(tricked ya… that’s not a real video… it’s just a picture

I’m always on the lookout for awesome new tools and ways to save me time and give my customers a better user experience.

As you know… video is pretty much a must nowadays and if you’re not using video you’re going to be left in the dust.

Anyhow, as I type this… we’re in a little “launch” over at the real estate investing site where we’re going to be teaching our readers over the next couple weeks how to get private money for their real estate deals.

Long story short… we’re using video heavily in this series and I was pulling my hair out trying to find an easy and cheap way to get video up on the site… other than posting it to the masses of video sharing sites.

Nothing wrong with using Youtube, Viddler, etc. to host the video… but I’d rather have full control over the video and make sure there’s no chance the reader can click on the video and be taken to the Youtube site and diverted to someone elses videos.

My Easy Flash Video Solution

I was watching a few internet marketing product launches recently and did a bit of investigative work to see what they were using for their flash video.  Some were simply using the JW FLV Player and streaming from Amazon S3 (if you’re not streaming your videos from S3 and you’re getting any traffic at all… you should seriously start doing it… cheap as heck and great servers.  By cheap I mean… I only paid .15 cents last month… ya) … but I got frustrated at the whole thing after 30 minutes of toying around with it and trying to get it hooked up to my .flv file.

Then, I kept seeing this “ezs3” thing coming up in the code for some of the big guys (Ryan Deiss and others) and decided to check it out.

Basically, what this “ezs3″ thing is is a service that makes it easy as heck to put flash video on your site hosted through Amazon S3.  Here’s a video I put up today using this service… looks extremely sharp and loads very fast.  And… you can customize the look of the player pretty much any way you want very very easily.

The Benefits Of EZS3

Yes, at the JW FLV Player site there is a free tool that will build the script that you can embed into your website.  I was actually going to go that way but I’m not a huge techie so it took me way too long and I got confused about half way into the process when I was trying to link the video script to the actual .flv video file hosted on Amazon S3.

So, I signed up for a free trial over at EZS3 (it’s 14 days free, then $20 after that a month… a bargain IMHO) and tested it out.

Here’s What I Did:

• Uploaded my .flv video file to Amazon S3 easily through the free S3 Firefox add on in my browser.  Took about 3 minutes.
• Got in my EZS3 account and hooked it up to my Amazon S3 account.  Took 45 seconds.
• Created a player, customized it, and got the script to paste on my web page.  Took 2 minutes (probably actually way less… but I was toying with some of the links).
• Pasted the code in my html file… and uploaded it to the net.

The whole process took me about 6-7 minutes… if I were to do it now I could probably get a video from the raw .flv file to the net in a nice flash video format in under 3 minutes using EZS3.

And… that video I showed you before is the result of that first try with their service.  I’m sold… and will for sure renew my membership at the end of my 14 day free trial.

Check Out EZS3… But Don’t Take My Review For Gospel…

Try it yourself…

If you’re already using Amazon S3 to stream your videos from this solution is way the heck easy for you to implement… and it may just save you a ton of time and money in the process because it’s only $20 a month and its easy as heck to use.

Here’s a few other cool things about EZS3 that I like a ton:

• Has great stats to show how many times the video (or any other file you use with this) has been viewed.
• You can pretty much fully customize the look, size, functionality, etc. of the video player… very flexible.
• Can use this service to easily display other files too… like pdf’s, other video file types, camtasia studio projects, etc.
• Can change the video display unit on the fly… even after you’ve already published the script to the web page.  It all runs on Javascript so you can make changes after you publish the video to the net, right in the EZS3 membership panel and the changes take place immediately.

Anyhow, I know this post looks kind of like an infomercial or a big ol’ product review… I didn’t mean for it to be like that… I really did just find out about this service today and am now sold on it for my own biz.

Check it out… get the free 14 day trial… let me know what you think!

Image via Wikipedia

I’m sure you’ve seen the videos of this guy named Matt Harding doing his crazy "gumby-like" dance all around the world in front of well known monuments and landmarks in pretty much every country known to man.

If not… you really NEED to check the videos out for yourself… they are simple… but you’ll instantly see why millions of people have viewed the videos over the past couple years.  Actually… his most recent video (check it out below) was uploaded into Youtube on June 20th (3 days ago) and already has almost 2 million views… wow!

Anyhow, Matt did it again and just put out his most recent "Dancing Video " with a bunch of new locations… but he put a different twist on this dancing video.

What twist?… you say…

A new dance? NOPE… the same crazy (or stupid… ) dance as before.

A new sponsor? NOPE… Stride sponsored this one too.

The twist that Matt put on this most recent Where the Hell Is Matt "Dancing Video" is a twist of humanity.  Rather than Matt dancing alone… in every stop around the world Matt had big groups of people from that country joining in on the dance enjoying themselves each and every second.

