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Being Lightweight: Working with Clients

It's a question we ask each other all the time - what is the most lightweight way we can do this?

We are a small company who is trying to do big things. In order to be
successful, we need to reduce drag - to remove the processes,
bureaucracies and commitments that slow us down and don't pay off. 

Today we're kicking off a series of posts called "Being Lightweight" that will relate what lightweight means to us and hopefully help you think differently about how you focus your attention.

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Working with Clients

Over the past year, we've evolved in how we manage our work with clients on custom videos.  Here are a few things that we do that helps us move quickly and stay lightweight.

Face-to-Face Not Required - We've never met the vast majority of our clients face-to-face.  I'm sure it would be nice, but we don't think it's required to produce a video.  What it does do, is cost both sides a lot money and take a lot of time that could be used for creativity.

Project Pricing - In terms of the time it take to create a client video, our projects are similar. To keep ongoing billing and at a bare minimum, we price by the project.  For us, billing by the hour would create another process that would create drag and introduce a time limitation that may impact the quality of the end product.  

Video Development - We apply the 37 Signals concept of "getting real " to developing custom videos. We involve the client at nearly every step along the way, starting with the script.  This lowers the risk that big changes will come late in the process and waste time on both sides.

Expectation Setting - Early in the relationship, we take a leadership role in outlining our system for completing the project.  We've found that it helps everyone to have structure. We set an expectation about response times and work to make sure that the project lead owns as many decisions as possible.

Single Point of Contact - We ask that we have a single point of contact on the client side. This person is our contact, but also a filter for input from their organization.

Of course our business is somewhat unique and every project is different.  However, I think that many projects get behind or off track because they are burdened with overhead, processes and bureaucracy that add weight without adding productivity.  Being lightweight in client relationships requires setting expectations, shedding as much weight as you can and focusing on what really matters.

Next up - Being Lightweight: Tools We Use

Posted on 11 May 2008 | 2:34 pm

Our Story of Getting Started with Online Video

We're often asked how we got started with our videos.  Here's the story.

It all started with an online community.  It was the latter part of 1999 and I was working in a healthcare data company called HBSI (which was eventually merged into non-existence).  The customers were asking for a way to work together across hospitals.  So, a few of us started an email group on eGroups, which is now Yahoo Groups.  Through this experiment and the online community that grew out of it, I discovered my passion.

I met Sachi at work about this time.  On our very first weekend away together in 2000, we were walking by the shore in the San Juan Islands and I said "Sachi, I hope you don't mind hearing about this online community stuff, because it's all I'm going to talk about from now on." She was cool with it, as she is today.

About this time I read the Cluetrain Manifesto and this book added high octane fuel to the fire.  Over the next three years (1999-2003), I was the online community manager and it was my job to manage the community and convince people in my company that online communities are the future.  It wasn't an easy job, but I loved it to my core.  Even then, I needed ways to influence people about these new, transformative ideas.

After growing, designing and managing the community for 3 years, I quit to start Common Craft.  The name came from a focus on communication.  I've always thought that communication is the most Common Craft there is. In 2003, I became a blogger and independent consultant, helping companies understand and build strategies around online communities.

In this work, I confronted the same problems as I did as a community manager. The people with whom I worked were skeptical.  It was their job to make business decisions about the future.  In order to make sound decisions, they needed a basic understanding of the ideas and technologies that could impact that future. It was my job to help build that foundation of understanding.  At the time, there simply weren't materials that worked to explain things like wikis and RSS.

So, I wrote blog posts.  I would take something like wikis and write a post with the goal of giving my customers a way to see the concept without getting technical.  You'll recognize the story I wrote for the post "Wikis and the Perfect Camping Trip. " The blog posts worked pretty well and I always felt that I took to explanation easily.

Sachi and I had been saving and took 2006 off to travel.  Along the way, we decided to make Common Craft a two person company. We also fell in love with shooting video and putting it on You Tube for friends and family. Near the end of the trip, we considered how video could become part of Common Craft.  In thinking hard about our goals and skills, we decided that we could remake those explanatory blog posts into videos.

