Youtube, so what would I recommend? And I can’t ever give them a good answer because none of the online video sites are ideal. I’ve used all the big ones, and each of them has glaring flaws. It’s very frustrating for someone who uses these sites regularly, but it’s also great for anyone who can swoop in and fix these problems. So I want to break down what’s wrong with the main video sites first, then suggest what I think needs to be done.

Youtube – Not my favorite, but it’s what I recommend to every business anyways. The truth is that they’re currently the best option if you’re doing anything commercial.

Everyone’s on it. Youtube is not a niche service; it’s for every type of video you can imagine. But a lot of businesses don’t want their videos to be in the same market as emo teenagers and cats playing keyboards.
Ugly interface. This is the complaint I’ve heard most often from businesses. Both the player and the site itself just don’t look that great.
11-minute time limit on regular accounts. Infuriating if you have an hour long clip, because you’ll have to split it six times.
Partnership program. It’s great if you can get in, but your videos will need several thousand views before you have a shot at this.
No call-to-action. Remember how I recommended LinkedTube? That’s a pretty good service (except those videos don’t show up in RSS readers for some reason), but that feature should be built into Youtube to begin with.

Viddler – My favorite option, solely because they allow you to put multiple calls-to-action in their videos.

Nothing commercial is allowed. You can fly under the radar promoting your business and its products for awhile, but if Viddler notices you, they’ll make you upgrade or delete your account. They will warn you before they do this, thankfully.
Pricing. Starts at $100/month plus a $150 integration fee and goes up to $1,500/month. This seems like such a substantial jump from their free service that you’ve already grown accustomed to that it comes across as a bit outlandish. If you can afford it and really need the extra bandwidth, then go for it. Viddler’s a good service.
Analytics. You can see the view count and number of impressions for your videos, but that’s it. Why can’t I see the click-thrus on my calls-to-action? Ahhh! (Note: A way around this is to shorten your links with http://bit.ly/ first, then post them into your Viddler video.)

Vimeo – I have a love/hate relationship with this site. They easily have the best interface but they will also ruthlessly ban you without warning.

Hyper-strict staff. I found out the hard way that these guys will ban you, permanently deleting all of your videos at once, and not giving you any leeway on getting them back. If you have a video where you casually mention the name of a service you offer, and the rest of the video isn’t even remotely commercial, they will still ban you. Of course, you can fly under their radar but if that particular video gets 1,000+ views in a day, you’re toast.
Inconsistent upload times. I don’t fault them too much for this, but they have the biggest discrepancies between busy and slow day upload times. If you upload a 1-minute clip on a Monday night, it might take four hours before you can view it. And if you upload a 5-minute clip on a Thursday morning, you can probably watch it within the hour.

I’m not going to discuss the flaws in Facebook or SmugMug, because those are not video sites. SmugMug specializes mostly in pictures (although they do have incredible HD playback), and Facebook does WAY too many other things. Video isn’t even relevant.

What’s the point?

Vimeo is pretty much the only video site on the web that specifically caters to a well-defined niche. Although I hate them for banning without warning, I also truly admire them for sticking to their guns. They are an anti-commercial site for people who are passionate about making high-quality video content. So where is the niche video site for businesses? Youtube definitely isn’t one, and neither is Viddler. If anything, Viddler has branded itself as the go-to video site for bloggers.

There is a ton of opportunity for a commercial business-only video site. If you combine the best practices from the big three, and eliminate all the flaws, the business video site would absolutely dominate.

Here’s what I think it should include:

Beautiful interface. Take a page out of Vimeo’s book and make an amazing player. Their player is super clean, in 16:9, and plays HD beautifully and easily. Allow these businesses to seamlessly embed their videos anywhere they want.
Allow multiple calls-to-action in videos. Businesses want to make sales. Let them manipulate the interface so they can make that happen.
Robust analytics. If they can’t see the results from their CTA’s, how can they improve on their formula? Let users test and iterate. Give them the key information they need to increase click-thrus (just like Google Ads).
Heavily encourage HD. You want all the videos on your site to be really high quality, because then you’ll be known as a premium service. So offer incentives to users for uploading HD videos. Make the HD player’s interface significantly better than the 4:3 DV player, for instance.
No time limits. Size limits are fine, though.
No freeloaders / No freemium model. Businesses are willing to spend money for a quality service. In fact, a lot of big businesses don’t even like the idea of using something for free. If you don’t believe me, ask some bigger companies if they’d be willing use free, open-source software for their online security systems. Payment can give a company peace of mind. So give businesses a 2-week free trial, then switch to a monthly subscription rate. Don’t allow anyone to indefinitely upload videos for free.
Fast uploads. All your customers are paying, so you better deliver a really fast service.

