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This is another post in our series on Preparing Web Videos in which we examine the trend, a new WordPress plugin from Kaltura, and cover some thoughts on why people resist the inevitable.  You may wish to compare the Kaltura service with four other onlne video services from an earlier article:   Four New Services for Online Videos

How will video be used at your Business Blog?  It’s not a matter of “if” — it’s a matter of “when”.  I know, there are naysayers… and those folks remind me of the people who used to say there’s no need for graphics on your website.  Remember them?  I also remember folks — smart people — claiming that the personal computer would never — NEVER replace professional typesetting machines.  Seen any $80,000 typesetting machines lately?  And, I could mention photographers who said digital would never overtake film… but you get my drift.

This week, I had a client that concepted their business blog and website with a video at top right in feature position.  That’s great. They’ll be ahead of their competition if their video is created from a business benefit perspective and tells their prospects what they have, how it helps them, and what they should do next (remember those three points).

You should note that Katura provides “moderation” so you can choose what changes get displayed, and that your new WordPress plugin integrates with some important controls at the Kalturawebsite including stats that show viewing of your videos.

free video player & video platform - interactive video, online video solution: video player, video editor - kaltura
wordpress video - wordpress plugin for integrated video on video blogs, and video tools

So, why do people resist the coming of video?  Well, some don’t see how it will help them in business (it will), some just don’t like the learning curve, and some don’t want to invest in the tools and software.  But what if the what if there was a plugin for WordPress BlogMasters that made the process easy and invited collaboration (if you choose)?  There is.  It’s from Katura…

New WordPress Video Plugin offers Impressive Features

At right is a video on producing video for the web (seemed appropriate) I found at YouTube and inserted using the easy click and point interface with the Katura plugin (see screenshot below).  Let’s take a look at what you can do with the new Kaltura plugin (it works with WP 2.5 and up… so upgrade soon):

• Upload, and import videos directly to your blog posts
• Edit and remix videos using Kaltura’s online full-featured video editor
• Easily import video and other forms of rich-media from other sites and social networks
• Allow readers and subscribers to add video and audio comments, and to participate in collaborative videos

Wow. So you not only get a way to post videos, but you can edit and remix them with an online editor.  Then… if you wish you can invite others to participate.  What are you waiting for?  To help you get started, I’ve downloaded and installed for a test run, and here are some notes and screenshots.

Using the Katura “Interactive Video” Plugin

Choose if your videos are to be interactive:

Note that your settings in the Admin. area of WordPress allow you to choose the level of interactivity for the videos you place on your site.  Above, only Blog Editors/Contributors and Authors could change videos.  You probably don’t want people to be able to change videos you’ve produced to represent your business.  Right?  Wait a minute… what if there was a fun promotion where people could change your videos and you shot them with that end in mind?  Could be an attention grabber.  For now, you have to choose to enable interaction or not — for your whole site.  You should note that Katura provides “moderation” so you can choose what changes get displayed, and that your new WordPress plugin integrates with some important controls at the Kaltura website including stats that show viewing of your videos.

So, I found a video on producing web video (the one you see above), and inserted it here in this post.  The interface worked real nice and is in keeping with WordPress 2.5 and up interface standards.  The only note of caution I would add, is that if you intend to add to a video, then use it for commercial purposes… be very careful.  Like still images and articles on the web certain or all copyrights are retained by the original author/producer.

Here comes video BlogMasters.  Ready for something new?  The only thing constant here is change.  Hey, I loved my old manual typewriter — the one with the “S” key that stuck — but do I miss it?  Not on your life.

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