Written on July 27th, 2007 at 07:07 am by Darren Rowse
Differentiate Your Blog
One of the pieces of feedback that a number of readers left when I recently asked for suggestions on how I could improve ProBlogger was ‘more video posts’.
I did a number of them a year or so back but didn’t keep it up. So today I thought I’d give video another go.
By no means is this polished – but I’m going to try to keep these quick and basic.
Let me know what you think.
PS: If you can’t view this video I’ve also put it up on Youtube (although it’s not as good quality).
90 Responses to “Differentiate Your Blog” - Add Yours
Leonid Shalimov of CashBulge
July 27th, 2007 7:15 am
Haha, great video. Should really start thinking about implementing this into my website to spice it up a bit.
Jeremie
July 27th, 2007 7:19 am
First time commenter. I like the posts you’ve had over the last couple days. ..it’s really different stuff. btw…are you a cricket fan? I’m from Trinidad where Brian Lara is from =) So you have readers from this side of the world.
http://www.skinnymoose.com/thebaseballguy
45n5
July 27th, 2007 7:26 am
very cool.
ways to differentiate yourself cliff notes:
1. design of the site – what does the design of your site say about you?
2. The voice that you blog in.
3. Pictures, still and moving.
4. The content itself (titles, subtitles, content you choose)
look forward to more.
Jeri
July 27th, 2007 7:53 am
Hmm… the vblog was good but I have to say – and I know I’m not alone in this, I discuss it with real life fellow bloggers and techies – I’m not a fan of video blogging.
I have limited time to spend on all the information that flies my way. I read extremely fast and skim still faster, and text & photo blogging give me essentially random access to information, provided it’s well formatted.
Video blogging requires a decision to dedicate who knows how much time listening to serial input on a subject – which may or may not be interesting at the end of the clip. If I tried to listen to podcasts and watch vblogs on each one of the dozens of blogs I subscribe to, I’d get nothing else done.
My suggestions (as a consumer) for vblogging are 1 – provide a synopsis and video duration estimate, and 2 – provide a text transcript alternative, for those who don’t want to or can’t access a video stream (at work, technical issues, disability, etc.)
Rich Minx
July 27th, 2007 7:55 am
I enjoyed watching that. Good use of intonation (as well as the tips)! Talking to a camera is much harder than it looks.
I am about to try a video post too. The fact that I have nothing to say is a mere technicality. :)
Jonathan Franzone
July 27th, 2007 7:59 am
Thanks Darren for another good post. I like the video, btw! I haven’t actually seen any of the older video posts that you’ve done, so it was neat to see you moving and speaking and to hear your voice.
I think the main way I’ve tried to get people to hang around my blog is the voice that I write in. I try to use a small amount of sarcasm and humor. I also really try to get the reader to feel like they are involved in a discussion more than just reading an article.
One thing that I haven’t done too well, but am trying to work on is the pictures in posts. I’m not brave enough to attempt a video post yet, though.
Thanks again!
CapForge
July 27th, 2007 8:05 am
Differentiate yourself by solving a problem better than anyone else is doing in the same topic area.
Unless and until you are offering value by actually providing a useful solution, it is going to be near impossible to find and keep an audience.
Problogger.net is successful because it helps people answer the problem of “how do I make money with a blog”, but few other blogs are anywhere near this level of offering value to solve an actual problem.
Here’s my complete post- why what you really need for your blog to be successful is a bucket of water:
http://capforge.com/why-your-blog-doesnt-make-any-money-and-what-to-do-about-it/173/
Alison
July 27th, 2007 8:09 am
No subtitles / captions, thus cannot access. Your information is inaccessible to some of your audience. Would even be nice to have a summary of what you’re talking about.
Jeremy Steele
July 27th, 2007 8:21 am
You have a lot of books….
Graham Lutz, The Young Capitalist
July 27th, 2007 8:28 am
Cool to see something different! keep it up!
Steven Snell
July 27th, 2007 8:31 am
Nice information Darren. It’s good to see something a little bit different by using the video.