After we got home, I experimented with standing in front of a whiteboard.  It didn't work - I felt like I was just another talking head.  Then, Sachi had the idea of pointing the camera down onto the whiteboard on the floor and using hands and paper cut-outs to tell the story.

Within a few weeks we had created RSS in Plain English on the floor of an extra bedroom.  I remember telling Sachi, the night we put it online, that I think we could be on to something.  Over the next day, the video got a lot of attention, including our first appearance on the front page of Digg.  We were jumping out of our skin with excitement. People got it, and shared it!

Soon after we started planning our next video on Wikis.  We also discovered all sorts of ways to improve the videos - better lighting, sound, etc.  We solved problems as they needed to be solved.

Within a couple of months we added a "hire us" message on commoncraft.com and our first custom video clients were PR Web and Google Docs. For most of the past year, our business has been producing custom videos.

Of course, we've also continued to provide free videos on social media and other subjects via The Common Craft Show.  A common theme that we hear from fans is "I sent your video to my Mom/Boss/Peer/Friend/customer and they finally got it!" This is the best feedback we could hear.

These days we're seeing new opportunities.  Social Media is a huge, transformative trend.  There are droves of professionals working to influence businesses, students and executives to undestand it - and we want to help. We also see other trends and subject matters that need better explanations. Whatever the subject, our goal will always be to make videos that explain, enlighten and hopefully bring about a smile.

Posted on 5 May 2008 | 10:26 am

May 1st is RSS Awareness Day

Apparently, May 1st is RSS Awareness Day! I had no idea such a day existed, but it has it's own site at RSSday.org . Thanks to the nice folks at dailyblogtips.com for making our RSS in Plain English video part of the site - and day for that matter. 

I agree that RSS is one of those special technologies. It has the potential to positively impact virtually every Internet user at no cost. A big problem is awareness - it's hard for people to see how it could impact them until they give it a try. Hopefully we've been able to turn some people on - but there are still about 94% of Internet users that haven't seen the light. The challenge continues.

Here's the improved version of the original video from the Common Craft Store:

Click to play

Posted on 30 April 2008 | 9:59 pm

Are Spammers Machiavellian?

It started with a tweet.  Eddie Codel described Boston's streets as "Kafkaesque."  I found it on Wikipedia (it means disorienting), along with a listing of other name-inspired words. One caught my eye: Machiavellianism. The first line of the Wikipedia entry:

Machiavellianism is the term that some social and personality psychologists use to describe a person's tendency to deceive and manipulate others for personal gain.
It comes from Niccolò Machiavelli, a Renaissance writer, diplomat, etc. known, in part, for principles of conduct that are marked by cunning, duplicity and bad faith. His most famous work is The Prince.

Upon a bit more investigation, I found that there is a personality test called a MACH-IV test that gauges a person's Machiavellianism.  Apparently there are "high machs" (likely to agree with Machiavelli) and "low machs" (unlikely to agree). Most people are in the middle (I'm a low mach).  Take the 20-question test here.

When I first read about all of this, I couldn't help but think about the spammers and blackhats of the web.  Aside from the trash that they produce, I'm fascinated by the people behind the spam.  Who are these people?  How did they get this way?  What motivates them outside of money? Do they know right from wrong? How can they justify their decisions?

Viewed with a Machiavellian lens, I see spammers a little differently. It makes me wonder if spammers are born vs. made. Perhaps this is the source of my fascination - that spammers aren't just unethical, but possibly a bit mental. An insightful article in Salon has this quote:

McHoskey's article argued that high Machs possess, to a greater or lesser degree, the qualities associated with classic psychopaths: a lack of remorse, pathological lying, glibness and superficial charm, a grandiose sense of self-worth.
Sound familiar? Here are a few interesting questions from the MACH IV test that is based on Machiavelli's "The Prince" (on an agree/disagree scale). How do you think a spammer responds compared to you?

5) It is safest to assume that all people have a vicious streak and it will come out when they are given a chance.
8) Generally speaking, people won't work hard unless they're forced to do so.
13) The biggest difference between most criminals and other people is that the criminals are stupid enough to get caught.
16) It is possible to be good in all respects.
9) All in all, it is better to be humble and honest than to be important and dishonest.

