The Real Number for 800-GoFedEx

So if you have a new or used Blackberry Pearl, a Blackberry 8800 series or a Blackberry Curve and you try to dial 800-GoFedEx you might not get connected to the phone number for Fedex (800)463-3339 because you don't have the old letters on numbers that old phones have. The real number for 800 Go Fed Ex is 800 463-3339. Why is an online video guy blogging about the real number for FEDEX? Well...

Today I needed to call FedEx and ask about shipping a FedEx package to Canada. So I Googled "phone number for FedEx" and got 888-GO-FEDEX and not the real fedex number of 800-463-3339. I kept Googleing and along the way I discovered 1-800-GOOG-411, Google's new 411 service. I called GOOG-411 or 1-800-GOOG-411 or 1-800-466-4411 and asked for FedEX. Its automated voice recognition service didn't understand me and sent me to San Francisco where I then asked for "Federal Express" and it connected me to FedEx. I went through a series of automated questions and finally got to a human, got my question answered and was on my way to the nearest local Fedex drop box. On the walk to the fedex drop box I thought about how I must not be the only person going through this problem and that got me thinking some more...

But as I was googeling all this I discovered the GOOG-411 video up above that I thought I should share because it's a great example of what small businesses should do with online video. It's fun, simple and does a super job of explaining what GOOG-411 is and how you can use it. It also has a little interactive contest attached to build community.

So other than the GOOG411 video the reason a video guy is blogging about FedEx's phone number is that I thought I would blog about fedex using different spellings of FEdEX to see if it brought me natural traffic through Google Search.

We'll have to wait a few weeks to see how this little experiment on contextual search works out. It's not like blogging about Robert Scoble, Mark Zuckerberg or Andrew Baron from Rocketboom where you know it will get you a few clicks just cause everyone is using their Google Alerts to track those boys.

Short Pranks Can Pay More Than Long Clips

Short video pranks can combine both spectacle and story in just a few seconds. Short videos can also generate a lot more ad revenue because people sit through the whole clip and are more likely to click on an ad because they see the ad as apposed to viewers that never make it to the end of a clip and never see or have the opportunity to click on the video ad.

Emotion, Spectacle and Story

Although The University of Arizona Football doesn't have the BCS ranking of Arizona State they do have spirit or at least one spirit.

In 2003 about the time of Mike Stoops Football Camps a beloved University of Arizona student died unexpectedly. Today the restless spirit of this little Wildcat still haunts the U of A campus.

WARNING: The following video contains emotional content.





When you watch the above video how many different emotions do you feel? Do you feel different about yourself after watching the video and experiencing those emotions? Are you wondering about how this video was produced? Are you wondering how this ghost was captured on video. Are you curious about what compelled the producers from Tycoon Studios to create and distribute this video? Do you think this video will be a popular Halloween viral video? Are you dying to show it to a friend or relative?

Try your best to move as many emotions as you can.

Legal Help for Online Videos, Podcasting and New Media?

So you are getting started in video podcasting, new media and the whole online video thing. You've picked up a cheap used Panasonic AG-HVX200 1/3" 3CCD 16:9 HD/DVCPRO/DV Cinema P2 camera, you have your Sennheiser G2 Wireless Lav, a Handheld Mic, a Audio-technica Shotgun Mic w/ Boom Kit, a NRG Varilux Pro On-board Light w/ Dimmer, anArri Lighting package includes the Arri 150 Fresnel Light, Arri 300 Fresnel Light and an Arri 650 Fresnel Light all well packaged in your Arri Light Kits with a couple of CHIMERA Lightbanks along with a few Kino Flo’s VistaBeam® 600s and 300s. You've written a great script full of emotion, spectacle and story. You've cast actors, found incredible locations and have a production crew booked and ready to shoot. Your post production team is standing by with the latest version of Apple's Final Cut Studio. You are loaded for bear but did you talk to a lawyer?

"A lawyer? Why would I want to talk to a lawyer? I'm a creative person."

Exactly.

Two places you might want to start are Colette Vogele's Rules for the Revolution and This WEEK in LAW with Denise Howell. These two lawyers know more about New Media, Audio Podcasting, Video Podcasting, Blogging, Vlogging and all the legal mumbo jumbo you'll need to consider in creating and distributing your new media masterpiece.

