5 Ways the New CommonCraft.com Will Be Different

We've re-thought our website from the ground up and soon you'll see the all the changes we're making.  For now though, I want to highlight a few things that make a big difference.

1. A Focus on the Business. This may be the best way to explain how the focus has changed:

• The current Common Craft site says "WE HAVE A BLOG - and we sell videos"
• The *new* Common Craft  site says "WE SELL VIDEOS - and we have a blog"

It's true - the new site is more closely aligned with the goal of finding, viewing, purchasing and downloading videos.

2. Simplified Video Organization. Our videos used to appear in two places, depending on their version: "free" or "presentation quality."  We've consolidated the display of videos one a single page. This means:

• No More "Common Craft Store" - Instead of trying to attach a video store to the site, we're integrating the purchase experience into the pages where the videos appear.
• No More "Common Craft Show"- The "Common Craft Show" was simply a way to organize the free versions of our videos.  Now higher-quality versions of the videos will appear in a single place on the site. 

3. Videos in 5 Languages

We're taking a big step to internationalize our videos.  For the first time, 10 of our videos (including the Social Media 9 Pack) will be available with voice-overs in 5 languages (English, French, German, [Brazilian] Portuguese and Spanish.)  These videos will be available for viewing, purchase and download.

4. Organization by Major Topics

Our video library will be organized into four major topics, which outline our direction in the future.  The topics are: Green, Money, Society and Technology.

5. Overall Look and Feel

Our goal was to make the site look and feel like our videos.  We've integrated our artwork, used a white background and tried to make the experience as focused as our videos.

Of course there are many more changes, but I think these points capture some of the big ideas that drive the new design. More soon... 

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Give it a Name (Friday Fun)

When asked what sort of videos we make it's a bit hard to explain in normal terms.  They're not really instructional or how-to, they have elements of marketing and promotion and some say they are entertaining.  Here's a few options - maybe you have more?

Infodocutainmercials?

Explanatainment?

Docuinfotainment?

Explanapromomercials? 

Explanadocuinfotainmercials?

or maybe just...

explainment?

By the way, don't expect to see any of this on the Common Craft business cards - just for fun. 

Any suggestions? 

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Help Translate the Google Docs Video on DotSUB

We've been friends and fans of dotSUB since we first started making video for The Common Craft Show.  They make it easy for videos to be translated into multiple languages via subtitles. 

The RSS in Plain English video has been translated into 20+ languages on dotSUB. A truly useful and innovative service.

I've gotten permission from the Google Docs team to share the Google Docs video on dotSUB so it's acessible for the hearing impaired and our non-English speaking friends.

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Would a Wiki By Any Other Name Smell As Sweet?

Did you know that in a recent survey by Harris Interactive that only 16% of the online public know what a wiki is? For some, this will seem surprising. Others will say "what's a wiki?"

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Wiki Video in Multiple Languages via DotSub

Just after posting our first video on RSS , I learned a few valuable lessons:

1. Video is inaccessible for the hearing impaired

2. Video is not easy to translate into other languages

3. There is a new site that addresses both of these issues called DotSub .

DotSub makes it easy for me to transcribe the spoken words into text subtitles. Then, once the subtitles exist, it enables DotSub members to voluntarily translate the text into other languages and post the video to their blogs. This makes videos international and more accessible - for free.

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Are You Bilingual? Subtitle Translators Needed

As we had hoped, the RSS in Plain English video has been a learning experience. One important lesson has been a better recognition of the needs of non-English speakers and the hearing impaired when it comes to video.

We want the video to be useful for everyone. Thankfully, (sorry I can't remember who) Darran pointed me to the Rocketboom episode where they reveal how they are using a service called DotSub to add user-generated subtitles in multiple languages to their videos. How cool.

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"...cast" is the new "...ster"

If you haven’t noticed, lots of new frankenwords are making their way through the online lexicon. Napster was one of the originals, prompting a number of new names like Friendster, Feedster and Dogster.

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I Admit It, I Said It

I was thinking back about all the things I learned this year and something popped into my head that made be cringe, and laugh a little. A few weeks ago, I ran my first focus group. My teammates and I were sharing a concept with a group of managers and looking for their perceptions, ideas, thoughts etc.

I was the lead and really wanted to make a connection with the group as I described the process. Then, a phrase came out of my mouth that I would later regret. I didn’t plan on it and I’m not sure where it came from, but it happened. I told them that I want them to “Think outside the box, inside the box and around the box”. Ugh. Even reading it now I cringe.

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