If nothing else, I can now start to incorporate this word into my day-to-day life.  Instead of obscenities, spam will now just make me say - oh how Machiavellian! Or, maybe it'll actually be - oh how $#@&ing Machiavellian!

Posted on 29 April 2008 | 11:48 am

Our Videos at One Year: Facts and Figures

Well, as of today it has been exactly one year since all this video craziness began.  On April 22, 2007 we published RSS in Plain English.  We never guessed these videos would take us so far - it was just a problem that begged to be solved.  Did you ever see a blog post with the same name from 2004?

Since our work is in front of people often, we both feel a little self conscious in talking about the numbers behind the videos. We don't want to seem ostentatious or too self-promotional.  But, at the same time, I think that exposing some of the figures provides context and hopefully examples of the power of Social Media.

So, let's take a look.

First, please note that the #s of views are rounded and cumulative across hosts. A single video exists in multiple places and those views are added together.  These numbers comes from our accounts on You Tube, Blip.tv and dotSUB.  We use other hosts, but these are our core.

Totals April 2007-April 2008: 

Total views (including client work):  3.9 million views
Total views (excluding client work): 2.4 million views

Most viewed Client Video: Google Maps for Mobile 834,000 views (includes UK version)

Most viewed Show Video: RSS in Plain English: 755,000 views

Breakdown of Views by Video (Common Craft Show only):

RSS: 755,000
Wiki: 436,000
Social Networking: 207,000
Social Bookmarking: 205,000
CFL Lightbulbs: 53,000
Zombies: 280,000
Blogs: 169,000
Photo Sharing: 42,000
Twitter: 223,000
Podcasting: 5,000 (published 2 days ago)

Breakdown of views by host (Show only):

You Tube: 1.3 million views
Blip.tv (embedded on our site):  772,000
dotSUB: 300,000

Incoming Links from Blogs

We would not have become popular without bloggers.  We've always aimed to create useful resources that bloggers can use to educate others.  One way that we track usage by bloggers is Technorati.

According to Technorati (today) for CommonCraft.com:

Technorati Authority: 3,040 (incoming links over 6 months)
Technorati Rank: 170 (170th most linked-to)
Blog Reactions: 15,000+

Here's how "Blog Reactions" looks across videos (rank/authority isn't always available)

RSS: 462
Wiki: 786
Social Networking: 452
Social Bookmarking: 560
CFL Lightbulbs: 45
Zombies: 151
Blogs: 444
Photo Sharing:100
Twitter: 535
Podcasting: 34

Search Results 

We've been surprised to appear on the first page of Google searches for these terms:

RSS
Wikis
Social Networking
Social Bookmarking
Zombies
Twitter

Our SEO secret? Make content people want to see. 

Language Translations:

One of the resources that has been very important to us dotSUB - a free way for our videos to be translated into multiple languages via subtitles.  We're so excited by these language figures:

RSS: 27 Languages
Wiki: 30 Languages
Social Networking: 25 Languages
Social Bookmarking: 18 Languages
CFL Lightbulbs: 12 Languages
Blogs: 20 Languages
Photo Sharing: 9 Languages
Twitter: 15 Languages
Podcasting: 4 Languages

So, this past year has been a blast and something we never expected.  We just make the videos - you share with friends, you link, you view. We owe you - big time.  That's what I love about the social web - everyone contributes a bit and those bits roll up to bring visibility to content that may have never been discovered otherwise.  Thank you so much for an awesome year!

Posted on 23 April 2008 | 11:21 am

Video: Podcasting in Plain English

Video: Podcasting in Plain English

Despite being around for years, podcasting is often misunderstood. This video is our way of building awareness and hopefully adoption of a technology that any computer user can use.

Video: Podcasting in Plain English

Posted on 21 April 2008 | 6:11 pm

A Spammer is Spoofing My Email Address

How fun.  Imagine my delight to wake up the last couple of days to find thousands of bounced emails - all with my address in the From: line.  It's such an honor to see my address associated with other legitimate brands that are so proven in the fields of appendage enlargement. 

