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:

As long as you have a web cam, you don’t need any special equipment.

This short video will walk you through everything you need.  Send me your webcam videos – PG only please  : )

Jim

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.

On one side of the spectrum, I’ve heard to brand your name, because this is the only thing you can take with you. on the other side – creating a company name shows your committed to a product or service.

One of my companies, Logistics Modeling Center Inc., was named to relate to a very specific purpose – modeling logistics processes. I wish I can say that’s all we have done. What we’ve experienced is the same scenario that most small businesses that are bootstrapping their operations experience – we made money any way we could. Sure we started with the focus on Logistics, but then it strayed to Supply Chain, Computer Programming, Presentations, and even Marketing. Our name became a liability whenever we were going after non Logistics contracts. Today, we’ve decided to re-brand ourselves LMCI Consulting to circumvent this issue.

So why didn’t we name our company Carrillo and Uribes Engineering? (or Uribes and Carrillo Engineering if my partner is reading this)…. I had a good long discussion with a colleague about this, and we both came to the conclusion that it came down to insecurity. Here’s an example of what I might say to myself, “Nobody will take us seriously if they knew I was the Company Founder.” Seriously, that’s what I think (or thought at the time). Now that I look back, why would a person take LMCI any more seriously then Carrillo? Well, if I was insecure about myself, I might not value Carrillo as much as four obscure initials. So my first realization in figuring out how to name a company was that you have to get past the insecurities.

With that out of the way, I broke the problem down into workable pieces, and came up with these simple questions.

Does the product your selling depend on you? For Public Speakers for example, the content might be what the customer is buying, but they are only buying it because it’s being delivered by a specific person. If the product depends on the person delivering it – brand the company using your name. You can have multiple products, but name the company after the person. For example, “Jim Carrillo’s Practical Technology”, Jim Carrillo’s Social Networking 101″, etc. The company would simply be Jim Carrillo Presents.

If the product doesn’t depend on you, and can be sold without any ties to a person (like a consulting service, or physical product), then create a company name. A friend of mine has a company called Eat My Words. Her company names other companies. Alexandra may own the company, but she has a staff, and I can easily see her opening up multiple offices across the country. Alexandra named the company in a way that is independent of her as a person, and promotes a very specific service. So if the product doesn’t depend on you, choose a catchy name. I am an owner of LMCI consulting, and I only contribute to 10% of our overall income (it operates independent of me).

If you decide to choose a product/service focused name, and not your personal name, how do you figure out the best one to use? That’s a question for a naming company! Visit my friend’s company at http://www.eatmywords.com/

Jim