YouTube Launches HTML5 Video, Music Service, and New Design

What a week on YouTube. First, they launched an experimental version of an HTML5-supported player in TestTube. This new player means that the user no-longer needs a Flash plug-in to view YouTube content. Although the majority of users already have Flash installed on their machines, this will speed up playback, as HTML is the native language for browsers. I've had a chance to play around with it, and there are a few limitations with the experimental version.

1. It's not available in all browsers yet. If you are using Chrome, Safari, or ChromeFrame for IE you can start using it. Firefox, Opera, and IE users will have to wait.
2. It doesn't support videos with ads, captions, or annotations yet. If you are viewing a video that has those, then YouTube will automatically switch over to Flash.
3. It doesn't appear to support HD playback yet. We'll see what happens in the next few months - I bet that all the issues above will be resolved by April. Vimeo also launched an HTML5 player this week.

YouTube also launched a music discovery service that will compete with Songza, Pandora, and Last.fm. We're big Songza fans at Martini, but I LOVE the URL youtube.com/disco. The search button even says "Disco!" Yes, complete with an exclamation point. I entered "Hot Chip" (then pressed "Disco!"), and YouTube listed all of Hot Chip's videos and started playing the video for "Ready for the Floor," the first on the list. There was also a band bio section, related artists, and a suggested "Mix Tape" with Hot Chip and other titles I might like. Like the other services, I can save the songs I like in my playlist. Pretty impressed so far.

The last major announcement is their redesign. They've done away with the 5-star rating system and replaced it with like and dislike buttons, which makes more sense since that's how people think. There is also a much greater emphasis on sharing (bigger buttons) and viewing related videos (related videos now take up the whole right panel). Saving and statistics also received a greater emphasis. There is no longer an "HD" option - that has been replaced with 360p, 480p, and 720p, perhaps reflected the growth of HD content online and a more video-savvy audience. The new design can be seen here, you can opt out by selecting "Return to the old YouTube" in the upper-right corner.

Video can quickly teach your customers about your company and your product’s competitive advantage.

They say presentation is everything, and with the attention span most people have these days, you've only got a few moments to hook your audience before they meander off into internet oblivion. And let's face it, who wants to watch a Power Point on the web or, God forbid, actually read something?

What makes video so engaging with your audience is that it is a passive user-experience. It doesn't take much mental effort to click play. And with motion picture being around for close to over a 100 years now, audiences are conditioned to the expectation of video as a form of entertainment.. That's right, entertainment. Who doesn't want to be entertained?

They also say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, imagine how many more thousands of words a moving picture is worth? Imagine your business being able to communicate its mission statement, product, and competitive advantage in one concise and entertaining package?

This is the power of video. The power to keep your customer's trigger finger off the mouse and on your website. And that...is good business indeed.

Three Ways to Use Video to Increase Your Online Presence

One reason we love video is that we hate reading. The other reason is that one piece of content can be used in so many ways - whether for broadcast, at trade shows, in sales meetings, or online. Knowing a few things about how to use video online can greatly increase your presence without the added cost of a media buy.

Here are three simple tips to use video online:

1. Place the video on your homepage. Studies have shown that a well-named video has a 50 times better chance of appearing on the first page of search results than a text-alone page.
2. Upload your video to a video share. We use Tubemogul to push video content out to several shares with just one upload. These sites all have different markets, so it is important to try to upload to as many as you can.
3. Share your video with your network. Video's advantage is that it is compact and shareable, so having a well-crafted video can quickly tell your story and make it easier to spread your message. Post it to your social networking sites and share with your friends and customers.

Using video online has never been easier, allowing you to reach more people simply and more effectively.

High costs of video have come down dramatically

Producing video used to be a very labor-intensive technical process, involving both high costs in equipment and personnel. A typical video shoot 10 years ago for a 30 second cable TV commercial would run anywhere from 50-100k, if not more! Equipment rentals, post-production costs, media buys, and actor and writing fees all added up to a costly budget for your video.

Now, with both the costs associated with hardware and equipment coming down and easier access to an audience via the web, video production is much more cost-effective and affordable. HD cameras are cheaper than ever, and video post-production is no longer a budget-eating endeavor with the proliferation of home computer editing software. You can shoot and edit video on a much more reasonable budget, without sacrificing the quality.

Expertise is still needed however, in managing the scripting and shooting process itself. The camera does need to be in focus, and bad writing can't be edited out once your video has been shot. It pays to find the right creative professionals to help you develop your video's vision.

But gone are the days when exuberant production costs meant video production was an impossible dream for many. With an online audience of billions waiting to see your video, the only thing separating you from this audience is a creative, cost-effective video broadcasting your business to the world!