So get cracking and listen to their podcasts, then give them a call and do a little new media legal check up to make sure you've done everything you need to do so that you don't get hurt down the road.

Do you have talent releases for your actors? Do you have deal memos for your camera man and your editor? Have you trademarked the name of your new online series? Should I go on?

The $300 bucks you spend today could save you $30,000 or more in six months.

Can You Build a Mass Audience in Second Life?

I've never been a fan of CSI. I don't know why. It looks like a cool show but I've just never gotten into it.

I've never been a fan of Second Life. I don't know why. It looks like a cool online community but I've just never gotten into it.

I've been a big fan of videos on the internet and I like the above one for CSI going into Second Life but I still don't know if I'll watch the show or go into Second Life to participate in the event. Maybe I'm just too lazy. It looks like a lot of work.

I will be watching to see how many people they get into SL and if CSI's ratings increase but how could they? CSI is already a top rated show. Let me know if you hear anything or talk to Eric Rice about it.

What Revver Really Did

When Steven Starr and his indi-minded crew launched Revver they had a dream of connecting video content creators with an audience then connecting the video content and the audience with advertisers but beyond that they have created a community of Revver creators that are a Farm League for major entertainment companies. By offering money to talented video producers Revver attracted the likes of Ask A Ninja, Goodnight Burbank, Invisible Engine, Zoomilk, Psychic Bunny and Big Fantastic.



Several of these creators have since left Revver due to other deals but the Revver community is still alive and growing.(Last night Revver threw a great screening party.)

Sure these funny videos that the guys from Invisible Engine created for Revver of "What Revver Did" are lots of fun to watch but beyond these entertaining little online shorts what Revver really did was respect talent and reward talented people while letting them retain the rights to their own creations.

As someone who creates original video content for the Internet, as a producer, as an artist I truly respect what Revver has really done.

Thanks Revver!

A Dating Site for Publishers and Advertisiers?

According to Cynopsis ADSDAQ has opened up their advertising exchange site to more than just top advertisers. Will this extent past websites and include Online Video Advertising? Let me know if you find out anything.

The World is More Dangerous

As a guy who watches the girl spin clockwise I know that I'm one of those people who doesn't like details or anything tedious. Learning HTML or How To FTP has never been anything that I've wanted to learn just because it looks "not fun." But the other day someone asked me if I could flow chart a website for a project we were working on and I decided I would give Apple's iWeb a try to build out the flow of the website rather than flow chart it. Boy o boy, golly gee Willickers am I glad I did.


iWeb is a dream to use. I couldn't believe how easy and fun it is. After I got done playing with it I downloaded Cyberduck and actually FTPed the site that I had created. Well I know a bunch of you are saying yeah, so what? Well the so what for me was that I never touched this stuff before. I've always had a someone else build my websites for me. Now I'm on a mission and I'm creatively inspired to create more and more.

In doing so I found the above video from Don Macalister and I stumbled upon Don's business model because of a search I did looking for more info on iWeb.

Don creates Screencasts Online and sells a subscription to a premium video podcast that he calls the "ScreenCastsOnline Extra! Membership" Don charges just $25USD for a full six months membership plus a "one-off joining fee" of $20USD to gain access to the entire back catalogue of ScreenCastsOnline shows. He also has created Free versions of his tutorials about Keynote, email for the iPhone and other Mac topics that don't give away all the good info. They just give a little peak. Next Don posts these "promos" on Revver and Youtube and that's how I stumbled upon them by searching for videos about iWeb.

Now I was so impressed with Don's business model that I signed up for his affiliate program just to give the whole thing a test run and see if I like the way he's handling his affiliates (the people that send him sales.)

Truth be told, I know Don from the podcasting community and he created the first media kit for French Maid TV for me so being in his affiliate program might let me earn back some of the money I paid him to create that first FMTV Media Kit.

So now the world is a more dangerous place because I know how to create a website and FTP. Now if Don can talk Google AdSense into creating something as cool as iWeb for posting text and video ads then it will be really dangerous.

If You Missed SNL You Might catch it on YouTube

I've noticed since Dick in Box the SNL Digital Short and other fair to great SNL skits keep getting posted by NBC on Youtube after they air on NBC with no advertising attached. That's great for viewers cause you don't have to stay up late to watch SNL, you don't have to eat up space on your TiVo and you only get to see the best skits without watching any commercials.

NBC must know what they are doing. They are a business with shareholders. Right?