How To Create A Powerful Multimedia Blog
Author: Gobala Krishnan
Have you toyed with the idea of a building a multimedia blog?
Well not to be rude, but it's about time! Admit it - a
text-based blog is boring. No matter how information-rich your
posts are, they're just text and the last time we paid attention
to any of it, text didn't exactly throw us into any sort of
exciting frenzy!
With today's technology, there's really no reason why you can't
turn your blog into a virtual entertainment center complete with
video, audio, instant messaging, and more. This article
describes a couple of the multimedia tools we're talking about
just so you can get an idea of how you can turn a Plain Jane
Blog into a screaming wild ride of thrilling exhilaration.
Internet Video
Online video takes multimedia to the max and quite often,
making it available from your blog can be a simple matter of
installing a plugin or pasting in a small piece of javascript
code. YouTube offers thousands of free videos like this for
example, but if you want to make your presentation truly unique,
you'll need to make your own little movies. Most of today's
cameras (and some cell phones) can turn anyone into an instant
movie maker and if you're not camera shy, you can record
yourself using a product that you're selling, you can record
yourself explaining a particular technique, or you can simply
record yourself giving a speech.
If you **are** camera-shy however, you can record your computer
screen instead. Thanks to a sweet and free screen-capturing
program called Camtasia, you can make videos of yourself using
software like Microsoft Excel or Word with or without audio and
text bubbles. If you're a software developer, you can make
training videos and teach your users how to use your programs
while you're sleeping!
Internet Audio
Offering audio on your blog is another great way to satisfy
today's multimedia-crazed society -- especially since we're all
naturally attracted to sound more than we're attracted to text.
With audio, you're presented with a couple of options. You can
offer streaming audio, which is live audio broadcast from a
radio station or even from your own home. Or you can offer
recorded files. Many blogs will play a recorded audio file as
soon it's loaded while others let visitors download a collection
of files.
Either way, audio gives you the opportunity to offer an earful
of business-related speeches, lectures, or interviews and
increase the interactivity of your blog at the same time.
Instant Delivery vs. Archived Delivery
If the truth must be known, immediacy is what makes multimedia
most effective. Streaming video and audio is much more exciting
than their recorded forms because they're LIVE. It gives
visitors the feeling that they're "right there" inside the
action and that they're part of an important event.
If offering your own streaming information isn't a feasible
option for you right now, offer some of the free streaming
videos and audios that are already available. You'll find a ton
of relevant subjects ranging from software and computer topics
to sewing and fishing hobbies. Just be sure that you keep your
visitors' capabilities in mind when offering these tools.
You don't want for example, to overburden your visitors'
computers by forcing unwanted downloads. Always give your
visitors the choice of listening to an audio file or watching a
video. Believe it or not, a significant portion of the Internet
community still connects via dial up. These users for instance,
won't appreciate having to download a ten megabyte audio file
before your blog completely loads -- especially since it can
take dial up users up to half an hour before that download is
even finished!
About The Author: Gobala Krishnan is a blogging and WordPress
niche marketing expert. Subscribe to his free blog updates at
http://www.easywordpress.com of register as a forum member at
http://forum.easywordpress.com
