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Subject:Re: what's the current trend? From:kafkascampi <kafkascampi -at- gmail -dot- com> To:Daniel Friedman <daniel -dot- friedman42 -at- gmail -dot- com> Date:Tue, 20 Oct 2015 14:14:47 -0700
Like many of the responders here, I produce video in addition to
written help topics. Different users learn in different ways, so why
not offer them multiple options? That said, there is a maintenance
cost when the UI changes, etc--it is wise to focus on topics that need
a video. Don't make everything a nail just because you have a hammer.
I try to keep how-to videos as short as possible and link them in the
relevant help topic. Keep the fanciness to a minimum. When I make the
marketing videos, I get to have more fun.
Chris
On Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 9:16 AM, Daniel Friedman
<daniel -dot- friedman42 -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> Also, if you can afford it, hire an outside videographer to help with
> camera work and editing. It will save you tons of time and improve the
> production quality. Some of them will work for a flat fee per video as well.
>
> On Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 12:04 PM, Daniel Friedman <
> daniel -dot- friedman42 -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
>
>> I'm with Sean on video. Video is resource intensive and should be used
>> only when the maximum impact can be achieved. It is very difficult to
>> create videos on the advanced features of a system, since most users tune
>> out after 3-4 minutes.
>>
>> I would suggest finding out from support or clients directly for common
>> support issues, and target ones that are basic enough to cover in short
>> video tutorials. In some cases a video tutorial on setup can save a lot of
>> phone time, since customers can be referred to the video instead of tying
>> up a support agent on the phone.
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 19, 2015 at 11:24 PM, Janoff, Steven <
>> Steven -dot- Janoff -at- hologic -dot- com> wrote:
>>
>>> I find myself moving more and more towards video any time I want to learn
>>> something.
>>>
>>> Plus 1 for both TED talks and Lynda.com. Adobe has had some impressive
>>> videos lately, e.g., for Photoshop, InDesign, and such. Better than their
>>> text documentation.
>>>
>>> Steve
>>>
>>> On Monday, October 19, 2015 4:45 PM, Tony Chung wrote:
>>>
>>> Have you watched TED talks or Lynda.com ? They both have a live
>>> transcript where you can click the text in transcript to jump to the
>>> section of the video.
>>>
>>> As I said, I'm not a purist. I believe in using video as part of my
>>> information experience palette. And I'm not alone. Techsmith, Adobe, and
>>> others are using video almost more than text.
>>>
>>> For hardware, I am especially fond of the SAP-Vuzix demo. That was more
>>> an example of JIT customer service, but could easily integrate augmented
>>> reality into hardware instructions.
>>>
>>> And people don't care too much about pro level qualityâthey just want it
>>> to give the information they need, with enough clarity to follow along.
>>>
>>> -Tony
>>>
>>> On Monday, 19 October 2015, Sean Brierley <
>>> sean -dot- brierley -at- gerberscientific -dot- com> wrote:
>>>
>>> > Some thoughts against video.
>>> >
>>> > - It's difficult to make. Everyone expects broadcast quality
>>> > - It is almost impossible to edit.
>>> > - It is impossible to translate.
>>> > - As a user, I must watch a video sequentially when I can just jump
>>> > into text and read the bits I need.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Am I off base?
>>> >
>>> > Cheers,
>>> >
>>> > Sean
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> *Daniel Friedman*
>> *friedmantechpublications.com* <http://friedmantechpublications.com>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> *Daniel Friedman*
> *friedmantechpublications.com* <http://friedmantechpublications.com>
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