A starter's video

[serendipity]

Wink http://www.debugmode.com/wink/

Interesting! Looks potentially promising, at least to me. But the user forums at that site don't seem to be available to get more info about it...are you connected to the developer or just a user of it?

No, I'm just a user who likes it. Sure, there are better commercial applications available but they cost hundreds of dollars. Admin may need some time to learn how to use it efficiently but Wink is really a great tool.

Here's a first attempt unsing Wink (brilliant tool!): http://www.xyplorer.com/tour/index.php?page=fow

Looks good. Quite straightforward and simple. And Wink seems like a cool tool.

[graham]

Here's a first attempt

There you go - I learnt something I didn't know! This is the power of these presentations, you see things you might never use in your normal work flow or just never appreciated it in the guides. The wiki and help guides are reference material toseek to understand when trying to do something whereas the presentation gives you a ready made use.

I would like to have some background music if voice-over is not an option - I wonder if you know anyone who could provide some artistic musicality

[sWeeT LaYLa]

Here's a first attempt unsing Wink (brilliant tool!): http://www.xyplorer.com/tour/index.php?page=fow

Great job! It's really very professional and informative.

[admin]

Thanks for all the feedback!

BTW, "Feature of the Week" is not a good name for it. I'd rather have something composed of words like Animated, Video, Action, Clip, Usage or so. Any suggestions anybody?

[j_c_hallgren]

In the "tour/index" page, I'd suggest it be labeled "Video Tutorials" or similar which would get you to a index page with 10-15 diff ones so user could choose which one applies to their needs.

BTW, in current one, it's described as showing "MDBU", but I didn't see that anywhere in the vid, as it wasn't labeled...should be something like a title for that sub-section, maybe?

[serendipity]

Thanks for all the feedback!

BTW, "Feature of the Week" is not a good name for it. I'd rather have something composed of words like Animated, Video, Action, Clip, Usage or so. Any suggestions anybody?

Couple of general ideas about videos:
1) Maybe you can have a video series called "How XY works!". Each episode has that title plus the episode name, like "How XY works: Catalog" or "How XY works: Mouse-Down Blow Up (MDBU)" etc.
2) Call it something like XY-tube and every one will know its all videos.
3) One stone two birds idea. Post these videos on youtube and embed it in XY webpage. That way, you will not only use a popular and friendly way to show videos but also the folks on youtube will learn about XY (another way to advertise). Plus you will get a feedback on youtube about these tutorials.

[admin]

There's a little problem: Both, "Video Tutorials" and "How XY works!" seem to imply a degree of coverage which I can never achieve. You know how many features XY has. I would disappear creating clips for months...

[serendipity]

There's a little problem: Both, "Video Tutorials" and "How XY works!" seem to imply a degree of coverage which I can never achieve. You know how many features XY has. I would disappear creating clips for months...

OK, if its too broad then maybe, "A video guide to essential features of XY" or "A glimpse of how XY works".

[graham]

I assume this video is there to get new sales, if so then the video is not there to train or be an instruction guide, its purpose is simply to provided an invitation to buy by letting the person "see XYplorer in action" and then hopefully download to see the detail.

This is the reason why I think it better to only have one video available at a time, it is there to sell and not bore the user. Like a TV advert you have seconds to persuade the buyer. This being the case, concentrating efforts on one or a few videos means that they can be refined to pack in as much information that will get a new potential buyer to hit the download button - it is a teaser! One thing it should not be is a training video as these are inherently complex and costly and only apply to those that have already bought in so the financial gain is very little!

If a viewer of the video can see something simple yet doing something that is complex or impossible on MS FM then it will work. I say MS FM since it is very difficult to get users to change their loyalty from other bought products but MS FM cost them zero so they need to see an immediate return for their investment.

[serendipity]

I assume this video is there to get new sales, if so then the video is not there to train or be an instruction guide, its purpose is simply to provided an invitation to buy by letting the person "see XYplorer in action" and then hopefully download to see the detail.

This is the reason why I think it better to only have one video available at a time, it is there to sell and not bore the user. Like a TV advert you have seconds to persuade the buyer. This being the case, concentrating efforts on one or a few videos means that they can be refined to pack in as much information that will get a new potential buyer to hit the download button - it is a teaser! One thing it should not be is a training video as these are inherently complex and costly and only apply to those that have already bought in so the financial gain is very little!

If a viewer of the video can see something simple yet doing something that is complex or impossible on MS FM then it will work. I say MS FM since it is very difficult to get users to change their loyalty from other bought products but MS FM cost them zero so they need to see an immediate return for their investment.

I totally agree with Graham's post here. I remember one such video actually. Here it is.

[j_c_hallgren]

I assume this video is there to get new sales, if so then the video is not there to train or be an instruction guide, its purpose is simply to provided an invitation to buy by letting the person "see XYplorer in action" and then hopefully download to see the detail.