Like I said, there are currently no niche video sites that are focusing on businesses. A service like this would kill.

What needs to be in every Youtube video you make

Charlie — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:48:31 +0000

One thing that drives me crazy about YouTube is that you can’t put a good call-to-action in your videos. Even if you use their annotation tool, it usually looks terrible.

Here’s the solution.

LinkedTube allows you to easily embed a button into any video. So if you want people to visit your site or sign up for your newsletter or buy your product after they watch your video, you should use LinkedTube.

——

UPDATE: Don’t use LinkedTube if you’re posting a video in a blog post. It doesn’t show up in RSS readers. Ugh.

Changing the standup game: In action

Charlie — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:18:55 +0000

Awhile back, I wrote a post about how to change the standup game. There was some debate as to whether it was a good idea or not. Well, Ben Rosenfeld actually took it upon himself to put my thoughts into action. Check out his very first performance critique post.

Whether you think his comedy is good or bad is entirely irrelevant — he’s a young comic who has just started his journey. It takes balls to put up any video of yourself that is something you’re not completely happy with. I applaud Ben for opening himself up to criticism — more people need to do this (as I discussed here).

Doing critiques like this will help Ben immensely in the long-run. It forces him to write down his mistakes, no matter how seemingly trivial, and strive for perfection. The more he obsesses over his flaws, the better he’ll get. And the better he gets, the more people will follow him.

As his audience grows, his blog will switch from a personal exercise to an obligation for his fans. He’ll be happy that people are following his progress, and he will feel compelled to critique himself for their sake, as well.

This is not going to be a short journey for him, or any artist that decides to take this path for that matter. Musicians, filmmakers, comedians, writers — it will take years before any of them reach the level they want to get to. And rightfully so: if you love the game that much, you have to be willing to push through the pain period. But as soon as Ben gets over that mountain, he’ll reap all the benefits.

I hope Ben sticks with it.

Why Obama’s Youtube channel sucks

Charlie — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:33:07 +0000

I was impressed when I first heard Obama was going to have a weekly videocast. It’s a great idea because Youtube is a very personal medium with tremendous reach. Sure, it’s a lot more raw than television, but that’s also what gives the site its most valuable asset: authenticity. Unfortunately, Obama’s marketers seem to have overlooked that…

That video seems like an address you’d see on TV. In fact, all of Obama’s videocasts have felt scripted, cold, and cookie-cutter. There’s no connection with the audience.

You might be thinking, “Of course they’re scripted! Do you expect him to just say whatever is on his mind?” YES! After eight years of being patronized and deceived by the Bush administration, we need someone who will be straightforward and authentic. Americans (and the rest of the world) are disgruntled and sick of lies. We don’t want a slick politician — we want a real, honest leader.

Obama’s videocast formula needs to be tweaked until it feels more like a warm, personal interaction. Right now, he’s doing boring, scripted monologues at the viewer. But Youtube is a social medium, so he needs to be genuinely engaged with us. His videos have to feel real, even if he’s rehearsed a million times. So here are a few ideas (that can be implemented immediately and cheaply) for Obama to improve his channel:

Stop making it look scripted. I know Barack has a lot more important stuff to do than learn lines each week for a 5-minute Youtube video, so I think he should just ax the script and teleprompters altogether. He should make a rough outline of what he wants to talk about, film a few different takes, and upload the best one. He’s a great speaker, with or without a script, so this shouldn’t be an issue. Which leads me to my next overlapping point…
Loosen up on the formalities. Youtube viewers are very used to raw videos, so don’t be afraid of imperfections. He shouldn’t always be surrounded by the American flag and scholarly books. Film some of the updates out on the deck, or backstage at a conference, or even in the limo. Right now, it’s visually bland and mediocre. Make the videos feel more natural and less staged.
Interact with your viewers. Put a few interns in charge of filtering through the thousands of insane/moronic/racist comments and messages, then give Obama 2-3 good questions to answer each week for the videocast. Have the interns write personal messages back to those selected viewers, saying their question will be addressed in next week’s video. Now it’s a dialogue that people are emotionally invested in, and the message spreads. “Obama picked my question! Check out this video!”

After witnessing such a brilliant online marketing campaign during the elections, I’m honestly surprised to find myself criticizing Obama’s Youtube channel. But here we are.

Changing the standup game

Charlie — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 07:48:45 +0000

A few days ago, someone sent me an email about an idea they’d had. They wanted to start a niche social network for aspiring comedians and people who love to watch standup. I came up with a very similar concept a few years ago (so I obviously thought it was a brilliant idea), but I still don’t think this would work… yet.

