How-to videos
You've quite possibly already heard of CommonCraft, well-known for their videos explaining the uses of social media ("Blogs in Plain English," "Wikis in Plain English," "Zombies in Plain English"). But their new video on the U.S. presidential election process, above, is a great demonstration of the ways that video can be used to explain things other than social media.
I was just last night reading about an association that's considering a series of "how-to" podcasts for their members, on things like applying for certification/accreditation and arranging an education session at their annual conference; video could add a visual element (and visual interest) to such how-to demonstrations. And associations with an interest in spreading the word about their professions or industries to the public could also take a page from the CommonCraft book. Could a simple how-to video show YouTube users the value of the profession you represent--or show students why they should consider your industry for their future careers?
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Comments
Lisa,
While our organization is primarily focused on scientists and engineers, we also have a ceramic arts division with a wonderful website (www.ceramicartsdaily.org) and other resources for ceramic artists. Every week, Ceramic Arts Daily features a video of the week focusing on a specific pottery technique. The videos have quickly become the most popular feature on this site.
On the science side, we are beginning to embed videos into our e-newletters and developing a video archive on our website. Video does seem like the logical next step and it's pretty clear that they do not to be snazzily produced to have an impact.
Posted by: Scott Steen | August 7, 2008 2:31 PM
That's a great example--thank you so much for sharing it, Scott!
Now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder if videos like this could be good for advocacy purposes, too. The "how-to" aspect would be "what would happen if X bill is passed/isn't passed" or something along those lines--using visuals to lay out the association's argument for or against something. I should look and see if anyone's trying something like that ...
Posted by: Lisa Junker | August 8, 2008 8:02 AM