Friday, November 30, 2007

Box Style Video & Floating Layer Image Video

Yesterday I spoke/wrote about Web 2.0 and the transformation of the internet to the "digital age." Instead of getting into keeping visitors on your website, today I will be discussing the transformation and monetization of video on the internet. I will include information about keeping visitors on your site longer in a future post.

The digital age of the internet is not something new. However, it is something that is becoming highly recognized and used much more often than before. Video has been on the internet for years. Until recently, video took a long time to play. Dial-up connection speed didn't allow for the streaming experience to have any kind of enjoyment (unless you enjoyed sitting around and waiting while your video stopped playing to "buffer"). Most users would download the videos onto their machine (in it's entirety) prior to playing. This offered a much more enjoyable, and uninterrupted, experience.

Today, with cable connection, DSL, basically high speed internet, Video can be watched with little to no hiccups. YouTube which is now owned by Google (who also has a video sharing portal) have allowed any user (who signs up for a free account) to add and upload their videos and share them worldwide. They have spent millions of dollars on server after server which host the user uploaded videos.

Videos can be "optimized" using may different file types (.flv, .mpg, .mpeg, .ra, etc.) and then uploaded to a file sharing site. The file sharing sites then allow a user to "embed" the video onto web pages using a small line of html.

The embedded videos sometimes come with advertising that the user doesn't want (and the viewer is subjected to it prior to viewing). The way most of the video sharing sites work (and how they monetize their product) is to include small 5-15 second advertisements of products that are similar or fall in line with the content of the video (taken from key words and meta tags that the user inputs prior to uploading their video).

These short advertisements are only used by a few of the video sharing sites. Google (and YouTube) have been talking for quite some time about including content specific ads that are placed on top or on the bottom of videos using a floating layer image (flash technology). This floating layer image sits on top of the uploaded video and plays or is shown during the play of the selected video. While this can be distracting, it is a way for them (google/youtube) to monetize their video sharing site.

Google knew what it was doing when they purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion (in stock compensation).

Video is going to overpower the internet because web-surfers (young and old) are used to watching instead of reading. Why would a web-surfer read paragraphs of text if there is a video that will explain and/or tell them what the text says? A video can emulate and convey much more than text (and graphics) can. Non-verbal cues, post production editing, use of audio, etc. are all aspects that text cannot deliver.

Video can convey a custom tailored message that a website owner wants to deliver to its visitors. Whether it be a greeting (hi, welcome to website ABC), guiding (go here for information about...), educating (how to...), or selling a product or service, video is the versatile solution as well as the moving force on the internet.

I mentioned floating layer images above when talking about monetizing the free video sharing sites. Well, floating layer image and video has many more uses.

Floating layer image and video uses flash technology. Depending on a programmers background and knowledge of Flash, a video which uses this technology can look "ok" or look EXCEPTIONAL. To see examples of EXCEPTIONAL floating layer technology, click here.

WebPeople employ the best technical experts when it comes to Flash technology. WebPeople are sometimes 2, maybe 3 years ahead of it's competition when it comes down to the use and style of the floating layer video technology that is being used on its website and it's clients websites.

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