Here’s the most recent video if you haven’t already watched it:

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo .

Dissecting The Video… Why Does It Work So Well?

Making a viral video isn’t an easy task… but new viral videos are created virtually everyday… usually by people who didn’t intend it to go viral… and didn’t expect to attempt to make a profit from it.  That’s part of what makes a video viral… it has to be genuine… remarkable… relevant… and pull on one or more of the psychological triggers that compel us to be drawn toward certain things.

If you’ve watched Matt’s other videos you can see that they all are similar and play on the same wants/desires/ and core identities of human beings.

What’s The Hook?

Just like in advertising and direct response marketing Matt’s "Dancing" videos didn’t become a big hit because they were dull, overused, and uncompelling.  The videos worked because they had a "hook" that worked so well with people that people could identify with the video and the message that it sent.

In Matt’s first videos there were a few hooks that drew people in:

• People desire to live life to the fullest … even though 90% of everyone alive isn’t living the life they truly want to live.  Traveling the world is a dream that many people have deep down in their core because they know that life has more to offer than what they’ve seen and experienced so far.
• Matt’s Story …  Without the story behind the story these videos probably wouldn’t have had the affect and reach that they did.  People identify with stories better than facts… and like to relate what we’re seeing to the story behind what we’re seeing… it becomes more real and genuine when we can peer behind the curtain a bit.  Matt worked his ass off for a few years and one day realized that this isn’t what life is all about.  There’s no way we were created to slave away in cubicles for 40-80 hours a week and be forced to start living our lives when we retire.  So… quit his job… packed up… and spent the next year and a half traveling the word.  Really… who the heck wouldn’t want to do that?  I’d venture to say that almost everyone deep down in their core wants to do that… whether you think you do or not.
• Going against the grain … Matt could have made that trip and did what every other tourist does… take a few pictures or a video of himself standing in front of cool stuff in each country.  But, that wouldn’t have gotten even 1,000 views on Youtube probably.  Instead, Matt does this crazy "dance" in front of recognizable places around the world… and completely melds the "usual" (the locations) with the "unusual" (the dance)…

In Matt’s newest video (the one on this page)… it plays on the same "hooks"… but Matt knew that a 3rd trip around the world doing the same thing wouldn’t get much legs on the internet.  So, he added in the element of getting locals to join in on the dance… truly making it a joining of nationalities across all language barriers.

The added hook of humanity has so far helped this newest video to go viral again.

So, Let’s Break Down The Triggers and Success Elements

Any marketing promotion, advertising campaign, or video has to tug at one or more of our psychological triggers.

I think that the Where the Hell Is Matt video series play on the EXACT same triggers as Tim Ferriss’s book "4 Hour Work Week ".

We all…

• Hate to work a 9-5 job and know there is more out there
• Have an ultimate dream to travel the world and/or experience things beyond our little cocoon when we "retire" (in actuality… we’d all rather do all of that now… but have a mixed up view on what life ‘is supposed’ to be like)
• Are vulnerable and like to see that others are vulnerable and imperfect like we are (Matt’s dance… he could have said, "I’m not going to put this on the internet… people will laugh at me"… but he didn’t… and people admire that)
• Realize by watching the video that we CAN experience the same thing Matt did if we truly want to… all we have to do is step out of our comfort zones and make the decision

With Matt’s latest "Where The Hell Is Matt" Dancing video it’s so successful because it of course grabs at our desires to "live life and see new things", brings the unexpected (the crazy dance in front of well known locations worldwide), and now brings a touch of humanity that we can all relate to.

The idea of filming yourself in front of places around the world, putting music to the video, and putting it on Youtube isn’t anything new.  It’s been done before… and didn’t go viral… not even close.

However, a great marketing principle is to take two things that we all know and like… but that are usually unrelated… and combine them into one.  Often this synergy makes the difference.  Matt joined travel and uninhibited dancing… and it was a hit.

Another recent video that went viral that simply joined two things that we all know and like… was the "Wii Fit Girl " video.   This video joined the craze that the new Wii Fit launch caused… and combined it with the voyeuristic look at a hot girl in her underwear using the Wii Fit.  This video has got almost 5 million views in the last 30 days.

All In All…

Okay… I’m rambling a bit now (I tend to do that sometimes … so I’ll leave you with this.

There is no hard and fast system that guarantees a video will go viral.  All you can do is study the videos that have gone viral, pinpoint why they are appealing, and start to make a list of things.  Over time you’ll see that all viral videos play on our own psychological triggers and usually combine 2 or more of those triggers into a "new" thing we’ve never seen before.

