Before diving in to how you can use it, let’s start by explaining the fourth dimension concept.  Communication is the backbone for all we do.  The best form of communication is when we’re face to face with our counterpart, which I consider our first dimension.  Unfortunately, one of the worse forms of communication is written, or email, which we use far too much.  With email, we lose the tonalities of our voice, the excitement in our gestures, and the other forms of visual and audio interaction; this would be the second dimension.  The third dimension of communication would be recording ourselves for distribution to a single person or an audience.  Recording has been around for quite some time, and with voicemail, or HandyCam video cameras, we’ve all become accustomed to the word “recorded message”.  It’s clearly either a video or audio recording of a communication (or both).

What do you call a video communication that doesn’t involve a camera though?, a communication that brings in a new element of reference that both the presenter and receiver can focus on?  With the explosion of the integration of the computer screen in our daily lives, bringing this medium into the focus of the communication has become natural.  Screencasting is exactly that.  It’s a recording of a communication with the focus on the computer screen, not the presenter.

Oddly enough, Screencasting is one of the easiest methods of recording.  Bypassing the Video or Audio recording industries, screencasting was born out of the computer generation.  Ease of use was top of mind in creating this technology.

Don’t be misled though, just because something is easy, don’t expect professional production ready results.  To give an analogy, many people know how to type in a word processing application, but it doesn’t make them an author.  Everyone can learn how to create a Screencast in minutes, but don’t start calling yourself a producer just yet.

You can try it right now!  The best out of the box (and there is no box), get your feet wet Screencasting system I’ve found is Screen Toaster (www.screentoaster.com) .  Screentoaster is completely web based (meaning no software to install), and it’s FREEEEE!  What a beautiful word isn’t it?  FREEEEE.

Considering becoming a director or producer in Screencasts for a more professional production?  I’ve tried many, and with much reluctance, I finally gave Camtasia Studio (www.techsmith.com) a try.  The price is inexpensive for professional use (only $300), and is not only packed with features, they’ve made it very simple to use.  The simpleness is what brought a tear to my eye.

Interested in seeing a demonstration?  In this Screencast, I’ve created both a simple Screencast showing you how to create your own Screencast in about two minutes (ouch, that circular explanation hurts my brain every time I write it).  I’ve also added three examples of Screencasts that I often produce.  Screencasting is part of my daily communications, and professional marketing services.  Not a day passes that I’m not recording my cursor fly by.

Thanks to some friends I have in District 57, and who are familiar with my speaking skills, I was asked to give two presentations at the Education sessions.  The first was on Social Networking, where I took a quick tour of the options, and presented it in a way that wasn’t selling or condemning – just the facts mam.

The second presentation was the three online apps that changed my business (and I’m not exaggeration).  Hint – one of those apps is being used while you’re reading this).

I’ve recorded both presentations, and you can watch them online by clicking this link

I’ve also posted a few links that might be helpful.

Jim

I took to the podium with Ian Griffin to demonstrate how easy it is to create a video on YouTube in under 10 minutes.

Ian then asked people to share their impressions of the day. See what they had to say in this YouTube video:

Thank goodness for “unsubscribe”, although if you have an account with Constant Contact (or any other service), you’ll know that the owner can see exactly who unsubscribed. I hate showing my hand like this.

Sometimes, so I don’t “offend” the person, I just continue to receive the newsletter, but delete it immediately. I’ve also been known to just create a SPAM filter looking for specifics related to the newsletter.

NOW WHAT ABOUT THE REALLY RUDE? I not only was added to a persons “newsletter” list, but they don’t use a system that would allow me too “unsubscribe”. Creating a SPAM filter would be too easy (and kind). I think people that are this rude should have to deal with the same annoyance they’ve put on me.

Here’s what I’ve done – and you can watch the video for exactly how I did it. I created a special filter in my email program (I use gmail) that looks for email coming from the persons address. When I get anything from that address, it simply forwards the message right back to them (then deletes it). Wallah! I’ll never have to see an email from Agent Tracy [agenttracy@isnworks.com] again, and as long as she continues to bombard me with her marketing, she’s going to get a sling back. If she gets tired of being annoyed, all she’ll have to do is remove me from her list (which is how I would have liked it in the first place).

Jim Carrillo

The video below demonstrates each of them. Here’s a short synopsis:

1. Email Marketing Service (example: Constant Contact) – Great if you are sending over 100 emails a month – it gets around the spam filters. You get to see email addresses of signups (you own the list). You have to use their system to create emails. It’s not an easy system to learn, and if you’re not using it multiple times per month, it can get cumbersome
2. Simple Form – With this, you simply ask the people for information (like name and email), and that information gets sent to you in an email. This is nice because it’s EASY for everyone. You get to see the email addresses (you own the list), and you have to send the emails out of your own email program. Simple, but nothing is automated.
3. FollowSite Pluggin for Wordpress – A small tag is added after every page and post on your site. When a user enters their email and a password, the company called “FollowSite.com” will send them an email whenever you update your site (within a few hours of the update). Cool thing is that it’s completely automated, and you don’t have to do ANYTHING. The negative is that the company “FollowSite.com” owns the email address, and you never see it.

