October 2009
Current Issue

Video 2.0

Event Bytes

By Robert Swanwick

Everyone has heard of YouTube.com. Some even know Vimeo.com and Viddler.com. Just a few years ago, we had to endure a complex process to publish video; before that, we didn’t even have enough bandwidth to watch online video at all. Times have changed, and these days, free online video publishing services abound on the Internet.

One of the main goals for in-person events has always been networking and collaboration; now you must consider these same objectives for online video. As we move from simple “online media” to “online collaborative media,” meeting professionals must ensure that their audiences dialog around video streams. YouTube and others allow for comments, but even that is not as engaging as it should be.

The onset of Twitter opened up new avenues for collaboration. Now, twebevent.com provides your video at a specified time and combines that video with a Twitter Chat, allowing your audience to discuss live while they watch. It only takes a few people to make a valuable Twitter Chat. Here’s how to make it work:

For Pre-Recorded Video 

• Decide when you want everyone to watch the video (day/time). 
• Pick a hashtag (#) to use for your chat. Don’t make it too long, as it will take away from Twitter’s allotted 140 characters. Make sure it is not already in use by someone else by running a search for it. 
• Visit twebevent.com and create an event by selecting a day/time, hashtag and URL (such as http://twebevent.com/myevent). 
• Look for the “embed code” on your online video provider site. It will say embed, and it will usually start with “<object.” 
• Paste the code into the embed slot on twebevent right before your event is due to start.

Live video 

• Follow the same steps to create a twebevent. 
• Instead of using an online video provider, go to a live stream source. Two of the most popular are Ustream.tv and Livestream.com. 
• Connect a webcam to a computer that is Internet connected via broadband. The streaming site should recognize it automatically. 
• Once you are able to stream, paste the embed code from the live stream provider into twebevent. You can do this at any time because it will not be available to your audience until you start broadcasting.

Live video with slides 

• If your presenter is using slides, it is less professional and often hard to see when you point the camera at the screen. Instead of going straight to Livestream, use an application called Procaster.com to merge the video of speakers with their slides. 
• Show the slides on the same laptop that is streaming the video, and change the slides on that laptop manually each time the speaker moves slides.

The process seems somewhat daunting, but it is quite easy after you have accomplished it once.

ROBERT SWANWICK is the CEO of Speaker Interactive, and his past clients include ExxonMobil, Metlife, Westinghouse, Aflac, Marriott, British Telecom, Renault and more. Contact him via Twitter @SpkrInteractive or via e-mail at rswanwick@speakerinteractive.com.

For more Event Bytes, click here. 

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