The problem lies in the pervasive attitude of young comedians: all of them are hyper-paranoid about getting their material stolen. Just watch this video of Joe Rogan tearing into Carlos Mencia, or listen to this clip of Dane Cook stealing from Louis CK. No one wants their hard-earned material that they’ve fine-tuned for months to be taken by some lazy moron who can’t write their own jokes.

Because of the potential for theft, amateur comedians will scoff at the idea of having Youtube clips of themselves working out fresh material. “What if someone on the other side of the country stole my jokes and got rich and famous as a result?!” A part of me sympathizes with this outlook, but the other part of me wants to slap these people. This fear of joke-theft is actually hindering their success. And the only way to overcome the fear is to make their jokes available to everyone, even if they’re not perfect yet.

The first aspiring comedian who truly dominates on Youtube will change the standup game forever. This is why:

He’ll tap into the long tail. When a great joke is told in a comedy club, it’s heard once by (maybe) 100 people. When a great joke is told on Youtube, it will be heard by several thousand people in different countries as many times as they want to hear it. It will be embedded on Myspace pages, saved on delicious, emailed to co-workers, talked about at parties… you get the idea.
He’ll gain an online following. People will start subscribing to his channel and watching every video he posts. Slowly but surely, his jokes will spread and his following will grow. And the high school kids who aren’t allowed into the clubs, but are in love with standup… they’ll get to hear his jokes, too. And guess who they’ll want to see once they’re old enough.
He’ll have a dated record of his jokes. If someone else takes his joke, he can now prove that he was the first to post it online. His fans will respect him even more, and the thief will lose credibility. Jokes will no longer be something you hold close to your chest until the time is right. Instead, there will be a race to publish them first.
He’ll have more accurate metrics. He no longer has to wonder why a joke is inconsistent (“Is it falling flat because the crowd wasn’t in the right mood, because someone was heckling me during the punchline, because the preceding comedian brought them down?”) Now he can just look at the view count, ratings, and comments from thousands of people on his videos. He can test, test, test to his heart’s desire on Youtube. He’ll post his jokes relentlessly to see which ones work, and which ones need to be dropped from his live routine.
More people will pay to see him live. The online jokes are great and free. Imagine how fun it’d be to see his entire set in-person!
He’ll inspire others. Even if he posts the same joke five times told on different nights, there are people out there who are interested in watching all five videos. These people will be fascinated by all the nuances in his delivery, tone, wording, etc. What seems nerdy and boring to him is actually amazing to the outsiders.

If you’re a comedian who’s just getting started, you absolutely have to leverage this medium. And if you’re terrified that it’s just going to enable others to steal your jokes, you’re an idiot. First of all, you’re not that original or creative. Other people have thought of everything you have. For instance, Maddox came up with some of the same jokes Chappelle told years later. It wasn’t because Chappelle stole from Maddox – they just had the same train of thought (albeit, a very funny one). Secondly, if people steal your jokes, GOOD! That means you’re funnier than they are. Your lazy competition will force you to come up with even better stuff. I know any comedian who reads this will roll their eyes at that, but you’re playing by old rules. And those rules need to be broken.

My favorite line from No Country for Old Men is when Anton Chigurh says, “If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?” Exactly. Even if you’re a moral comedian and you never steal from anyone, it won’t matter because some of your jokes will probably be stolen at some point. Now, I’m not saying you should ignore the code of not stealing; I’m saying you need to stop worrying and focus on getting your jokes heard by as many people as possible. Once you’ve established a loyal fanbase, you’re golden.

When Dane Cook started interacting with his fans on Myspace years ago, it changed things. He wasn’t the funniest comedian, but his album sales were suddenly in the hundreds of thousands. He was performing in arenas. Why? Because he’d built relationships with everyone who cared about him. No comedian had ever done that before on the level he did. He made his fans feel appreciated, both online and off. Dane baked his fans into his brand and turned them into members of his tribe.

Now every comedian is on Myspace, thinking that the site will somehow propel them to Cook’s level of success. But they’re missing the point entirely. It’s not the tool that matters, it’s how you use it. Youtube is a different dynamic, but it has far more potential to disrupt standup comedy.

Comedians need to learn from the fashion industry, where ideas are stolen, tweaked, manipulated, and then thrown out two weeks later. Posting jokes for the world to see would speed up the evolution of every comedian’s material.

The successful artists will be the ones who also learn how to be great marketers. All it takes is for one comedian to have a successful Youtube channel, and it will change the standup landscape forever.

——

Sidenote: If you’ve never seen Comedian, go out and rent it. It’s brilliant.

The correct way to use YouTube

Charlie — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 23:05:45 +0000

The big story in the music industry right now is whether or not Coldplay stole a riff from Joe Satriani (an extremely talented guitarist).

So check out what this guy did:

He jumped into a popular conversation that was already taking place, then he redirected it so that it would revolve around his business. This guy answers the question everybody’s asking of whether Coldplay stole the riff or not, all while simultaneously proving his expertise on music theory and guitar.

Look at his channel – just three videos. The first two barely have 2,000 views between them.

The Coldplay/Satriani video? Over 120,000 views.

So look at your industry. What’s all the buzz about right now? Jump into the discussion and prove you know what you’re talking about. Do this over and over and over until you’ve established your online presence and earned credibility.

You’ll sell yourself with zero advertising dollars spent.

A free idea for comedy clubs

Charlie — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:30:59 +0000

Dominate on Youtube.

If you want to build a substantial permission asset, you’re not going to be able to do that very well with an e-newsletter or a blog. You need to focus more on proving the service you’ll provide: great jokes.

So spend one night each week filming the comedians, and edit that footage into several 1-2 minutes clips. Then, start a Youtube channel for your club and post those clips (with each comedian’s permission, of course).

There are a lot of diehard standup fans out there (I’m one of them). If you show us the kind of talent you have in your club, we’ll be more likely to come when you post a great clip with a description that says, “This guy is headlining this weekend. Buy your tickets now!”

Brilliant Youtube Advertising

Charlie — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:12:48 +0000

I was pleasantly surprised by how well Nintendo executed this latest ad for the new Wario game:

http://www.youtube.com/experiencewii

Just using basic Flash, they were able to completely surprise the viewer and make the ad memorable. How often do you see something this creative? It’s rare. We don’t question our limitations enough when we’re trying to market something. For instance, most everyone assumes that Youtube’s layout is inherently fixed – it’s not even a conscious thought, that’s just the way it is.

I’m sure Nintendo paid a high price to do something this unique, but I have to say that it was worth it.

Converse’s Meatball Sundae

Charlie — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:48:04 +0000

Meet the “Out of Your League Hot Girl.” I’m not exactly sure who this chick is (although she does look A LOT like Sarah Shahi), but it’s a good thing Converse is paying her to help sell their shoes…

Just kidding. They hired her to make a viral video. Congratulations, you marketing geniuses!

I can just imagine how that pitch meeting went. “This is brilliant, John! Sex sells AND it’s using the internet! And it’s going to be a viral video?! Excuse me while I clean up the walls because you just blew my mind!” Do companies not realize that viral videos aren’t a good way to make money?** They’re short-lived clips that people watch for about a week (more if you’re lucky), and then just forget about. Google continues to struggle with Youtube because they can’t figure out how to monetize something that’s been seen by 30 million people. So why would Converse waste their money on creating videos that have NOTHING to do with what their company does or stands for?

The “Out of your league girl” videos are inherently viral, which is fine if that’s all they’re trying to do. “Check out how hot this chick is, bro! It’s not really that funny, but… look how hot she is!” If Converse is measuring their web campaign’s success based on traffic, they’re in for a pleasant surprise. But if they’re looking at interest in brand, increase in sales, or anything that matters for their continued success as a company, they aren’t going to find much.

Converse: please fire your marketing agency. They are wasting your money with cool videos for us that won’t help you.

Converse’s marketing agency: please keep using money from other big companies to make stupid but fun videos. It’s amazing you were able to trick them into thinking your BS campaign was a good idea.

**An exception to the rule. This viral video definitely resulted in an increase in sales and good publicity for its creators.

Numa Unicorn

Charlie — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:04:32 +0000

I want to briefly talk about two viral videos: Charlie the Unicorn and The Numa Kid. Both of these have several million views. And both of them have sequels that attempt to put a fresh spin on the same formula.

Maybe I’m way off base here (the numbers don’t lie – all of these videos have millions of views), but I don’t think viral sequels really work. They don’t seem to offer the viewer much, other than “Oh yea, I remember the original… This isn’t as funny.” Or worse: “Wow, it’s kind of pathetic that they’re still doing the same old schtick.”

I guess some people like to see old gags again, but these videos typically lack the charm of their predecessors. The same problem can happen on a much larger scale, of course. But the problem with viral videos is that you see them so many times that you get burnt out. Milk it for what it’s worth when it’s hot, but don’t plan on anything long-term. It’s better to just move on and create something fresh.