So, here it is:

• Come up with a new idea that no one has ever explored before (difficult), or
• Put a new twist on an "old" idea with a fresh new perspective
• Keep your video usually under 5 minutes
• Capitolize on a "craze" or trend
• Go after 2 or more psychological triggers

Good luck in creating your next viral video and you’ve gotta hand it to Matt for following his dream and putting a new twist on his success to keep legs under it at least for the rest of the summer.

I’m in the tech scene as far as figuring out how to use technology for better and more effective marketing goes… I’m not much of a "techie" when it comes to digging into code to figure things out.

I like to know a bit about the technology I’m working with whenever I use it for marketing purposes… simply for the reason that when you know something and how it works… you might be able to take it to another level with just a few changes or additions that you wouldn’t have thought about if you didn’t know how the thing worked in the first place.

Anyhow, today I was doing a bit of research on flash video because I want to start using branded flash players on my own sites… and on the sites of my clients so we can provide a better user experience for our viewers and to get a few more capabilities out of the video that simply posting on Youtube /Revver /Viddler , etc. don’t let me do.

Well, I came across the next evolution in online video…

AND IT’S COMPLETELY AMAZING!

This technology is truly crazy as heck… and my head is spinning with ways to use it for marketing purposes (once it gets a bit more mainstream… and less expensive!).

Interactive 360 Immersive Full Motion Video

Check out the video below of this stuff. Once the video starts and loads… you can use your mouse to move around the video (360 degrees spherical) while the video is IN MOTION. That means you can look around… but also up, down, diagonal… any direction just like you are IN the video.

This is big time "Immersive video" that gives a whole new meaning to "user experience". This technology is by the same guys who created the Google Street View technology.

There are a bunch of other videos like these that are amazing. Check ‘em out and let me know your thoughts on how this technology will change the online video game for marketing and user experience.

Good morning on this beautiful holiday!

Yep… that’s right… HOLIDAY. What holiday you say?

Well… today is National “Good People Day” 2008… as appointed by Gary Vaynerchuk, one of the net’s truly Good People (for real… great guy and as genuine and passionate about life as it gets!). I met Gary in Orlando in February and spent 4 hours chatting business and life w/ him and a few other entrepreneurs one night… a guy that I’d love to have a beer with any day of the week.

Anyhow, while Gary is one of the “Good People” out there… I’m sure a ton of other people will take it upon themselves to appoint Gary V. “Mr. Good Dude of the Day”… so I’m gonna pick someone else to focus on today.

It’s kinda funny... but the person I’m self-appointing as “Good Person of the Day” is a guy that most people probably wouldn’t think of first when you think of a good guy. I guess it’s because of his aggressive (but soooooo passionate) personality… or it could be that he is a sore loser (aren’t we all though… really??) … or that he simply so damn honest… people either love or hate this guy.

Guessed who it is yet?

Here’s a few more clues:

• He’s an internet millionaire (might be billionaire… not sure… let me know
• Get’s fined big bucks all of the time for voicing his opinion to the “zebras”
• His last name is like the best cigars in the world (bare w/ me here… I’m stretching far here)

Okay… this is just getting corny.

My Good Person highlight is for Mark Cuban… Mr. Maverick himself.

Seriously, Cuban is a dude who people either love… or people totally hate with a passion. And, to me… that’s the sign of someone who has opinions… voices them… and is generally a really honest guy.

Seriously, think about it… if someone is doesn’t polarize people… they probably aren’t being honest with people (or themselves) all of the time. No one can appeal to everyone… and if they are… you better take a hard look at them to see where they are fudging a bit so they can not tweak some people the wrong way.

Polarization is a good thing… and in Mark Cuban definitely polarizes people because he has opinions and isn’t afraid to be honest and state his opinions.

I came across a video of a speech he did at BlogWorld… and really you can see that at his core he is a “Good Person”. He’s honest (whether you like it or not), does the right thing, and doesn’t take the easy way out.

Check out the video… it’s pretty long… but a great listen.

So, what does it mean to be a “Good Person”… to me anyway?

To me… the definition of a good person is a pretty simple thing.

• They do the right thing
• Speak from THEIR core and don’t sell out for anything
• Like to have a good time in life and business
• They like cool people… but aren’t afraid to call out people who are being idiots
• Work to help other people anyway they can

Sure, there’s a ton more that goes into being a “good person”… but those points are ones that explain good ol’ Mr. Cuban pretty well.

Like I said earlier... you might think I’m an absolute idiot for thinking Mark Cuban is one of the good guys… I’ve never met him so I couldn’t tell you for sure what he is like behind the scenes.

But, the main reason I chose him as a good dude is his honesty, his passion, how he speaks from his core, and how he goes after everything he does 143% (yep… I said it… 143%).

So, check out the video above… check out his blog… and let me know who you think is a good person. I’d love to hear from ya!