Martin
July 27th, 2007 8:33 am
I agree with Jeri. Use text in a situation like this. Just speaking into the camera is really not a good use for video. (Although it is nice to put a voice and accent to your profile picture.)
Video, I believe, should used for software screencasts, youtube videos and other similar things. But just talking into the camera is not the best use of video.
If you could show screen captures within this video of examples of what you are talking about would be great. Show blogs in the video that you like. Showing a blog in a video I think is WAY better than just linking to it. Show me an example on your blog without me having to leave it.
I think video can differentiate a blog, but it still needs to be done in an interesting fashion.
Darren Rowse
July 27th, 2007 8:38 am
Thanks for the feedback all – I’ll include some more subtitles next time. This is a learning experience – thanks for helping me learn.
Nate Whitehill
July 27th, 2007 8:47 am
Great video blog Darren! I tried video podcasting myself for the first time the other day. It was an interesting experience and I think that by video podcasting, we can differentiate ourselves from the many blogs who don’t video podcast. Here was a link to my recent video podcast: http://natewhitehill.com/beyond-the-blog-video-podcasting/
Thanks for inspiring us.
Nate
the buxr widget
July 27th, 2007 9:00 am
Nice job Darren, It was a decent video, but I much prefer reading. I’m not a big fan of video monologues.
Jason
July 27th, 2007 9:26 am
I enjoyed this vid, Darren. Excellent tips and excellent ending facial expression.
I’ve tried real hard I guess the last six months or so to create headlines that standout, like you’re talking about, also that differenciate. My idea is this… If my titles stand out, even if my page is lower than another’s on a search engine, it’s going to get picked over it anyway.
Mike Goad
July 27th, 2007 9:29 am
Nice to see you and hear you in your video.
The problem with a video is that it’s one speed, while with text, the “speed” pis dependent on whatever time the reader wants to invest in understanding the message. Sure, one can go back and replay the video, but I really missed being able to read what you were talking about.
Shane
July 27th, 2007 9:34 am
Darren, what’s with the fake Aussie accent?!
Just kidding. The vblog really works wonders in giving people a sense of who you are. I like it, but I’d have to say “sparingly”.
It’s a lot easier to scan a great written post and find the good parts or even it’s something you want to fully digest than it is with video. But it’s still something I’d like to see once in a while.
Paul O Mahony
July 27th, 2007 9:37 am
To Jeri, I agree to an extent that videoblogs are not an efficient way to process data, but video also reveals the personal non textual side of the blogger and I think this is important too. Alot of successful blogs seem to me, to be driven to a large extent by personality. So I can see value in having the occasional video clip. I know I am always intrigued everytime I see a video from a blogger, I’ve been reading for a long time, but never seen.
Darren Rowse
July 27th, 2007 9:38 am
yeah – the video thing does slow stuff down in terms of digesting it.
What I’m thinking of doing is a weekly vidcast – with good show notes for those who want to read – but keeping the videos to 3-4 minutes (this one was 5 – but I’m sure I could get it punchier).
My reasoning for doing them is that while for some text is preferable – others learn better through hearing and seeing.
Still – it’ll be an evolving process.
Jason
July 27th, 2007 9:47 am
I guess videos like these take more work, but they seem like they could go viral, eh…
I also forgot to say that videos are more digestible for me than written blogs and I imagine it’s the same for others.
Shane
July 27th, 2007 9:57 am
Some special effects would really “punch” it up … ha … where’s George Lucas when you need him?
David Sawyer
July 27th, 2007 10:08 am
Hi Darren,
I loved the video, even if as you say it was not polished. I liked it because it was different from normal – which is what the whole thing was about!
Like many people I am busy, but if it is a blog you know you get good content from then watching a video for 3-4 minutes in a week is not a waste. I know I’ll remember this much longer than the items I just skim over in my rss reader.
Keep up the good work – I look forward to seeing the videos evolve, but I don’t think you’re ready for a feature length one yet ;)
Jolly Green Girl
July 27th, 2007 10:16 am
LOVE your AUSSIE accent!!!!
Anthony Feint
July 27th, 2007 10:22 am
Loved the video!
I think the voice you write in is probably the most important way to differentiate your blog from others.
