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The yin to Common Craft's yang:
I wish I knew more about this, the YouTube pages offer little info.
Thanks to Paul Ingram and Ryan Turner for the pointers.
Updated: Here it says "This is a hoax video produced by Rockwell
for a sales meeting. See also: Turboencabulator" Thanks Bill!
Interview with Nora Young on CBC Radio's Spark
Recently I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Nora Young, host of the CBC Radio Show Spark, which is described as "smart and unexpected trendwatching." The show airs tomorrow at 11:30 EST and 4pm EST on CBC Radio One.
Nora has been exploring the world of how-to videos and came across Common Craft. We talked about the elements of good explanations, why technology needs them and what's driving the growth of online how-to videos. Plus, she asks for an ad hoc explanation of podcasting (live... Continue Reading
Internet Power - A 1995 Video Explaining the Internet
Via Laughing Squid and Andy Baio at Waxy.org, who is creating digitized version of old VHS tapes.
This makes me wonder if people, 12 years from now, will look back at our videos and laugh, saying "Hah! Can you imagine? That's what they thought blogs and RSS were all about! Sheesh!"
CBS's "Fast Draw" Whiteboard Explanations
Posted by: leelefever on February 17, 2008- 4:00pm
Categories: Explanation, television, video, whiteboard
CBS is starting to integrate whiteboard-based explantions into the news. We first heard about it being used on the show Sunday Morning, where I imagine the lighter content seemed more appropriate. Thanks to Ron for the pointer to this video.
Just recently, the same team of Josh Landis and Mitch Butler were paired with Katie Couric on the Evening News to explain the superdelegates. You can see the video on this post.
It will be interesting to watch how the mainstream media reacts to these... Continue Reading
Discovering the RSS Explanation Problem
Posted by: leelefever on January 22, 2008- 4:00pm
Categories: conference, Explanation, explanationproblems, rss
I remember the exact moment when it first became apparent to me that there was such a thing as an explanation problem. I was at a small conference on Silicon Valley in early 2004. There was a CEO of a start up there and during his talk, he mentioned RSS. Someone raised their hand and asked the question "What is RSS?"
This CEO's responses to the question, and I'm not kidding, was "RSS is an XML-based content syndication format." As you might expect, this was met with a look of bewilderment.... Continue Reading
If you look at DataPortability.org, it's obvious they have an explanation problem. I'm not likely their target audience, but "Turnkey Reference Blueprints" don't exactly make me want to get involved.
That's why I like this video by Smash Cut Media - it focuses on the pain of having to keep up with data across mutiple web sites - and how the Data Portability workgroup is helping to solve the problem. It's a bit flashy, but effective and fun to watch.
Check it out:
DataPortability - Connect... Continue Reading
This video is a masterpiece in my opinion - especially if you're into Japanese culture (Sachi is half-Japanese). It's just so culturally real, so bitingly satirical, so truly funny. It won awards at the now defunct Resfest in 2003, and now it's on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.
Give it a little while to get rolling - it starts slow and literal.
The Weblog Elevator Pitch- One Year Later
Posted by: leelefever on April 26, 2005- 5:00pm
Categories: blogs, business, communication, Explanation, plainenglish, simplicity
It was one year ago that I won my first contest as a writer. The challenge was to create the "perfect corporate weblog elevator pitch". It was put on by the folks at Weblogs Inc. via the Social Software Weblog and Judith Meskill.
At the very least, I hope the little contest preserves a look at what people thought was an accurate summary of how blogs could be used inside a corporation. One day, people may say "that was sooo 2004". For now though, I still stand beind the pitch 100%.
Here it... Continue Reading