Our Product is Explanation
All posts for “lesson”
When we got started with the Common Craft show, it would have been easy to feel overwhelmed. We were stepping into the world of video production and in that world there is a lot to know. Looking back - we had something very valuable on our side: ignorance. We didn't know what we didn't know. Had we done all the research and tried really hard to make videos the "right" way from the start, I don't think we would have been as successful.
Our experience in the last 5 months has taught us... Continue Reading
How to Stop Receiving Phone Books and Yellow Pages
You've likely seen it before, you come home to find a bag of useless phonebooks on your porch. I realized recently that I haven't used a phonebook or yellowpages in years - I take them straight to recycling. They are dinosaurs.
This got me thinking - shouldn't I be able to opt-out of automatic delivery? Wouldn't there be a significant impact if everyone stopped receiving phonebooks and yellow pages? Apparently the major players pumped out 540 million directories this year.
This is insane... Continue Reading
Investing in Paperworks Videos
Posted by: leelefever on July 9, 2007- 5:00pm
Categories: business, home, lesson, paperworks, productions, video
If someone told me back in March of this year that we'd be making videos as our full time job in July, I would have said it was preposterous. What do we know about making videos? Such is the current state of affairs - we're booked through the summer doing paperworks videos on commissioned basis and feel 100% confident that this is the right direction for us.
Of course, having people paying us to make videos means we have to learn fast and make some investments in our equipment and software... Continue Reading
Why Paperworks: All About Constraints
Posted by: leelefever on June 23, 2007- 5:00pm
Categories: best practices, lesson, ourwork, paperworks, show
Since our first couple of videos came out, I've been talking to a lot of people about what makes the Paperworks format work. Aside from the content/message, I often say that a set of constraints is what makes the format a great fit for our goals.
In this case, a "constraint" is a rule that we have decided not to break in making our videos.
Examples: We only use certain materials (paper, whiteboard, markers, string), we won't make a video over 4 minutes long, we only use our hands to tell... Continue Reading
Just after posting our first video on RSS , I learned a few valuable lessons:
1. Video is inaccessible for the hearing impaired
2. Video is not easy to translate into other languages
3. There is a new site that addresses both of these issues called DotSub .
DotSub makes it easy for me to transcribe the spoken words into text subtitles. Then, once the subtitles exist, it enables DotSub members to voluntarily translate the text into other languages and post the video to their blogs. This makes... Continue Reading
Speaking is hard, but I'm learning. Last night I ended a run of speaking that spanned 4 events, 2 different talks and wide variety of audiences over a couple of weeks. It's been a great chance to try out some of the things I've learned from the speaking coach and discover a lot of things that still need work.
Energy, Energy I'm having a heard time sustaining energy in my talks. For the first half of my talks or so, I'm energized and show enthusiasm. However, towards the end, I seem to fade... Continue Reading
Your Community is a Party Waiting to Happen
Posted by: leelefever on May 20, 2007- 5:00pm
Categories: best practices, community, lesson, recommendation, Social Design
You can find the slides for this talk here.
 What makes a party feel like a party? Is it the music? the people? the food? alcohol? It's hard to say really, but when the right ingredients are mixed with the right atmosphere, it comes alive and becomes an unforgettable experience. All a host can do is make sure the right atmosphere and ingredients are in place and hope for the best.
As it turns out, the same is true for online communities. The job of the community host is to set the stage for... Continue Reading
I thought I was a decent speaker, really, I did. That was until I spent 4 hours with a speaking coach who essentially made me realize all things that should work together to make a speaker and presentation great. This is me last week at WebVisions:
I have a long way to go, and it's hard work, but I consider my time with a coach well-spent. I've called that time "boot camp" because I felt like I my speaking was broken down and rebuilt. Here are some of the major points that came up for me... Continue Reading
I was recently pointed to Existential Ventures, where Broc is giving away a printer to one of the first 500 people who join his MyBlogLog "community". His inspiration was John Chow and apparently NetBusinessBlog joined in to. It looks like John has been able to drive the numbers of his MyBlogLog community to over 1000 people. John gave away a flash drive.
I’m generally a fan of contests – I think they can be used to promote products and bring awareness to issues in creative ways. I... Continue Reading
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