Like many people, I use videos in some of my posts and those videos are almost always on YouTube. For me, I use the video to compliment the post and help show things that just can’t be shown in photos or described in text. But I also want those videos to be discovered independent of the blog post and bring people to my site. I’m sure almost everyone posting videos on YouTube would love their video to go viral, but that’s no easy task. Recently, I was asked to review some software to help with this task.
I was given a link a website about how to get views on youtube, where I could get YouTube Jump Start, software that promises to get you tons of “quality views” to your YouTube video without doing anything that could put your YouTube account at risk of deletion. Here I am a few weeks later, and I have some real numbers from a real video I submitted (mostly) just to test this out.
About YouTube Jump Start
As mentioned above, it’s designed to boost your YouTube video views, but how does it work and how much is it? The details about exactly how these views make their way to your video aren’t really clear, but the sales page promises “no bots” and “no proxies”, so we’re left to assume these views are all real people seeing your video. Today, I confirmed that these are, in fact, “real people”.
The program includes a couple different packages, depending on how many videos you want to promote, from $70 and $15/month (4 videos a day) to $100 one-time for 25 videos ($4/video). The upside is that this is for 200+ views per video, per day, “forever”.
When you fire up the program, you just pop in a video URL and it submits. It was a lot easier than I ever anticipated. It might have been a little too simple for my liking, actually, but as long as it does what I want it to, that’s fine.
Tons Of New YouTube Views
I’ve been on the web a long time and I’ve seen a lot of programs, scripts, and sites that offer to generate non-organic traffic for you. Organic traffic is the stuff that just happens when you have good content and people feel compelled to tell other people about it. This traffic is the stuff you have to help yourself get. There’s no shame in going after more traffic. In fact, you SHOULD be doing this if you’re serious about people seeing your content. In any case, I’ve seen a lot of promises to deliver traffic and a lot that have failed to deliver. This was not the case here.
For the first week (maybe a little less), I let my video ride on organic traffic and a couple tweets I sent out and it did pretty well on its own. As the initial views slowed down, I decided to kick in the Jump Start program, represented largely by the brown in the graph above. As you can see, it started delivering right away. Not too bad. It actually shows a couple points where it almost doubled my organic peak. That brown part of the graph is truly traffic YouTube can’t identify the origin of, so it’s not ALL from this program, but I think it’s a safe guess to say that about 95% or more is.
The graph above shows that the viewers seem to come from all age groups, and I also looked at the geographic location graphs, which seem to indicate mostly United states traffic, and that’s important to me. After a few weeks, YouTube Jump Start delivered about 4,000 to 4,500 views to my video.
Is This Valuable Traffic?
That’s debatable, really. First off, let’s think about what good non-organic traffic is. They sum up what I was thinking almost word for word:
If you have more views, your video will not only show up on earlier search pages, but will be recommended to others via YouTube’s related videos function. Your video may even be featured on YouTube’s Global Homepage! (if its worthy enough).
This, of course, is why I did my test. My video, as indicated in the first graph, did pretty well on its own, so it’s safe to assume that the video didn’t totally suck. Sadly, out of 5,000+ views, only 456 were “related content” views and 114 were from YouTube search. 261 and 69 (respectively) of these were from before I ran the program. What this says to me is that although I saw a ton of views to my video, I haven’t realized the benefit of the software in the ways I had hoped. Ideally, The software would get tons of people viewing my video and those people would share and rate at least a little. This doesn’t seem to have happened much, if at all. As for it boosting organic traffic within YouTube (related videos and search), I think almost all 250 or so organic views were as a result of the added traffic Jump Start gave the video. This isn’t what I’d hoped for, but it’s a lot more than I’d have without the software.
Conclusions
Everything really boils down to this question: Is the return on investment good enough? If you produce videos that are good enough and just need some help, this could work, but I don’t know if it will really generate the organic traffic that is most critical to success on the web. Ultimately, the best plan is to create killer content regularly for the best organic traffic, but this could give you a good, well, jump start.
Earlier this year, it seemed that every television manufacturer was announcing a unit with either Skype built in or 3D functionality. Last week, I received an email inviting me to come check out Panasonic’s latest and greatest at their touring presentation that was coming through Scottsdale this week. The draw for me was the 3D, but I found a lot more when I arrived.
3D TVs With Skype
Maybe you’re thinking what I was thinking in the car on the way there… Can 3D stick around this time or is it just going to be hot for a while and die out again? It’s hard to say, but Panasonic is not only betting that 3D is here to stay, but they’re throwing in everything else just in case.