Here's what happens...

A spammer needs to send spam emails and they don't want to use an address associated with them.  So, they add someone else's address to the From: field of the email.  When the email bounces, it comes to the person's address. In this case, me.

Spoofing is a pretty common problem, but still painful. Apparently, there is little that can be done aside from filtering the incoming messages and hoping that people don't think you're sending the spam.  I'm looking into adding an SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record, which can also help, I hear. Any other tips?

Posted on 21 April 2008 | 9:12 am

I Switched to a Mac - Here Are The Notes

I switched.  It happened about 2 weeks ago, I made a Macbook my primary computer for the first time.  We've had a Mac around the house for a while, but I've been loyal to my little Sony Vaio, which has been mostly flawless for about 2.5 years. It was a good one.

But alas, I wanted a Mac, and it has come to pass.

Along the way, I've been taking some stream-of-consciousness notes on my perceptions before doing any research. I'm using Leopard, btw. Here goes:

I'm still learning, but today was probably the first that I didn't reach for the crtl button to copy/paste something. 

The Dock is cool - I didn't realize how easy it was to manage. I was looking for menu to add and remove icons - then found out that you can just drag them to the trash or onto the Dock.

I want to use the desktop as a default place to drop random files, like I would on the PC - I wonder if it's a good place?

Why are there no Fav icons in the bookmark toolbar in Firefox?

I love the photos that come on the Mac desktops. Must keep updated.

I was lost for a while, not understanding the product menu at the top. I was looking for "preferences" in other menus - not Product Name, like iPhoto".

How can I close all the windows and have the application open at the same time? I know - it's a mac thing.

We've decided to get an Airport Extreme during this process.  We needed a new router and wanted to print wirelessly. In the end, it took many hours of experimentation, but we got both PCs and Macs on a secure network and printing wirelessly.  My lesson was to get each computer printing with a wire first, then go wireless.

I can open the Mac and it just starts.  No waiting around.  My PC would take forever.

Is Text Edit the same as Notepad - good for text files? I assume so.

Ahh, two-finger scrolling works quite well. I'm used to scrolling on the right side of the touchpad, but this is an easy transition.

I dig the magnetic power plug, but I don't like it's placement on the side.  I have the computer in my lap a lot, and it constantly comes unplugged when hitting my leg. I guess it may do the same from the back.

It's always bugged me that the "M" and "W" are the same key, turned upside down. It looks that way anyway - not sure why that catches my eye.

If I hit Capslock one more time I'm going to remove it.

I'm getting used to the Command (apple) button, but man why not just use ctrl? I think the ctrl button is much better placed for one handed copy/paste/undo, etc. On my keyboard, the "x" is directly above the Apple key. Hitting it makes me feel like I'm learning guitar.

The screen doesn't lean back as far as I'd like.

Why can't I apple + b to bold something in the browser?

How do I go up one folder? Solved - Jay taught me apple + up arrow.

What is this preview thing? I have Adobe Reader, why isn't it working? Oh, Preview was the default in Firefox.

Spaces seems cool. I'm using it to go between iTunes and FireFox.

We need to control the home stereo from our computers.  Turns out that Airport Express does it really well.  It was a pain to get started, but works like a champ.  We now have all computers sharing a single library that exists on an exrternal drive.

When I have two things open (like 2 browsers) I don't see an easy way to switch between then - they get lost behind each other (on the PC they are at the bottom of the screen). What am I missing?

Do I really have to eject usb devices?  It sounds like a problem that technology should solve for me.

Searching the computer works really really well.

I've kept the old computer on the network during the transition.  Since they're set up on the same network, it is easy to grab files.  Just today, I put away the old computer.

Much of our world happens in Google's cloud.  Docs, Calendar, Email, didn't have to move from one computer to another. That was so nice.

I know there are a lot of cool and useful mac tools out there, I wonder which I should get?

Oh, Skitch is such an amazing cool screen capture tool. Wow.

I've been tapping touchpads for years - and I've even enabled tapping on the Mac - but never use it. It's funny how quickly I've transitioned to the big thumb-button.

Overall, it's been less painful than I imagined - and I do love the Mac, honestly. It just works.  I'm sure I have a long way to go in terms of learning key combinations and shortcuts, but I'll get there in due time.

You might also see:

Thomas Hawk Buys A Mac

Life Hacker's Guide to Switching  

Please, do share what you have learned... 

Posted on 18 April 2008 | 10:03 am

Major Updates to Our Videos (2 Examples)

A couple of weeks ago, we announced The Common Craft Store.  It was a pretty soft roll-out, but was a huge moment for us.  Not only did it mark the end of a lot of preparation, but a new business model.  So far, so good.  Plus, the more-ready-for-prime-time Store will soon be coming to an Internet near you.

A big part of preparing to open the Store was making new versions of each video in both Windows (.wmv) and Mac (.mov) formats.  This gave us a chance to make improvements across the library - especially to our first few videos, which has sound and color issues.

The first example is a major update for the "licensed version" of RSS in Plain English video, which is only available in the Store.  We recorded a new voice-over and re-edited it to be more efficient and have improved color. The content is nearly identical to the original, free version. Below is the updated, licensed version:

Click to play

The second example is CFL Light Bulbs in Plain English (formerly New Light Bulbs in Plain English).  When we originally published it, it did not contain a warning about mercury and disposing of the bulbs properly.  This new version of the video contains a mercury warning. This updated video is now available in both free and licensed versions. Below is the updated, free version:

Click to play

We're so excited about this new direction.  We'll be providing all future Common Craft Show videos in free and licensed versions - and the licensed ones will be displayed in full length in the Store.

Posted on 16 April 2008 | 10:23 am

Client Video: Using Google Apps with Salesforce.com

Client Video: Using Google Apps with Salesforce.com

This video was created to help introduce a collaboration between Google Apps and Salesforce. It's our third client production for Google and focuses on how Google Apps tools like Gmail, Docs, Calendar and Talk are integrated into Salesforce CRM, keeping everything in the sales process on the same track.

You can also view the video on Google's You Tube channel and the Google Blog. 

Client Video: Using Google Apps with Salesforce.com

Posted on 14 April 2008 | 10:29 am

Two Quotes on Simplicity

The first is by Antione de Saint Exupéry, author of The Little Prince and a pioneer in aviation:

Perfection is not when there is no more to add, but no more to take away. 

The second is by William of Occam (1288-1347)  You might know the name from Occam's Razor.

It is vain to do more with what can be done with less.

These quotes mean a lot to me and were found, most recently, at the beginning of Chapter 5 of Tim Ferriss' book The 4-Hour Workweek.  More on that later. 

Posted on 12 April 2008 | 4:44 pm

Managing Online Forums - A New Book By Patrick O'Keefe

Patrick and I go way back in web terms, but met for the first time this year at SXSW. We've always connected around managing online communities - something we were both doing back in 2000 or so.  That was when Patrick was teenager.  Since that time he's grown his iFroggy Network of community sites and gone through just about everything you can imagine in terms of managing discussion boards.

Patrick recently put these experiences into a new book called Managing Online Forums - "everything you need to know to create and run successful community discussion boards."  

I think the timing for this book is great.  With so much emphasis on Social Media, a lot of people are jumping into the fray and discovering that managing people in a community setting isn't easy.  I think Patrick's done a great job of getting to the real, practical issues and questions that arise and how to deal with them responsibly. You can find out more at ManagingOnlineForums.com.

Congrats on getting the book out Patrick! Nice work! 

Posted on 9 April 2008 | 1:39 pm

We're A Webby Award Honoree!

We have just been notified that The Common Craft Show is an Official Webby Award Honoree in the category of Technology Film and Video. Yaaaay!

What does it mean to be an honoree? From the Webby Awards web site:

Of the more than 8000 entries submitted to the 12th Annual Webby Awards, fewer than 15% were distinguished as an Official Honoree. 

Basically, we made the short list but didn't quite make it to being a nominee, which is eligible for the award. It's still wonderful to be recognized among such a creative and innovative group.  Congrats to the nominees and thanks to the folks who voted for us!

Posted on 8 April 2008 | 10:39 am

Own It

What is the point where many projects get off track? We think it's when decision making becomes a burden.  Indecision, lack of ownership and unclear reasoning often means stasis and frustration.  Over the past year, and likely through traveling together, Sachi and I have evolved a system that helps us be productive without wasting time.  It's a system of ownership - of being personally accountable for the small decisions that contribute to the overall goal.
 
Early in the process, we talk a lot about the goal - the big ideas, the vision.  Then, we can see how our independent roles will contribute. For example,  Sachi (among other things) is our editor. From cutting the audio to stop-action to color correction, she owns it.  Once she starts the process, all the decisions are hers.  She can always ask for my thoughts, but my input is not required.  By the time I see something, it's mostly done and we can iterate from a big picture perspective.

The same is true for me with the art work. I own the process of storyboarding and creating the artwork. I conceive the scenes and how they all fit together. Only after the bulk of the creative work is done do we come back together to make decisions before production.  This way, I have a chance to own the vision of the video - a vision that may not be clear until all the pieces come together. I don't bother Sachi with the details - I own them.

We expect the same from our clients.  The best projects, the projects that stay on schedule and produce the best outcomes are the ones where the project leader on the client side owns the project. They have the ability to make decisions and be accountable for their outcomes.

The lesson here?  Ownership = efficiency, for us at least.  Ownership mean understanding the goal and having the confidence to make independent decisions that contribute to it.  It means not wasting time discussing every step along the way. It means getting work done quickly so that it can be evaluated as a whole. It means being accountable and ready to stand up for why we made the decisions we did.

Of course, this isn't to say we don't collaborate.  When I wrote about being a video making team, iteration was a big theme. When we do come together to review, and especially to shoot a video, everything is subject to change.  What we own are the chunks that make up the whole.

Posted on 6 April 2008 | 10:18 pm

Our New Adventure: The Common Craft Store

As I wrote recently, we've been thinking a lot about Common Craft's future.  In the coming year, Sachi and I want to make even more videos for you - videos that are useful, both on the Web and in the workplace. We've recently created a new resource that will hopefully help us get there.

Today we're announcing the roll out of an early version of The Common Craft Store.  It looks like this:

The Store is the home for "licensed versions" of our videos.  Licensed versions contain the same messaging and content as the free versions, but are improved for the workplace.

Some features:

• Download video files immediately after purchase (credit card, paypal)


• Higher resolution (640 X 480 - better for projection screens)


• Less promotion (no Common Craft Show branding)


• Provided in Quicktime (.mov) for Mac, and Windows Media (.wmv) formats


• No DRM


• Two Licenses:

                Individual - Unlimited use by an individual
                Site - Unlimited use for a single location of an organization

• We have also re-edited and re-recorded the voiceovers for the RSS and Wiki videos.
  

The Store is a direct response to emails we receive nearly every day asking for permission to use our videos in the workplace.  By licensing our videos, we are removing any worries about permission and appropriate use.  Influencers and educators now have a resource for downloading and using the videos in presentations, meetings, Intranets, trainings, etc.

What about the free versions?

All of our videos will now be provided in two forms, Free and Licensed.  This may help:

We are committed to maintaining the free and open nature of our videos on the public Web.  The free versions will be provided under a Creative Commons 3.0 (non-commercial) license. These videos will continue to appear on the Common Craft Show, on video hosts like You Tube and will remain open for use by individuals, schools, non-profits, etc.

By opening the Store, we are creating a channel for professionals who need videos that are easier to access and more appropriate for use in professional/commercial situations.

Our hope is that the Store will allow us to focus more energy on producing videos for the Common Craft Show - videos that will be open to bloggers and the Web, but also for licensed use in the workplace.

If you have questions or concerns, have a look at the FAQ, the Licensing Agreement and the Privacy Policy.

