Top 5 Video Tools for Beginners
May 4, 2008 by perrylawrenceI get a lot of questions about what the are best tools for creating great video. Well here is the short list!
Well, that’s my list and I’m sticking to it! I use these each and every day and while I’ve been doing this for 20+ years, the technology out there is really allowing anyone to produce fantastic looking video by using these simple video tools.
So, what will YOU shoot today?
Video Promos - Video Product Launches? Heck Yeah!
April 22, 2008 by perrylawrence
Stop Making Sense via Wikipedia
Denise Wakeman has an interesting article about video is the next new thing. Well… Yeah! She says:
I totally get why people are using video. It’s engaging. I find I’m willing to spend more time watching a video, even of a talking head, than I am willing to read a long sales letter. I’ll be video is converting better than the traditional sales letter as well.
Well Denise - I’m looking forward to your video series! Get crackin’
Western Union, Never Again
April 9, 2008 by perrylawrence
Image by edrabbit via FlickrI recently did some business online and the contractor asked to be paid by Western Union. I was bummed because I always use PayPal and have an account there. PLUS I stipulated that all vendors (99designs.com) must have a PayPal account. But, I figured… Western Union? How hard can it be? How hard indeed!
My efforts to send $250 began by logging into the Western Union website. Nothing but buggy issues with the site. I entered in all my personal details, the details of the recipient, and each and every step of the way there would be an issues with a form. I would get “missing information” warnings when all of the fields were filled out. Hitting submit again would clear the issue. This happed a number of times.
Then, after what seemed like 15 minutes of forms, I hit the final send button and was notified that I had to CALL to complete the transaction? What?
So I called the Western Union phone number and gave my record number. The uninterested woman on the other end asked me everything from my birth date to my mother’s maiden name. Not too out of the ordinary. But THEN she proceeded to ask me things like “From this list, say YES to the answer that fits” Questions like your last residence, who holds your mortgage, last employer etc. I thought this was for marketing purposes.
After 15 minutes with her, she said sorry, the transaction has been declined. What? Why? “I don’t know sir” she said. I could not get her to tell me why she couldn’t take my money.
Unbelievable! It gets better…
I have a local Drug Store that offers sending money via Western Union. I thought that this would be a quick fix. So I went down and I filled out a very short paper form there and paid the money. The manager began to process my request by calling Western Union and giving the person all the details.
Now I live in a kinda small town and this drug store was short staffed. The manager was not happy after 10 minutes of being on hold after giving all the info. He quickly began to loose it when the person on the other end came back on and just said “I’m waiting”.
“Waiting on WHAT?” the manager began to get hot. I was used to this rudeness and non-forthcoming attitude from Western Union by now so I just stood there shocked that my experience with WU was not atypical. After another 5 minutes he slammed down the phone, began cussing up a blue streak (right there in the store) and began to dial Western Union customer service. Cussing the entire time!
He finally got in touch with someone who was a bit more helpful and I assume the transaction went through. He was not a happy camper. He did not have 15 minutes to devote to what probably netted him $5. I don’t blame him one bit.
Now I’m not sure if the transaction ever went through or not. You see, Western Union doesn’t have any tracking mechanism that I can find. Additionally, if you want to dispute a transfer or get a refund of an unclaimed transaction, you need to MAIL (as in post office) a writen request to a P.O. box in Missouri!
Um, Western Union? No thanks, PayPal or Xoom please!
Viral Learning Center
March 20, 2008 by perrylawrenceThis is our newest venture. Sign up today to get ALL you need to succeed!
Net Neutrality
March 20, 2008 by perrylawrenceThis is a video you MUST watch and understand.
Britney Spears “Break the Ice” Video
March 14, 2008 by perrylawrenceI just saw Britney’s new music vid. A lot of folks wonder why the “cartoon” and not BS herself. Well, I can only imagine that the cartoon looks a lot better than Miss BS does these days.
Take a look:
Top 6 Tips for Viral Videos
March 8, 2008 by perrylawrenceThe most controversial post on TechCrunch on 2007 - “The Secret Strategies Behind Many “Viral” Videos”
I missed this when it came out a few months ago so here it is - Viral Video 101.
Dan Ackerman Greenberg sheds some light on what it takes to get a video to go Viral.
Content aside, here are some of the basics Dan spells out:
- Make it short: 15-30 seconds is ideal; break down long stories into bite-sized clips
- Design for remixing: create a video that is simple enough to be remixed over and over again by others. Ex: “Dramatic Hamster”
- Don’t make an outright ad: if a video feels like an ad, viewers won’t share it unless it’s really amazing. Ex: Sony Bravia
- Make it shocking: give a viewer no choice but to investigate further. Ex: “UFO Haiti”
- Use fake headlines: make the viewer say, “Holy shit, did that actually happen?!” Ex: “Stolen Nascar”
- Appeal to sex: if all else fails, hire the most attractive women available to be in the video. Ex: “Yoga 4 Dudes”
Read the entire post and all the controversy it stirred up on TechCrunch
Maverick Business Adventures - BAJA!
February 26, 2008 by perrylawrence
This was my chance to combine a truly unique, one-of-a-kind experiece with exclusive business building, high level networking, deal making & powerful connections that only occur outside the ‘normal’ business settings. It was incredible fun (that’s even legitimately tax deductable)