Watch video below.

I found this by accident (can’t even remember how) on the internet.  It’s a product by a company called “The Web Around”.  You can see their website at http://www.thewebaround.com

Very simple to use.  Cost was just right ($29), but shipping killed me ($11).  Maybe when they get their product in stores it will be a viable option for all those of us that have dirty offices/homes.

Jim

I recently decided to deliver webinars to compliment my Professional Speaking, and let me tell you – it is nothing like Professional Speaking as I knew it.  When your speaking in front of an audience (at least for me), it’s all about improv.  I have my topic and a solid understanding of the material, but I feed off the audience.  I look for facial queues (like the audience falling asleep), or audio queues (snoring), and adjust accordingly.  It’s like dancing with the audience, and working real hard to count in my head while not stepping on toes.  Keep an eye on the toes, and no problem.

Webinars are a completely different beast, and I’d have to say that if I didn’t have all the Tech stuff in my background, I wouldn’t have been able to handle the speed!  I’d like to give recognition to Tom Drews from www.whatworks.biz for his advice and guidance.  Here are some of the challenges of speaking on a Webinar:

1.  Visuals – Power Point is 2nd nature to me.  As an officer in the military, you ate Power Point for breakfast, and were put through the most rigorous scrutiny.  When you’re on stage, power point is a compliment, you are the focus.  In Webinars, you don’t exist – you’re just a voice.  Power Point becomes the focus.  I had to break through my old paradigms on slides when it came to webinar presentations.  I look back at my power point slides I was going to use before Tom set me straight, and I know the audience would have fallen asleep.

2.  Technology – You’d think all you need to do is have a webinar account, and you’re good to go.  No way Jose.  I have three computers running on my desk during the webinar.  First computer controls the slides.  Second computer has the chat windows open so I can see questions (and it serves as a backup if the first computer dies).  Third computer is set up so I can see exactly what the audience sees.  When I first started giving webinars, I thought I could use one computer, and just open different windows while I was speaking… yeah right!  I’ve found that I can’t talk and chew gum at the same time, let alone open different windows.  The three computer system is necessary, but even then, I have a hard time focusing on any given screen when I’m trying to focus on content.  This is where I got the analogy of driving 100 mph – there’s so much going on, I never imagined it would be so strenuous.

3.  Speaking – No more reading the audience!  Not only is there nobody to look at, everyone is also on mute.  Try giving a joke to dead air.  There’s no cue on when to continue, or how long to allow laughter – if in fact there is anyone laughing.  You just have to press on and imagine people are enjoying the presentation.  Then try and keep your pace and tempo when the application freezes, and you need to go the backup computer.  YIKES…. my first webinar I almost considered stopping in the middle because of technical problems.  So far I’ve been able to overcome the issues, and present a smooth presentation.  One of the things that helped me is that I’m doing a team presentation with Ian Griffin.  While Ian is talking, I can recover most technical issues.  Talk about working against the clock.

There you go – speeding down the highway blindfolded, and yet every time, I’ve made it home safe.  The reality is – there’s not much risk here.  Other then looking dumb (which my wife has made sure I’m OK with), you can recover from anything.  If you ever considered giving webinars, my suggestion is to try it out.  It’s not the same as speaking to an audience live, but it’s definitely exhilarating.  Check out Tom Drews’ website www.whatworks.biz and register for one of his webinars on giving a webinar (as if that isn’t redundant).  Regarding which service to use, I tried many, and am extremely impressed with GoToWebinar.  I initially balked at paying $100 per month, but now that I’ve given a few webinars, I appreciate what it buys you.

Make sense of Social Networking, with practical tips you can implement today. Join Jim Carrillo and Ian Griffin as they outline a roadmap to the most useful Social Networking tools: Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and podcasting. Learn how an integrated approach can help grow your brand and your business. Don’t be intimidated. Learn practical strategies that maximize business results. Jim and Ian’s overview explains the basics about Social Networking tools, explains what you can do to get started, and shows you where you’ll get the quickest return on investment for your time.

• Understand differences between a Blog, Website, Social Network Profile.
• Set up your own LinkedIn and Facebook Profile.
• Prevent yourself from making the same mistake 90% of others always make.
• Learn what to post, and what to keep private.
• We guarantee you’ll be online, or we won’t sleep till you are!