We're getting close to rolling out a new and improved version of
CommonCraft.com and I have a favor to ask. We're planning to include testimonials in the new design. These are short quotes that will display the names (and organization names, if desired) of the people providing the quotes. 

While all testimonials are welcome, short quotes of 150 characters or less would be perfect (about the size of a Twitter update.) Just a few words about our videos, how they're used, results, etc.  Here's an example:

"Common Craft videos have helped me save time by getting everyone on the same page"

I feel a little funny asking, but we
don't often know how the videos being used and by whom.

A couple of things to remember:

• Honesty - we are looking for quotes from people with real experience with our vidoes
• Contact Info - If you provide a quote, please include information for contacting you
• Our focus is education and training, so quotes from professionals in this world are much desired 

How to Share:

If you'd prefer to share a testimonial privately, please use our contact form.

If you don't mind sharing your experience with the world, that works too.  A few ways:

• Write a review on our Facebook Fan Page  
• Twitter It with #commoncraft
• Leave a comment on this post.

Thanks so much for helping us with the new design!

People often ask how our presentation quality videos are used in professional and educational settings. From talking to educators and influencers, we've learned that our videos are often used to introduce a subject - to get everyone on the same page at the beginning of a class, workshop, etc. Recently, as part of our planning for 2009, we came up with a model that helps tell this story.  We call it the A-to-Z Scale.

The scale represents the path to learning a subject. On the left side are the basic, fundamental ideas.  On the right, the details and applications of the ideas.

For example, let's consider the subject of biology.  We might find topics like these at corresponding parts of the scale:

As you can see, the scale goes from big, fundamental ideas to specific details.  

When we think about our videos and how they can be applied, we think about the scale and what parts of it represent the biggest opportunities for us to have a positive impact.

The Problem We See:

We believe that one of the real problems in explaining subjects is that people assume too much about what people already know. Their explanation doesn't account for people who are new to the ideas and have major knowledge gaps.  They start in the middle of the scale:

When this happens, people feel lost.  They don't have context for what is being taught or how the idea fits into the big picture.  They're forced to build on an insufficient foundation.

Of course, this isn't surprising.  If the explainer had to account for every knowledge gap, it would be difficult to move people down the scale. It takes valuable time to get everyone on the same page.

The Opportunity:

We believe that the left side of the scale has been neglected for too long.  Educators and influencers don't have time to cover all the basics and they often lack quality resources.  We've heard this many times "I used to spend hours trying to make sure everyone gets the big ideas, but now I just show them your video and everyone gets up to speed together."

This highlights how we see our videos fitting into the world.  Our goal is to focus on the left side of the scale and ensure that viewers come away with the fundamental ideas that create a solid foundation for a subject.  Educators and influencers can use the videos to introduce a subject and then spend their valuable time moving people down the scale. 

A Caveat:

It may seem that we're orienting our videos around only fundamental ideas. This is not the case. The scale can be applied to almost any subject. For example, in terms of biology as a whole, the left side of the scale surely focuses on broad fundamentals.  However, if we apply the scale to DNA gene mapping, our focus on the left side still applies.  We would focus on the big ideas behind DNA gene mapping and leave the details to educators. 

Use Case:

For example, let's consider a class on the subject of personal finance.  It may be easy for the instructor to assume that everyone understands the basics of compound interest or annual percentage rates.  Because it would take too long to get everyone up to speed, she chooses to spend time explaining more detailed ideas like buying a home and Insurance.  She starts at about "K" on the scale.

People learn, but some in the class can't see the big picture because they have knowledge gaps regarding some of the basic ideas that create a foundation for understanding things like buying a home and insurance. They need a way to start learning at "A" instead of "K."

In the case above, Our Financial Basics Series, which is aimed at the left side of the scale, gives the instructor a fun and easy way to get the class on the same page and ensure that everyone can see the big picture. It helps her move quickly from A to K, so that her valuable time is spent on the details.

To Conclude:

In 2009 and beyond, our videos will be aimed at the left side of the scale. We want our videos to save educators and influencers valuable time by creating videos that fill basic knowledge gaps and get learners on the same page so that they can spend time where their time is most effective - on the right side of the scale.

A few weeks ago, we posted "Seeking Producers of Video Explanations" and wrote:

We see an opportunity for a win-win.  Every day, we receive multiple emails from organizations that are looking for custom explanatory videos... The opportunity we see is to create a way, through our website, to help organizations find video producers who can be hired to produce custom videos.

Since that time, we've been working on a project to bring this idea to life.  It's called the Common Craft Explainer Network and as of today, it is live.  The basic idea is anyone looking for custom video producers will be pointed to our Explainer Network members.  These members pay a fee to be listed in the Network.

We're hoping that this is actually a win-win-win. Organizations find talented producers for custom videos, producers find solid projects and build their businesses, and we earn a bit of income for providing the service.  We have a handful of initial members and we expect the Network to grow modestly over time.

We've said for over a year that there is a market for explanations. Our hope is that the Network will become a reliable source for finding a great group of producers that can serve the growing demand we see for explanatory videos.

You can always find Explainer Network members at: www.commoncraft.com/network.

For quite a while now, we’ve been flattered to see others create videos that appear very similar to ours. In many cases, these are positive videos that are used as classroom exercises.  We encourage others in the education world to create Common Craft-inspired videos. Of course, some producers have taken the idea in new directions and mediums, which we also encourage. Further, some producers choose to publicly attribute Common Craft for inspiring their work - and we deeply appreciate this kind of recognition.

However, we’re seeing a growing number of professional (and non-professional) video producers pass off the exact Common Craft Paperworks format as their own original idea. We often get email from fans pointing to these videos as “rip-offs??? or “copy-cats.???  We certainly see this point of view and are concerned about the potential for these videos and producers to harm our brand.  However, figuring out how to react is not something we take lightly.

As a small, open-minded company, we’re looking for good and responsible ways we can protect and promote our brand without discouraging those who are inspired by our work.

Here are some examples that concern us…

1. A creative company produces a video for a large company that is heavily inspired by Common Craft. The videos are presented as an original idea and format and the large company is impressed – until they discover that the video is a copy of Common Craft videos. The producers are seen as copycats.
2. Video producers post Common Craft inspired videos to YouTube.  Often commenters say things like “what an original format!??? or “you’ve figured out a great way to present information.??? These comments are evidence that others can take credit for a format we originated.
3. We receive emails that say “I see that you’ve done a video for XYZ Company and I’d like you to do one for me.???  The problem is that we didn’t create the video for XYZ Company.  The viewer is being confused because we are tied so closely to the Paperworks format.  Often, these videos don’t represent the quality of work we do and the confusion is bad for our brand.

In these cases, Common Craft's reputation is at stake.  Other producers are creating videos that match almost exactly with our unique style and passing them off as their own idea, without ensuring the level of quality that people expect from our work.  It unfairly lets producers take credit for originality that is not their own, and lets videos of any quality be confused with Common Craft.  From our perspective, the problem isn’t copies, it’s copies without attribution.

We're not surprised, but we do recognize our challenge is encouraging video producers to do the right thing – to make clear the source of their inspiration and not be seen as a copycat.  We don’t want to limit a producer’s ability to make videos and a living using any format they choose – but we think it’s better for those producers and Common Craft if everyone is clear with viewers about Common Craft’s role in the process.

Some questions:

Is this a realistic perspective?  Is it fair to expect clarity via attribution?
What are the best ways to communicate our expectations, if it is fair?
What are other ways we can limit confusion without squelching the potential of those who are inspired by our work?