Your online video strategy begins with . . . a document.
It would seem like anyone claiming to help you deliver quality video online would lead with Flash, sizzle and such. Truth is, in 2010, everyone accepts that online video is reliable and effective. So in order to ensure that you have an effective online video approach for your organization, it's important to first concentrate on one document - the one that will outline your video strategy in a way that makes sense for you.
First, some quick background and context. The year was 1998, and the World Wide Web was about three years into its meteoric debut with the general public after the release of the Netscape browser. So when people learned that I was attending the very first “Streaming Media” conference in San Jose, the common reaction was: “ Huh?”
And that summed up the POSITIVE comments I received about my initiative to bring this new technology to a Fortune 250 company. The attitude was understandable, though.
In 1998, streaming video on the web was clunky, choppy, slow, poor quality, difficult to implement, required multiple plug-ins and high fees to post, was bedeviled by slow-bandwidth and coporatefirewall restrictions and “postage stamp size” players – but hey, other than that, it was great.
Seriously, if you could look past the reality (yuck - poor quality, no content!) and look at the promise (you mean we could watch video that’s almost as good as broadcast TV. . . on our computer. . . on demand?), then that conference could open your eyes.
It sure opened mine.
Two years later, we were managing 3 different networks of content for the corporation, then in 2005 YouTube hit the air and video on the web has never been the same. |