One of the VIERA CAST HDTVs I saw today, the VIERA TC-P50G25 Plasma (seen above for $1,499), included the ability to make video calls with Skype (requires an add-on camera), view YouTube videos, browse through photos on Picasa, view and stream movies instantly with Netflix or Amazon Video, and even peruse and update Twitter. To top it off, they threw in a weather screen with forecasts, Pandora radio, Bloomberg, and Fox Sports. You can even browse the web with it, which is probably why you can hook up a keyboard to one of the USB ports. Unfortunately, the demo played from a Blu-Ray disc, so it’s hard to say how the video streaming is and Skype won’t be available for use on VIERA CAST until June of this year. Regardless, it looks very promising. The geek inside me yearns to make a video call on a 50 inch screen without a lot of effort and that is a reality within reach. This model does not do 3D.
The PxxVT25 models, on the other hand, offer 3D and it looks awesome. To be fair, I haven’t seen any other 3D televisions first hand, so my basis for comparison is my 2D LCD and 3D at the movie theaters. That said, this blows my 2D away and makes the movie theater 3D seem a bit lacking. The first demo was with a movie, which looked great, but the real treat was the second demo I saw with some game playing in 3D. It looked incredible and the best part is that the games don’t all have to be made in 3D. There’s software that will make them work in 3D as long as you’re displaying them on one of these 3D TVs.
How To Watch TV In 3D
The televisions mentioned above display a 3D image, but where does that come from and how do you view it? Panasonic tells me they’ll have three channels loaded with 3D programming on DirecTV, and it sounded like 3D programming from other vendors will still work. All that’s left is those paper 3D glasses with the plastic red and blue lenses, right?
Not this time. This time, your 3D experience makes use of their special 3D glasses (TY-EW3D10). While I’d like to try the old paper glasses, I’m afraid these are the ones needed to make it work. They’re pretty cool and although the video doesn’t do the experience justice, you can see how they work below.
The problem is that the $150/pair price tag can be prohibitive, especially if you’re thinking about a family of four or five. They’re cheaper than some competitors, but still a bit up there. They definitely look $150 cooler than the old paper 3D glasses, though. I asked if Panasonic planned to bundle family packs of the eye wear and was told that it wasn’t planned yet but could happen as the consumer market accepts 3D more and more.
Cameras and Camcorders
In addition to all this 3D business, the tour included some new cameras of varying levels as well as video cameras. I honestly didn’t spend quite enough time with the video cameras, but it may have been due to all the time spent playing with the DMC-GH1K 12.1 MP digital camera. I’m not about to say I don’t like my Canon Rebel XTi because I love it, but the GH1K was wooing me with features I’ve been missing out on like 1080P HD video, a larger screen that swivels around, Live View, a more compact design, and a more widely used SD storage format (compared to the Compact Flash I use now). At $1499, it is almost twice what I paid for my camera, but still attractive.
Also attractive was the $399 DMC-ZS7K which more than a point-and-shoot, but not quite a DSLR. Every time I thought it had a lot of features I was shown one more. Personally, I’m looking to spend about half that on my next point-and-shoot camera but the feature list is enough to loosen up most any wallet. There’s the basics like auto focus and face targeting, but it also knows the difference between a face and, say, a cactus and adjusts photo settings the moment it makes the distinction. Better still, it can recognize specific faces and remember who it’s taking a photo of and label the photo properly. The 16X Intelligent Zoom was a nice surprise, too. The zoomed image wasn’t pixelated at all until zoomed all the way in and even then, it wasn’t much. Finally, the ZS7K records HD quality video as well, so I could replace my digital camera and my video camera with this one device.
The Touch The Future Tour
What I went to today was called the Touch the Future Tour. Panasonic is wandering around the country with all this cool stuff and showing people what all of it does. If you get a chance, the 3D is best seen in person. They’ll be dragging all their electronics to these cities next:
3/25 – 3/27 Philadelphia King of Prussia Mall – North Gulph Road
3/29 – 3/31 Minneapolis IDS Tower – 80 8th Street South
3/29 – 3/31 San Francisco One Market Plaza – 1 Market Street
3/31 – 4/2 Washington, DC Union Station – 50 Massachusetts Ave, NE
4/6 – 4/8 Dallas Grapevine Mills Mall – 3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway
4/6 – 4/8 Seattle Top of the Market – 93 Pike Street, Suite 307
4/7 – 4/9 Atlanta 595 North – 595 North Ave, NW Atlanta
4/12 – 4/14 Houston The Warehouse – 4108 Dupont Street
4/15 – 4/17 Miami Ice Palace – 59 Northwest 14th Street
Final Thoughts
Panasonic delivered more than I had planned for and showed off some really cool stuff. The new television offerings (3D and otherwise) were certainly giving me TV envy and I just bought a new LCD TV a few months back. The cameras (that I hadn’t really even gone to see) have me formulating evil plans in my head to convince my wife that I have two birthdays this year. I want it all, but would “settle” for any of the 3D TVs and the ZS7K camera.