Dan Cole
July 27th, 2007 10:29 am
With Videos it’s harder to skim… but on the other hand I can do other things while listening to you. Darren, your accent isn’t bad at all, I was expecting more.
Ryan Wagner
July 27th, 2007 10:44 am
I always forget how cool the Australian accent is. :)
Paul
July 27th, 2007 11:02 am
That was a really cool video. Like mentioned above, videos are hard to skim – and I’m the king of skimming; but I’m glad that I sat through the entire video entry because it really re-enforced some of what I’ve been trying to accomplish with my blog (pictures).
Thanks for doing a video blog… do more of them!
FIAR
July 27th, 2007 11:12 am
I don’t particularly care for videos. They take far longer to watch than it would take for me to read the same content. I would prefer to have read your advice.
A Week In The Life of A Redhead
July 27th, 2007 11:22 am
Hi Darren…it’s Catherine, the redhead here…
and I wish I had a funny comment to post for you like I usually do, but instead I am sitting here with tears rolling down my face as godaddy deleted my webdesign. There was no notice and the design was the way I differntiaded my blog. Your posting couldn’t be more timely, as I am left to scramble as to what to do. Godaddy was no help, just apologized. The local paper was just getting ready to write about my blog and now I am sitting here crying, wondering what I am going to do. The tears are really more anger, because of how this greatly impacts my dream. But you see, to Godaddy it doesn’t matter that I am a single mom trying to do this on her own.
I had to come to your site to try and get my head back on straight so I can attempt some way of pulling myself back together.
Thanks for always being here to guide us.
Catherine
Vern
July 27th, 2007 11:31 am
Hi Darren,
Interesting that you chose to do a widescreen format. I would like to start video posting more, but I’m thinking about the frequency of it and whether it could replace type-blogging. The search engines wouldn’t give much attention to a blog post of just a video, would it? Do we know anything about Google’s idea of the importance of a vlog in the search engine results? I’d love to just bang out a video everyday and not sit and type things out, but I fear for a loss of Google strokes. At this point in time I’m thinking that vloggers must also write a couple paragraphs about their video post in conjunction with displaying the video to get Google to even care. You could have the BEST video in the world on “iPhone and the future in Bangladesh” but if you don’t write 300 words to describe your video – it’s lost in a Google search. Video is a good supplement right now, but, do you think it has the potential to stand on it’s own in the engines anytime soon? Vern
Jeremy Killian
July 27th, 2007 12:07 pm
I don’t want to sound too much like a suck-up, but I think the thing that makes your blog so well-received is that you are constantly self-examining the site for ways to make it better. I don’t hesitate to say that if I reached the readers and visitors that you do each day, I would feel a strong urge to just sit back on my laurels and let the cash roll in. I’d keep doing the same thing and never bother to reinvent myself until something went wrong.
This really distinguishes you from others. People ask you to video post, and instead of saying, “Back off, I’ve got 20000 RSS subscribers with what I’m doing, why would I change?” you say, “I’ll try it and see what happens.” This is what distinguishes your blog from others, and is probably why you are so successful.
Mark
July 27th, 2007 12:07 pm
I am curious about subtitles, since I am Profoundly Deaf, is there any way I could create a video with subtitles so that hearing visitors can understand what I am signing?
It would draw some deaf visitors to hearing videos because we can’t hear what you are saying so the videos we can’t understand would be worth as much as used toliet paper.
Mark
July 27th, 2007 12:10 pm
On second thought, why not just keep a video blog in the sidebar, this way it doesn’t affect your post and people can just click if they have the time to watch.
Ramkarthik
July 27th, 2007 12:10 pm
Awesome video Darren. First time hearing an seeing your quality content. This type of Vidcasting will help in understanding any concept more. Thanks. Hope to see more videos from you.
Weldon MacDonald
July 27th, 2007 12:19 pm
lose the quicktime thing, it opens a new page and takes time to download. A flash player will embed in the blog and provide a better experience.
FIAR
July 27th, 2007 12:43 pm
Darren, I should also add that video doesn’t do a very good job of printing out on to paper for me to read when I am away from the computer. Since that’s how I do the majority of my blog reading, that’s a Bad Thing™
@Catherine #30. That’s terrible! I hope you get things straightened out.