Posted on 2 April 2008 | 10:48 am

Talkin' Bout My Education

Looking back at my education, I wasn't a great student.  I made decent grades and went to a good university and grad school, but school was never my thing.  Looking back, I can pin-point a couple of points at which I lost faith.

It was sixth grade and I was in a math class with Mrs. Paine (it's true - Paine).  The subject was least common denominators.  I didn't get it.  My worksheets came back with red marks, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing.  The class moved on while I was caught up in trying to memorize the details. Instead, what I needed was an understanding of the reasoning - not how, but why. It was at this point that I fell behind and began to dread math, as I do today.

Another example was college and grad school - I went to business school and took a few accounting classes.  Again, the light bulb just didn't go on. I passed, but not because I fully understood the reasoning of Accounting as I do now.  I remember the first day of my first accounting class.  The instructor went directly into T accounts, debits and credits, revenue and expenses.  I felt blind-sided.  My first reaction was to try to memorize all the debits vs. credits instead of looking at it from a broad perspective of how money flows. I had no context to build an understanding.

Looking back, context is what I have always missed in education.  If someone could put a new idea in the context of the real world or show me how it enables other things, I would get it.  It's just my learning style - I need the big picture before the details make any sense.  By diving directly into T accounts and least common denominators, I got caught up in trying to memorize instead of understand.  What I needed to know was why - why this works the way it does - and why it matters to me.

So, I think the connection to our style of videos is obvious.  They are based on all the things that don't work for me in education. When I see explanations on the Web, the remind me of school - they assume too much.  They sometimes dive directly into how something works and spend little time on context. 

For me, it's a big problem - a problem that I believe others feel too.  When it comes time for me to try to explain something,  it just feels right to look at the world from the perspective that would have made sense to me that first day of accounting class - build meaning with context first, then explore details.

Posted on 27 March 2008 | 11:56 am

Funny: Rockwells Retro Encabulator

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! 

Posted on 26 March 2008 | 1:51 pm

Common Craft - (Nearly) A Year Later

It's been almost a year since we published our first paperworks video - RSS in Plain English in April of 2007.  Since that time, we've been watching every comment, every blog post and every email.  We are lucky to have fans like you that have shared our videos and helped us learn so much.

It's through watching these conversations that we've been able to see new ways for Common Craft to have a bigger impact in the next year.  We'll be more specific soon, but for now, I'd like to share some big picture perspectives on how we see you and ourselves. These perspectives will drive the changes you'll see in 2008.

Who You Are:

You're smart and ahead of the curve.  You want to help your co-workers, peers and students understand and get involved in the trends that are shaping business and society.  You need better tools for turning on those light bulbs. 

You aren't always the end user of Common Craft videos, instead you use them to inform and educate people around you.  They help you increase your influence and create change by introducing others to new trends and ideas.

Who Common Craft Is:

We want to help you be more influential. We believe that for change to happen, a growing number of people have to be aware and educated about the trends that are shaping our world.  Our goal is to provide you tools that will increase your ability to have a positive influence on others.  This is why our current focus is Social Media - it's a trend that is having an impact and creating change - yet remains misunderstood by many.

How?

Our goal for the next year is to grow our library of videos we produce via The Common Craft Show. By growing this library, we can offer more resources on more subjects to more influencers and educators.  Of course, this requires more of our time - time that is often spent working on custom videos for organizations. We'll continue to do custom video work, but we also have plans that will allow us to spend more time on videos for you.

In preparation for this renewed focus, we hope you'll think about the subjects that would be most helpful for you.  Please contact us or leave comments with your ideas - we are always listening.

Posted on 24 March 2008 | 7:21 pm

The Button Every Keyboard Needs

Found at Garage Billiards and Bowl in Seattle. 

Posted on 21 March 2008 | 9:25 am

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 explanation - yikes).  Show notes here.

You can download the MP3, subscribe to the podcast, or take a listen below. If you want to skip to my section, it starts about 3 minutes in. Big thanks to Nora and the CBC for a fun interview that I hope turned out well. Enjoy.

 

Posted on 18 March 2008 | 11:47 pm

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!" 