As 2009 is nearing its end I’ve been looking back and thinking about all the cool stuff I’ve come across in the last year. The stuff that sticks out the most is the tech videos showing new concepts and products or just cool new ways to use existing technology. I’ve put together ten of my favorites, but they are, by no means the ten best videos out there. If I missed anything, please feel free to share in the comments.
TED – Sixth Sense Technology
This is a great video showing real examples of new technology that puts information in front of you as you need it. Very cool stuff!
PlayStation 3 – High-Resolution Image Enlargement Technology
I was fascinated about this technology when I saw it used in The Rosetta Project months ago, and I’m still excited by it.
TED : Wireless Electricity
We’ve been getting closer and closer to the day when we can just come home and throw our cell phone on the table and it’ll just start charging without the need for all those cables.
Liquidware Illuminato X Machina
I love to see stuff like this where the machines become more aware of their state and are then able to interact appropriately with other machines near by.
‘Tron: Legacy’ Trailer HD (vfx test footage)
If you’re old enough to remember it, Tron was a great geeky movie well ahead of its time and the remake has techies like me anxious. Check out some visual FX test footage.
Augmented Reality Business Card
Since this video (and a little before it), a lot has happened with Augmented Reality and we’re even seeing it pop up in iPhone and Android apps now. Still, this is a great example of its use.
TweenBots
This was an interesting social experiment in which little robots were set free in New York and people helped them find their way.
TED: David Merrill Demos Siftables
First Flight of the Terrafugia Transition (flying car)
The blogosphere was abuzz when this video hit the web. It’s a car that converts into a plane to fly and then back into a car again.
ArcAttack performs the Dr. Who Theme on Twin Tesla Coils
I’m not a big Dr. Who geek, but I loved this anyway.
Find the perfect recipe
Whether you’re handy in the kitchen or not, online recipes can not only save the day when you have no idea where to start, but they can also give you new ideas to try out. If you make a good pumpkin pie, why not find new ways to edge closer to a great pumpkin pie? There’s a ton of recipes online, but here’s a few key starting points:
- http://allrecipes.com/
- Food Network
- Epicurious
Keep contact information handy
It happens every year. Most people are at the host house, catching up, helping set the table, etc., when someone asks where Uncle Bill is. Inevitably, someone ends up calling him to make sure he’s safely on his way and not lost. You can help out by just having everyone’s number handy in your phone. It’ll help if you’re the one lost or running late, as well.
Don’t starve your family
While preparing for this post, I came across something I hadn’t even thought about. It’s a Turkey Calculator provided by thanksgiving-corner.com. After punching in a little information about how many children and adults you’ll be feeding, it helps you plan your meal. Based on the information I entered, I would need 16.5 pounds of turkey and 33 cups of stuffing if I were going to host T-day at my place for my family. It also says I should have started defrosting (in the fridge) my bird this past Saturday morning. Good thing I’m not cooking this year.
Say “Happy Thanksgiving” face-to-face from far away
If your loved ones are far away, you can still give your “Happy Thanksgiving” message a personal touch by delivering it with streaming video. There’s a few ways to do this. The most rewarding is to have a web cam at both locations and connect live. This usually requires some forethought and a little experience (or luck), but if you and someone on the other end are comfortable enough with computers, it shouldn’t be too hard to set up ahead of time. If either of you don’t have a web cam, you can pick one up from Best Buy or a similar electronics store. Just about any web cam should work with many of the instant messaging client programs to stream video. Even if only one side can have a camera set up, it’s much warmer than just a phone call. If your family member isn’t very computer savvy, you could always record a small video and post it on YouTube, Flickr, Photobucket, or any number of sites that allow you to post a video and easily send a link to that video to your family member.
Find your camera and juice it up
I have a Flip video camera, a DSLR, and a point-and-shoot digital camera, and I’ll have at least the smaller ones with me. You never know when someone will fling a turkey leg across the table or do something equally camera-worthy. The only thing worse than forgetting your camera is bringing it and then running out of batteries on the first shot. Make sure this doesn’t happen. If you have rechargeable batteries, recharge them the night before. If not, have fresh batteries on hand. Personally, I’ve always liked Energizers, but that’s me. Whatever your brand preference, it’s best to have at least one set of new batteries per device.
How is technology going to make Thanksgiving better or easier for you and your family?
Last night, YouTube officially announced the change from 4:3 video to 16:9 wide screen video.
Some are saying YouTube waited far too long to make it happen while others hate it and even more feel it should be optional. Personally, I think they should display all existing videos in 4:3 as they were uploaded and new videos should be marked by the uploader as 16:9 where appropriate. I think they should also implement a search option to find only one format or the other if desired.
However you slice it, it’s definitely a noticeable change and says more about our changing technology than it does about YouTube. I’m sure we’ll see a lot more video cameras prepared to output 16:9 video now.
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