Genevieve Netz
July 27th, 2007 1:02 pm
As an internet user from the outback of Kentucky, USA, where we can’t get broadband, videoblogging does literally nothing for me. It doesn’t work on a dial-up connection.
WTH
July 27th, 2007 1:18 pm
Man, I don’t like video posts as much. I prefer to read through text. I’m a good reader, and I can read much faster than I can watch a video.
CatherineL
July 27th, 2007 1:28 pm
Great video Darren – thanks for the tips. I’m definitely going to implement the one about use of photos asap.
45n5
July 27th, 2007 2:39 pm
is there any logical argument against video augmented with a text summary?
so video can’t be printed on paper or digested as easy as text, well a simple summary of text after the video gives all readers the best of all worlds, you get your text, the rest get their video!!! win/win
(aside, i never understand the productivity argument against video, maybe a if there is a physical demonstration in the video, but not like this one where darren is simply speaking. I can minimize the window and listen to darren speak while I attack the rest of my feeds (extra productivity gained), ipod folks can listen (or watch if it’s video ipod) on the train or jogging, extra productivy gained.
Now on the plus side for a blogger using video is additional reach (assuming you host your video at somewhere like youtube), your information has new legs (via ipods, youtube, etc) people now staring at your blog for EXTENDED periods of time (a metric you mentioned in this video), happier readers viewers (well a bunch of us),, not falling behind where the current attention span is pointed at on the web, yadayadayada
James
July 27th, 2007 4:55 pm
LOVE the video posts…keep em’ coming! Just a little note – if you put the full URL (including http) in the description of your YouTube video it will turn active so people can click on it and come to Problogger. Just a little marketing tip, there… :)
Tony E
July 27th, 2007 5:37 pm
It would be great to see one short video per week if you can swing it.
Matt Jones
July 27th, 2007 5:37 pm
I don’t have any complaints about the video post, but I don’t think it adds anything if it contains only talking. It was quite clearly laid out in order as if it were a normal blog post but from the number of comments it in self evidently makes this post stand out, although that will stop if they become a regularity.
LintCollector
July 27th, 2007 6:54 pm
Text AND video … could work, many have clearly found the video valuable.
But video ONLY … alienates the portion of an audience whose internet connection doesn’t easily facilitate it.
This includes me – I have no idea what your video was about because I couldn’t view it. I have an “entry level” broadband connection of 256k, which isn’t fast enough to watch a youtube video without lots of stopping and starting. This makes youtube videos virtually unwatchable, so I no longer even try. I’ve also exceeded my monthly download limit and had my speed throttled to 64k, so I wouldn’t even think about downloading a video file for playing back later. Those on dialup, due to cost or unavailability of broadband, would be in the same boat.
ProBlogger readers are likely more geeky than the average net user, and possibly more likely to have better connections that the world average. But I suspect there must still be a good number of us who don’t have broadband connections of 512k or faster.
Andreas
July 27th, 2007 9:21 pm
Nice vpost! ;o) I like it, but a lot of people don’t have enough time to watch vblogs or vposts because they’re not scannable… There should be a text version too, so your readers have the choice between text and video.
Greetings from Switzerland! ;o)
Andreas
pearl
July 27th, 2007 10:26 pm
We get loads of great content from you on a daily basis, and your genuineness comes through your writings, but a couple of short video clips a week will only enhance the affect, I think! this was certainly refreshing…
and I’m with Jolly green girl on this one… I love that Aussie accent!!
Tony B
July 27th, 2007 10:49 pm
I am Deaf too and would appreciate subtitles too. I am more inclined towards text provision over vlog as it would be a nightmare for me if vlogging without subtitles were to take off.
While I await for arrival of my webcam, I am thinking of providing both text and vlog cos some of my readers would potentially communicate in sign language as their primary language (not English). How would you be able to integrate video in the comments section, as well as the main post?
Thejesh GN
July 27th, 2007 11:42 pm
Good start Darren. Would like to video like this often.
Blog Revenue
July 27th, 2007 11:44 pm
Nice VBlog…Disadvantages about VBlog because we need to wait it to load..Sometimes we could lost visitor because of that..But it was great tool at Youtube or any video sharing site..
RobMalon
July 27th, 2007 11:49 pm
I also just put up a picture of myself on my blog, however I didnt consider it as branding. Since I’m fairly new, I guess I have time to change it to a better picuture ;). Thanks!
PS. You’re a great speaker, Im sure thats why we demanded more video posts!
Skellie
July 28th, 2007 12:21 am
Don’t change the photo on the front page, Darren. You look so driven and authoritative! ;-)
Rashid
July 28th, 2007 2:08 am
Do you have any suggestions on video players? What video player are you using? Is it available for free?
Small Biz Blog
July 28th, 2007 2:20 am
I so agree with the video thing. This medium is exploding in popularity and it just makes sense that when they can see and hear a person, it means so much more. The way the video blogger carries themselves, voice inflections, etc are leaps and bounds better than plain text.
Brown Baron
July 28th, 2007 3:29 am
I think a few videos every week is a good idea. It certainly helps everyone to get to know you better. Great video by the way.
Barbra
July 28th, 2007 3:52 am
Hi Darren, I appreciate your efforts in doing the video but I have to tell you that I prefer reading – it’s faster. I switched the video off half-way and I seldom do that with your written posts.
Cat Laine
July 28th, 2007 4:10 am
I second Jeri’s suggestion about providing a synopsis and estimate for vids. Hmm (stroking imaginary beard), perhaps I should take that suggestion for my own site.
Michael From The Future
July 28th, 2007 5:41 am
Hi Darren :)
Hope all is well with you mate, nice work with the test video.
I haven’t commented in many months but wanted to say that I still read your site daily and have always appreciated the time & effort that you put into every aspect of your knowledge sharing posts… good stuff.
I’ve read some constructive criticism here concerning your video and would like to add that I personally enjoy reading your site over watching it. My only concern with video is that if you’re anything like me you will spend more time creating a vid than you will on a written post – especially if you want to cover all the angles.
If you decide to pursue it then best to you, I know you always tackle each project with a professional tone and I’m sure it will be worth it.
I would agree with some of the other comments here that it would also be nice to have a text version or synopsis of the video too. All in all – I would rather READ the information instead of viewing it. Hope this input helps.
Keep up the great work Darren, appreciate your site & advice.
_ Michael From The Future _
.
Andrew Krivtsun
July 28th, 2007 6:44 am
It’s not very great idea to post videocasts in this blog. You blog read a lot for people and for some of them (and for me too) english is’nt native language. I can read english well but it’s vely difficult for me listening english.
Moreover, my internet channel isn’t so fast for displaying smooth video ;(
Will be better to have at least text version of you posts together with videos.
Ruth
July 28th, 2007 12:42 pm
Darren,
I came across your site about a month ago and really enjoy reading it. I haven’t started a blog yet, but I get a wealth of information here everyday. The video showed a side of your personality that we wouldn’t see otherwise. So while we all enjoy the written word, I hope that everyonce in awhile you will decide to use this method of communication.
Thank you for sharing so much information in an understandable way.
Marilyn Dillon
July 28th, 2007 2:51 pm
I just skip the videos, almost all the time. I much prefer to read text. Like some of the earlier commenters, I read really fast and get impatient with videos–they take too long.
Peter McCartney
July 28th, 2007 4:35 pm
When you are sitting down in front of your computer for hours and you know your eyes are about to fail, it’s just great to come back to a site you know & trust, just before your eyes are about to kick the bucket, that you can click on video and just listen to sound advise. Thank you Darren!
David Mackey
July 28th, 2007 5:31 pm
I don’t like watching video. I can read faster.
JD
July 29th, 2007 12:35 am
Darren,
Great idea and great video. I also prefer reading, but being able to see and hear the blog owner gives a site a whole new, more personal dimension that I think can only increase your individuality and make a stamp on your readers.
David Hobby
July 29th, 2007 12:55 pm
Darren-
Thanks for the tips! I like the video format, too. IMO, you should host it on YouTube and embed it on your site. This will instantly put it in the “A-stack” (with all of your site-driven views) and allow it the chance to get significant viewership from people who discover it on YT (from “most viewed” searches) and would not have otherwise even known about your site.
I found the Time-On-Site stat very interesting. How are you getting your 30 secs to 2 mins figure? I study my T-O-S as a very important metric (second only to pageviews) and have gotten mine up to about 12m30s per visit. But admittedly, mine is not the typical blog.
How does your T-O-S vary on your various blogs?
Thanks,
David Hobby
Strobist.com
nika
August 1st, 2007 11:21 pm
I just wanted to tell you that video can be a positive experience, blog wise.
After reading this post, I went out to my garden with my MacBook Pro as my dig video camera (also my Canon 30D), and shot a video tour of it.
I posted it up to my blog (which is pretty new – http://www.humblegarden.com/2007/07/30/new-version/ ) and also set up accounts at various podcast sites like youtube, yahoo, podcast alley, itunes, etc). I use wordpress and I used the podPress plugin, makes it VERY easy. I used iMovieHD and Podcast Maker in the production. Its not a Dino De Laurentis production but its a beginning! I do not know if people like it but it does have promise.
This has driven some traffic and a lot of new subscribers to the blog feed.
Nika
http://nikas-culinaria.com
http://humblegarden.com
Eliza/ BookTestOnline
August 10th, 2007 9:00 am
Thanks for showing the video.
Enjoyed watching. Also, I like your
new logo.
Much luck with your changes.
You have helped me a lot.
thanks again,
Elizabeth G.
http://BookTestOnline.com
http://booktestonlinecom.blogspot.com
ourmonmouth
August 10th, 2007 10:49 am
Darren-
I really enjoyed listening to your video. Although I don’t know how many of these I would watch on a regular basis. I think I was encouraged to watch for two reasons. First, the new design put it front and center. Secondly, I was curious.
The nice thing about the video for me was the personal touch. A much different experience than reading your material. I enjoyed it, but I don’t know if I would watch video on a regular basis if they were not somehow more important or special. As many of the other comments mentioned I like to pick and choose my content.
Dee
August 10th, 2007 2:29 pm
Any suggestions for newbies that aren’t familiar with how to obtain pictures to include in their blog posts?
Tyler Michael Jonsson
August 10th, 2007 7:13 pm
As a fairly new blogger (I’d appreciate any comments and tips on my site, BTW)
I am curious for all you vets… Which types of camera work best for simple v-posts like the one you just made Darren?
Obviously for custom videos an actual handheld camcorder would most likely be a necessity, but for a simply video blog… what brand and model of webcams work well?
Are the Microsoft VX- lifecam series any good?
(I’ve been seeing them in lots of stores lately)
If not which ones do you recommend?
Jim Moon
August 10th, 2007 8:46 pm
Hey Darren, Really nice site, I love the redesign and thanks for the bolgging tips.
I think if I had a message for other bloggers it would be, yes, be professional, build a killer site, and write amazing articles, but also… “Have Fun”… Remember that first article you wrote? How you had a lump in your throat when you clicked the Publish button? Or how about how you felt, when you received that first comment? I do, and I hope those feelings never go away. I love blogging; I hope I never lose that feeling. Keep up the great work.
Cheers,
Jim Moon
Karen
August 10th, 2007 10:27 pm
Darren–can you provide a transcript so that I can follow along? Thanks!
Linda Vernon
August 11th, 2007 1:42 am
Hi Darren,
I think your new blog design really puts the “Pro” in Problogger! And I don’t think you need a new picture of yourself now that we have the up-dated, live version of you!
I am new to the blogging world, and your site has been a big help and a guiding light! (By the way, you certainly keep your books neat!)
Well, I’m running out of exclamation marks so I’ll sign off?
Sincerely yours,
Linda Vernon
Regular Visitor
Protestant
August 11th, 2007 2:23 am
Nice vid Darren. I was able to download it and check it out a little later in the day. :)
Sebastien Gomez
August 11th, 2007 2:26 am
Love the new design, absolutely perfect, very neat. I wish I had a team of designers too ;)
Good vlog there, you’re site is the first one I open up in the morning, thanks for updating so many times.