Posted on 18 March 2008 | 12:27 pm

A Problem with Embedded Videos

Here's a scenario:

• You create a video and upload it to a host like You Tube.
• People like it and want to share it on their blog.
• They grab the embed code and paste it into their blog.
• Sweet - your video is on multiple blogs!

• Then, you realize that the video has an error you need to correct.
• To do this, you need to delete the current video and upload a new one.
• Ack! When you delete a video, the embedded players stop working
• The bloggers now have a broken links and don't know why.
  

So, you're stuck - either you leave up bad content, or break the links to your blogger friends.

I bring this up for two reasons:

1.  Be aware. A video is different than a blog post.  It's not a consistent page that's editable. A corrected video is an entirely new piece of content with a new URL, comments, etc.  Because most hosts don't allow replacement videos, you may find that embedded players lock you in to content you want to change.

2.  This is fixable by the hosts.  As usual, Vimeo is ahead of the curve and allows video replacements.  With Vimeo, you can upload a replacement video that will begin playing in an existing embedded player with the same comments, etc. Blip.tv and You Tube and most others do not allow replacements, as far as I know. [Update:  Mike Hudack sez Blip does allow replacements through the "edit" page.]

It should also be noted that the replacement option is something that could be abused by unethical producers, so this may explain why it has not been adopted so far.

Posted on 17 March 2008 | 4:41 pm

Pardon Me Friend, Can You Spare a Vote?

We've just been notified that our video "Zombies in Plain English" has been nominated for a Yahoo Video award for Best Animated Video. YAY!

Here's what they say:

Congratulations! You have been nominated for a Golden Play Award for Best Animated Video. Each year, Yahoo! Video's editorial staff picks outstanding videos in different categories and puts them up for our users to vote on at www.yvideoblog.com. Voting will be open until Friday, March 21st.

And we were just worried about Zombie education. :) I hope you'll take a minute to vote - the competition is stiff. Thanks!

Here's the video:

Posted on 14 March 2008 | 12:38 pm

Video: Twitter in Plain English

Video: Twitter in Plain English

Video: Twitter in Plain English

Posted on 5 March 2008 | 4:17 pm

Human Spam Comments - Where to Draw the Line?

The arms race between spammers and bloggers continues and I often feel like I'm on the front lines.  I'm so thankful for tools like Akismet that automatically prevent bots from spewing bullshit in blog comments.  

However, there is an insidious human element that has been rearing it's head with greater frequency. These are commenters that appear to be leaving an on-topic comment, yet use a link and name that reflects their true motive - to make a web site appear higher in search results. Many of these comes from spam farms where people are paid to post honest-looking spam comments. [See Jake's weird experience with a spammer.]

Here's an example from this site:

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This kind of comment presents a sticky problem.  The commenter understands our motives and gives us a nice compliment.  Yet, in my view, they are much more motived by the "Phone Cards" link than communicating with me. I deemed this spam, reported it as such and deleted the comment. Another example:

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Again, they spent time to understand the content and say nice things.  Yet, again, I have to assume that the only reason they left the comment was for the "page rank" link.  Reported and deleted.

The hard part is when well-meaning commenters are using tactics that are reminiscent of spam.   Example:

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In this case, the comment was very much on topic and it was (mostly) obvious to me that the priority was communicating with me vs. dropping a link. I left this one alone, even though the link to "Computer Consultants Kit" is quite suspicious.  

I've been struggling with this for many months.  My instinct says to have a zero tolerance policy and delete anything that resembles spam. Yet, where do you draw the line?

For instance, if I leave a short comment on someone's blog and use the name "Common Craft", could I be guilty of spamming under my own policy?   Does it matter that it's linked to my company vs. a 3rd party? What if the link was "Plain English Videos?"

Right now my policy is to have a hair trigger when it comes to comment spam.  If I even catch a whiff of the stuff, the comment is deleted.  I refuse to become a means for low lifes to get a free ride. I'll stop now before I get too emotional.

Do you have a policy? Where do you draw the line?

Posted on 4 March 2008 | 9:27 am