We try to measure the effectiveness of all this stuff. Some of these things have worked insanely well while others have not worked at all. There’s really one thing it all boils down to though:
PEOPLE
(Done21 does not recommend that you attempt to boil people.)
Over the past several years, we’ve met lots of amazing people at BarCamps, meetups, tweetups, and conferences. Talking to people and forming real relationships has worked so well, we don’t even have to measure it to know that it’s working (how would you measure it, anyway?). It’s kind of shocking how simple this idea is, and I feel like I’m just adding to the echo chamber on this topic, but I think it’s a message that’s worth repeating until it sinks in.
The title of this article is misleading, because there’s no trick here at all. Just follow the golden rule, be nice, care about people, and don’t forget to take a breath mint before the after party.
Do you have any marketing tips to share? Let us know, in the comments.
At BarCamp Miami on February 21st 2010, we talked about our process for making Doctype every week. We kept it short on slides so that we could spend time answering the numerous questions from the audience. Below you’ll find the video, and our slideshow.
This Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010, we’re bringing you exclusive behind the scenes footage of FOWA Miami 2010. Tune in for interviews from Gary Vaynerchuk, John Resig, Alex Hunter, Steve Huffman, and more!
When Jim and I first discussed creating a video show, we decided that we didn’t want to do it unless it was fresh; Something people hadn’t seen before. I was reminded of this during a WordCamp Miami session when Angie Moncada said that you have to find what makes you different.
The question we had to ask ourselves was, “What makes us different?” - What can we offer that nobody else is doing right now? With online video in its infancy, there’s still a huge possibility space. There’s no predefined show formats and there’s very few expectations.
When we were trying to find a differentiator, we looked at a lot of different screencasts, vid shows, pod blogs, or whatever they call them these days. After checking out lots and lots of tutorial-style videos, we noticed some common characteristics. Just to name a few:
People very rarely show their face and choose instead to only their computer screens.
There’s too much rambling about unimportant details and not enough information.
Most videos put more focus on the video, rather than the audio.
We started finding differentiators by doing the exact opposite of these observations. In Doctype, we show screens and our faces to make the show feel human. We write scripts before we start recording so that we stick to what matters. And lastly, we spend time making the audio just as intelligible as the video. These aren’t new ideas (in fact they’re older than the Internet). They’re just different ways of approaching the medium and subject matter as it exists today.
It’s hard to make the time to find a differentiator. And you shouldn’t do something differently just to be different. However, you should always question the status quo when creating something new. Chances are, there’s already something special about your idea. You just need to figure out what that is.
Every year, a video is put together for BarCamp Orlando. Because we’ve been putting together Doctype for a few months now, we were asked if we would want to create the BarCamp vid. Of course we said yes.
A lot of people have been asking us about our process for our show Doctype. Here it is, in a nutshell:
Preproduction (about 4 hours)
We start by writing a script in Google Docs. We also use Google Docs for production spreadsheets (keeping track of takes, making notes, etc). Nothing fancy here. We script episodes so that they stay short and to the point (this cuts down on “uhs” and “ums” as well). Occasionally we’ll say exactly what’s written, but most of the time we just use it as a guideline, and we’ll riff on our own. The banter at the beginning is just made up on the spot.
Production (about 2 hours)
Record audio into Pro Tools using an Mbox2. This allows us to use phantom powered condenser microphones.
Record video using two Canon Vixia HG20 cameras at 24mbps, 24fps@1080p.
For lighting, we use 3 tungsten lamps (plus a florescent light behind us to cut down on shadows). It’s about 2,000 watts total.
Postproduction (about 15 hours)
Capture all the good takes into Final Cut Pro (FCP).
Back up all the raw video and audio to 2 redundant 7200RPM 1.5 TB HDDs. For this, we use an eSata II ExpressCard, which provides transfer rates of about 3Gbps.
Put all the video onto the timeline in FCP and export the audio.
Run noise reduction on all voice tracks using Amadeus Pro (a cheaper app than equivalent Pro Tools plugins).
Run compression and parametric equalization on all voice tracks.
Sync audio to picture in Pro Tools, using the audio file exported from FCP (this is tedious, but camera audio on consumer camcorders is almost always bad and timecode systems are overkill for our needs).
Bounce audio from Pro Tools to disc and import into FCP.
Export the FCP sequence to Color (the Apple app) and color grade the episode.
Trim the edit, add in fades and transitions, lower thirds, and intro (all the motion graphics were created by us, in Motion, another Apple app).
Add episode specific graphics, like screencasts, screenshots, diagrams, lists, etc.
Add any music or sound FX, while staying conscious of audio levels and the overall saturation of the audio spectrum.
Back up everything again to the 2 hard drives.
Distribution (about 3 hours)
Export to MPEG-4 H.264 at 720p. (1 hour)
Upload to Viddler (because we like their player) and Blip (so that we can host the original files and convert to iPod format for iTunes). (1 hour)
Wait for Viddler and Blip to encode the videos. (1 hour)
While Viddler and Blip are encoding, write the show notes and episode description.
We’re happy to announce that Doctype is officially a media partner for FOWA Miami 2010. For the uninitiated, Doctype is our show that debuted in September. It’s about web design and web development, and aims to be a great resource for freelancers, engineers, and creative professionals. Check out the latest episode below.
In case you hadn’t heard, we’ve been working on a show called Doctype for several months now. We plan on releasing new episodes every Tuesday on http://doctype.tv. Rather than listening to me drone on, check out our first episode!
If you don’t feel like reading and you already know what sponsored tweets are all about, this clip from The Truman Show sums up my feelings on the matter:
There’s a new frontier of “advertising” and unfortunately, for those of us that cherish real human connections, it’s happening on Twitter. If you haven’t heard, “sponsored tweets” or sponsored conversations or whatever-the-spon you want to call them, have been infesting Twitter like a virus. Only it’s not a virus… People are actually doing this willingly. If you need an example, check out http://ad.ly/ or http://sponsoredtweets.com/ to see what I’m referring to.
I’ll be up front and admit that I haven’t fully investigated the mechanics of it, but as an end user that has felt its impact directly, I think I’ve seen enough to know that this is totally, diabolically evil. For the uninitiated, sponsored tweets are posts made to a Twitter account that are backed by an affiliate marketing program. Now, I have no problem with people using Twitter to promote a product or service. And secondly, I have no problem with content producers monetizing by using advertisements. My problem is that real world connections (people I’ve spoken with face-to-face) are being lured by the promise of cash, and forcing a message via a communication medium in which it makes no sense. Where’s the relevancy? For example, when I was speaking with my pal in California this evening, he didn’t start telling me about how great Soda Drink XYZ is. That would be completely bizarre! And yet, that’s exactly the type of behavior that I’m observing on Twitter.
I get why this is happening, because believe me, I’m extremely guilty of creating many “AdSense Trash Holes” that were purely created for the purposes of getting ad clicks (I don’t do that anymore). Basically, the advertisers are sold on the targeted, “peer recommendation” factor and “virality” of the platform. And publishers probably figure that for all the great content they put out on Twitter, they deserve to use the platform to make a buck or two. There’s a huge disconnect though, and neither party has a complete picture of the problem. When I read my Twitter feed, even though most tweets are sent out to hundreds or thousands of people, they almost feel like one-on-one conversations because they’re a peek into the person’s thoughts. Tell me honestly, does anyone really think about Brand ABC all day?
As many of you now know, we’ve been hard at work on a show called “Doctype” for some time. We’re proud to announce that we’ll be releasing our first episode of Doctype on December 1st! If you haven’t seen the teaser trailer over on http://doctype.tv, check it out right here:
