I’ve been tweeting and facebooking and google plussing about .TV a lot lately, and I figure you should know why.

A few months ago, I was approached by the good folks that run the .TV domain (Verisign, if you really want to know), to join their Advocate program. What this means for me is that I get a nice little gift and a bit of cash to basically do what I’ve already been doing for years: talk about making video on the web. I know, pretty sweet, right?

Well, to make things nice and easy for you, I’ve created a completely separate site for the Filmosity Video Blog. The URL is—surprise, surprise—http://www.filmosity.tv

On that blog, you’ll get some great video content, mostly about video creation and video marketing, but also about random stuff I encounter, including videos I shoot in my travels.

Here’s a little blurb from the Watch.tv blog announcing the .tv Advocate program:

We searched the web to see who was making amazing video, asked our friends for some recommendations and put together a wish-list of people we’d like to bring into the .tv community to offer tips and advice. We’ve got a great list, and are lucky to have them participate.

With the help from our panel of advocates who are making great video everyday, we will be delivering to you lots of great content to help you get started with online video if you’re a newbie, or offer up tips and tricks for you more experienced video creators.

Our panelist are incredible people from across the online video spectrum. Not only have they all been building fantastic presences using online video, but they’ve helped many brands be successful in an often intimidating medium. This means that our advocates know what questions both users and businesses have and can help get them up, running and successful sooner.

I’ve been mainly working in the “helped many brands be successful in an often intimidating medium” area of this, but I do occasionally make some fun videos. So, for the foreseeable future, I’ll be posting my video blog entries to Filmosity.tv. Enjoy!

The Flyte New Media Blog has a great interview with Julie Perry of Blast Media PR. In this transcript of Rich Brooks’ interview with Julie, they get into the nitty gritty of the importance of online video, and specifically using YouTube to build and grow your business, no matter its size. The highlights of the interview were culled into an article on Fast Company’s website as well. There are a ton of great tips in here that we should all be using in our marketing and PR plans.

Photo courtesy R. Dlugosz Photography

Last week at the Social Media Breakfast Maine, I was able to hit a milestone in Filmosity’s live web video streaming capabilities. For the first time, we were able to simultaneously stream live video to both the web and to mobile devices. Thanks to Livestream.com‘s Procaster app, I was able to broadcast multiple streams optimized for various devices, while seamlessly controlling the production through Livestream.com’s web studio. This is a great step forward for SMBME and for Filmosity, as it allows more people who are unable to attend the breakfast in person to benefit from the wealth of information presented there.

You may ask if the live web stream has adversely affected attendance numbers, and my answer is decidedly NO. In fact, I believe (though I have no proof…yet) that the live broadcast has brought more people to Portland, Maine to enjoy SMBME in person. Attendance numbers have risen so steeply in the last few months that SMBME organizers Amanda O’Brien and Kyle Pouliot of Hall Web Services have had to change venue capacities twice in the past year!

The Social Media Breakfast Maine live web video stream is a great example of the power of live web video and its influence on people. It’s one of the best ways for the SMBME organizers to spread the word about the event and its value. Imagine what a live web stream could do for your event!

Learn more about how Filmosity can help grow your event through Live Web Video Streaming. Contact us today.

* View past Social Media Breakfast Maine videos

Of the many services we offer at Filmosity, one of the most fun and useful is event coverage. Whether you’re holding an expo, a panel discussion, or a business meeting, we have different solutions for audio and video recording.

Next month, Filmosity will be working with MaineHR.com and JobsInME.com to produce “In an HR Minute,” a series of sit-down interviews with keynote and session speakers from the Maine Human Resources Expo 2011, May 10-13. A simple 1 camera/2-person setup will include recording to hard drive and quick editing turn around. The final videos will be uploaded to YouTube for public viewing, as well as shown on large projectors and big-screen TVs throughout the venue.

Maine HR asked me to do this because they understand the value of having these speakers shown on video. The expo is still rather young, and using a rich medium like video, along with various social media tools, will not only bring in new attendees, but also give great summaries to current attendees in case they missed something. Repeat business is key for the health and vitality of expos, and event video coverage is one of the tools Maine HR is using in retaining their attendees.

As we get closer to the dates, I’ll have updates on what’s happening with production.

Today my friend C.C. Chapman posted a link to some video and a blog post he created about video’s rise in the business world. At the South By Southwest conference this year, C.C. interviewed key influencers in the web content world (as a reporter for his client, OverlayTV), asking them what they thought the state of video in today’s business is. There are some good takeaways in the post, but to me, the answers are unsurprising: as the barriers to entry fall (e.g., smaller devices, lower cost of production) and the influence of video in SEO rises (i.e., Google owns Youtube), having video for your business has now become a key element to your marketing, public relations, and customer service plans.

But don’t take my word for it. Others are saying the same:

While I redesign and refurbish Filmosity.com, I want to talk about one of the new ways Filmosity Productions can help your business grow and engage new customers, about the experience I just had with a new client, and about why good client relationships are so very important.

It’s no surprise that video is becoming hugely influential in the business world. For years, video has been widely used in corporate environments to convey messages quickly to large workforces. Executive messages and internal announcements were all spread via video. Today, inexpensive digital tools and high-speed internet have made video so much more accessible, and as a result, so much more important to businesses of all sizes and shapes. What was once a tool reserved only for the largest corporations is now a tool that anyone can use to communicate with the masses.

That being said, it is just as important to create a relevant, concise, informational video as it ever has been, if not more so due to the overwhelming amount of information available on the web. At Filmosity, we’ve developed several solutions to this problem, the newest of which is the Video Business Profile. This short elevator pitch video (around 60 seconds) highlights the strongest selling points and history of your company, putting a face to the name, showing that real people are running your business. Using the efficacy of Search Engine Optimization, the power of YouTube’s social elements, and what’s come to be known as “Google Juice,” the Video Business Profile can serve as an engaging introduction to you and what you do best.

Beth Fitzgerald talks about Blush Imagery in her Video Business Profile

My latest client was Beth Fitzgerald of Blush Imagery. Beth and I had never met in person before the day of the shoot, which is not only unusual, but also a difficult way to start a working relationship. Creating an effective message that would communicate the Blush Imagery message in such a short amount of time would be a challenge to both myself and to Beth. But within five minutes of meeting each other, Beth and I were cracking jokes and laughing, putting each other at ease. Because I was able to establish a good rapport with Beth before we started, the shoot went smoothly and Beth felt at ease in front of the camera and was able to talk comfortably about her business.

Today’s business environment is largely about creating relationships with clients and customers. Consumers expect to see real people running a company that treats them like real people. The Video Business Profiles is the first tool in your social media tool box. Use it well, my friends.

*Photos courtesy Fitzgerald Photo