As I've already stated, there are (IMO) two distinct targets for these videos, with some overlap. For some ppl, you want just a "commercial" to sell it, but for others, they may wish to see what type of training materials are available, and thus a commercial doesn't serve the purpose...a training video can easily serve as a sales tool, but not always the reverse is true...I've often looked at a software site to locate and examine the training/docs before I'd even take the time to download it, let alone install it.

This is the reason why I think it better to only have one video available at a time, it is there to sell and not bore the user. Like a TV advert you have seconds to persuade the buyer. This being the case, concentrating efforts on one or a few videos means that they can be refined to pack in as much information that will get a new potential buyer to hit the download button - it is a teaser! One thing it should not be is a training video as these are inherently complex and costly and only apply to those that have already bought in so the financial gain is very little!

Maybe we need one commercial and then some training type videos also? If I'm interested in a product, I may spend upwards of an hour researching it first, and would be disappointed if all I found in way of video was a "commercial"...and... training videos don't need to be complex/costly...Opera vid's are a good example of this...the financial gain is by using training materials to sell the product!

If a viewer of the video can see something simple yet doing something that is complex or impossible on MS FM then it will work. I say MS FM since it is very difficult to get users to change their loyalty from other bought products but MS FM cost them zero so they need to see an immediate return for their investment.

I agree with this and that's why I believe that having a selection of short videos would be needed as a potential user could then select the area/topic that addressed their particular need/situation most closely and just view that one.

Going back to what led me to XY, it was the need to find files based on time of day, so a video that showed scripting and POM's and such wouldn't convince me that XY was the solution.

So...based on idea from another site, maybe we as users could develop and submit sample vid's showing how XY solves a certain problem...as long as we used common/similar settings, then they could be incorporated, maybe via YouTube as serendipity suggested?

[admin]

I assume this video is there to get new sales, if so then the video is not there to train or be an instruction guide, its purpose is simply to provided an invitation to buy by letting the person "see XYplorer in action" and then hopefully download to see the detail.

This is the reason why I think it better to only have one video available at a time, it is there to sell and not bore the user. Like a TV advert you have seconds to persuade the buyer. This being the case, concentrating efforts on one or a few videos means that they can be refined to pack in as much information that will get a new potential buyer to hit the download button - it is a teaser! One thing it should not be is a training video as these are inherently complex and costly and only apply to those that have already bought in so the financial gain is very little!

If a viewer of the video can see something simple yet doing something that is complex or impossible on MS FM then it will work. I say MS FM since it is very difficult to get users to change their loyalty from other bought products but MS FM cost them zero so they need to see an immediate return for their investment.

I totally agree with Graham's post here. I remember one such video actually. Here it is.

I agree as well.

I think, good Audio is a must for making a sale this way. Which means quite some work, but probably worth the pain. I know some mothertongue speakers that will work around the problem of my German accent...

Contrary to "iscrybe" XY is not an app that does a specific job for you, but rather a Swiss Knife kind of thing, and most users will only use a specific section of XY's features. (If I'd see a natural way to split the app into many I'd do it.... but I don't.) That makes it a challenge to write a good script for a promotional video.

I'll do some scribbles...

[serendipity]

Sorry I have to post an Offtopic message. I have an account with iscrybe and can send you an invite if you need one. PM me with you email address if you want to try it.

[graham]

adminwrote:

that will work around the problem of my German accent...

You know that accent could be a real advantage! Your command of English is amazing and better than most English speakers for sure. Made in Germany is seen, in the UK, as a sign of excellence. Audi advertise here using German catch phrases and these are heavily promoted - German engineering is rated above all, including the Japanese. Many products that have no connection with Germany are given product names with made-up German sounding words and it obviously works.

So, I think you could easily use this to your advantage plus some good background music (know anyone?).

Just to follow up on JC's view on training - If it can be done, then ok, but I always prefer good well written material to support technical products. There is a major industry writing training books on computer stuff and they are all several inches thick! The Wiki is an excellent on-line guide but there is a real opportunity for a written training guide for XY but this is a major task plus one needs the expertise. Imo, a video falls a long way short of this in training purposes. Technical products like XY and I suspect most who use XY, just have a go and rarely read documentation. For major technical products training is usually classroom based and my experience of IBM and ICL training was incredible but very concentrated and time consuming. videos just can't do as well though I believe this is becoming more used by the big guys (MS)

[j_c_hallgren]

Just to follow up on JC's view on training - If it can be done, then ok, but I always prefer good well written material to support technical products. The Wiki is an excellent on-line guide but there is a real opportunity for a written training guide for XY but this is a major task plus one needs the expertise. Imo, a video falls a long way short of this in training purposes.

One example that comes to mind as a good candidate for a quick video, (because I've seen more than one newbie post about it), would be how to change the date of a file...it's the little things like that which sometimes aren't as easy to describe in text/still pix that could be subjects for this...simply because this involves more than just picking selection(s) from a menu/toolbar(s).

I'm by no means suggesting that we need to have vid's to describe even 30-50% of XY features, but a set of maybe (at max) a couple of dozen short "Problem":"Solution" ones is mostly what I had in mind.