Take care and good luck with the new design.
http://www.macgomez.com
Artemis Scribulus
August 11th, 2007 2:51 am
Wow, total information overload. I hope it works out for you, but it gives me a headache.
Natasha - MyDreadlocks.com
August 11th, 2007 5:43 am
Whoa! Big difference.
Nice video but please include time length bars or an indication of time at the start of the viddie, please.
Thanks, Darren. If nothing else now I know how to pronounce your name properly (originally thought it rhymed with “rose”).
Natasha
Josh Mullineaux
August 12th, 2007 6:47 pm
Thanks for the insight Darren! Unlike the vblog that Nate and I put on weekly you focus the camera very close to your face. I kinda like that. I wonder if we should try that? Thanks again!
http://joshmullineaux.com/new-video-post
Roberta
August 13th, 2007 5:57 am
I liked the video post. It was informative. My only suggestion would be to scoot away from the camera a bit. Otherwise, it’s very informative. :)
Jess
August 13th, 2007 5:58 am
Haha, great video!
Bill
August 13th, 2007 7:17 am
Look great to me. I like the organization. Very clean.
I don’t mean to try and get traffic but wanted to point out how the sponsors look in Firefox and IE7. It my be my IE 7.
See it here at the end of this post:
http://smartsavinginvesting.com/links-for-weekend-reading-81107/
Team Building
August 13th, 2007 9:56 am
Darren, love the new site layout. While i liked the video, i think text ramblings are more useful and a lot easier to bookmark and search relevant topics
Jason
August 13th, 2007 12:21 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebiwjkuZa6o Haha… So that’s the magic behind your daily blogging strategy huh? Nice videos.
Paros
August 13th, 2007 11:10 pm
Darren,
really nice video !
I’m looking forward for more…
Really Pro
Paros
ugyen
August 14th, 2007 1:49 am
Wonderful Video. Very Informative
Sajjid Manuel
August 14th, 2007 10:47 am
Hello Darren,
Very true and thoughtful video you’ve posted. It’s got a lot of insight into what should be priority for bloggers who want to know about what kind of identity they’re creating and communicating.
Interesting on the overall…
Thank you,
Best Regards,
Sajjid Manuel
Z. Glass
August 14th, 2007 12:51 pm
I may be alone in this, but depending on the subject matter, some people might be surprised that the owner of a site is a woman, or of a certain race, or a certain size, etc.
As you may know by now (from previous posts), I own a staffing firm, and for 16 years I have been coaching people (of all races and levels of professionalism) on how to get jobs. Now that I am promoting my controversial career books, “25 Reasons Why I Won’t Hire You!” and “25 Reasons Why THEY Won’t Hire You!”, I have to wonder if physical characteristics would come into play for some people doing video clips on a blog.
For example, I experienced a slump in book sales when I put my picture on my book site. Hmmm….
Comments???
Z. Glass
http://www.25ReasonsWhy.com
Thilo
August 14th, 2007 8:01 pm
Nice video, I was really thinking about how to stand out of this huge amount of blogs.
kevin
August 14th, 2007 10:50 pm
darren, adding text links to the sites you name drop beneath the video (ala rocketboom) would be a HUGE user friendly add for your readers. just a tip.
Marc
September 5th, 2007 11:07 am
Darren, you have a very good stage presence. Infinitely better than most.
However, I agree with the comments about this particular video not being an effective use of the medium. I’d imagine that most of the visitors to your blog are reasonably fast readers and skimmers. If you’re fast with a keyboard then simple text is a win-win for you and your readers.
The language/verbal center of the brain handles serial (one chunk at a time) information. When verbalization is the best way to convey your message, use text. So a person verbalizing into a camera is (by my criteria) not an effective use of video.
Whenever your message conveys a lot of spatial info then video is the way to go. It certainly makes no sense to give a detailed text description of a complex graph or where to point and click your mouse when using some software application when video can do this much more effectively.
When it comes to spatial stuff a moving picture is worth a thousand words.
Marc
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