Target Marketing – Get Your Marketing On Target – For Free
May 8, 2012 by Rick Smith
Filed under All Posts, Marketing
I try to keep my magazine subscriptions down to a minimum because I don’t have time to read them all and I hate to waste paper. The only two magazines I routinely read cover-to-cover are National Geographic and Target Marketing. National Geographic’s editorial and photo quality is second to none and I enjoy reading that one purely for entertainment. Target Marketing helps me keep up with trends in both online and offline marketing.
Target Marketing covers a wide range of topics that are relevant to any business, whether you are retail, online, business-to-business or business-to-consumer. For example, the May issue has articles on social marketing strategies (you have to be living in a cave to not realize how important that is becoming), how to use QR codes (something I’m experimenting with on a festival I promote), is direct mail dead (no, it isn’t) and several more subjects that are useful in my businesses.I learn a lot just reading the ads and checking out the advertisers. Want to know more about mailing list rentals, copy writing, accepting payments online, printing? It’s all in there. Their website is top notch and a good example of how to design a website that works.
Although it says $10 on the cover, a subscription to Target Marketing is free, so you have no excuse for not taking my advice and subscribing. Go to Target Marketing’s subscription page to get your subscription today. You can thank me later.
Livestreaming From Anywhere – Livestream Introduces The Broadcaster
May 3, 2012 by Rick Smith
Filed under All Posts, Video Trends
Livestreaming from anywhere…now it’s easier than ever to reach your audience.
A couple of years ago we were asked to shoot a business seminar and stream it live to make it available to a wider audience for a fee. We frankly didn’t know a thing about livestreaming so we went online, found several resources, asked questions and came to the conclusion that we didn’t want to do it. The technology was daunting and there were so many ways that things could go wrong and we couldn’t be guaranteed that we’d even have a strong, consistent internet connection at the venue.
I realized how much things have changed when we saw the Livestream Broadcaster at NAB. This compact and amazing piece of hardware is smaller than a paperback book and weighs just 5 ounces, yet it gives anyone with a videocamera that has an HDMI out (many cameras, like our Canon Vixias have this) the ability to stream live HD video to the internet without the need for a PC. That last sentence bears repeating: livestreaming video without needing a PC. This little bugger has built-in wireless 802.11b/g/n 2.4 Ghz and USB 3G/4G connectivity. You can mount it via hot shoe to a camera and you have a complete live broadcasting solution. Amazing.
The Livestream Broadcaster can be connected via HDMI to a single camera or to multiple cameras running through a switcher. The Livestream Broadcaster will encode the video in real-time in high quality H.264 and AAC audio at up to 2.3 Mbps. It will then stream it via Wi-Fi or a USB 3G/4G wireless modem (modem not included). Control the Livestream Broadcaster on the device itself or … get this … remotely from anywhere in the world via the Livestream website or via the Livestream for Producers iphone app.
Of course this requires a Livestream Producer Account, which costs $45 per month for unlimited, ad-free streaming. For those of you who offer pay-per-view livestreams of your events, you can see how this cost is very reasonable in exchange for not only getting the ability to do an event from anywhere but the reliability of deliverability to your paid viewers.
The Livestream Broadcaster costs $495 and ships by May 31, 2012. It includes a quick start guide, 12” HDMI to mini HDMI cable, 12” Ethernet cable, 3 AA batteriees, 12V DC power adapter with international attachments, ccable pouch and camera shoe mount. And the little critter is pretty darn attractive in it’s red housing with blue OLED display. Can it get any better?
So now that live streaming isn’t such a technological challenge nor is it excessively expensive, can you think of ways you can incorporate live streaming into your business? We’d like to hear from you about that.
Go Pro Camera Review – GoPro Hero2 – Better Than Ever!
May 1, 2012 by Rick Smith
Filed under All Posts, Equipment, Video Production, Video Trends
The GoPro booth at NAB was busy every time we walked by – with good reason! This little camera is still taking the world by storm. If you’ve ever wondered how some of that extreme footage was shot on your favorite reality show, most likely they were using the tiny little GoPro Hero.
The really cool thing is that they are so affordable…and versatile. And the new Go Pro Hero2 camera is out…at the same price as the previous model.
Watch this short 3 minute video to see why we can’t wait to get our hands on the new GoPro.
You’ll see:
- How these cameras are being used outside of the extreme sports world…Hint: you don’t have to be a daredevil to benefit from owning one.
- Why you get such good footage…good enough for broadcast television.
- What really cool features will be available in the summer of 2012.
(If you aren’t able to see the video, you can go to YouTube and watch it there.)
Once we get ours, we’ll be shooting a lot of cool stuff we’ll share with you. I even may take it out for a spin on my mountain bike or put my shingle out to do aerial footage.
What else should we do with our new GoPro? Add your idea below! We’ll give it a try and share the results.
Recommendations:
GoPro Hero2 - $299
GoPro Tripod Mount – $7.95
GoPro Chest Mount Harness – $39.95
Wi-Fi BacPac™ + Wi-Fi Remote Combo Kit – available summer 2012
