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... 

View With Comments

We're a Webby Award Honoree for Best Writing, Online Video

This morning we learned that we're an official Webby Award Honoree in the category of Best Writing, Online Film and Video! Woohoo!

But what does that mean?  Here's what it says on the Webby Award website:

View With Comments

Request for Testimonials or Quotes

We're getting close to rolling out a new and improved version of
CommonCraft.com and I have a favor to ask. We're planning to include testimonials in the new design. These are short quotes that will display the names (and organization names, if desired) of the people providing the quotes. 

View With Comments

Did You Contact Us March 17-March 23?

We experienced a problem with the Contact Us form on this web site from March 17th to March 23rd. Unfortunately, this meant that messages sent to us via the form never reached our inbox.  We've been working with our host on this issue and the Contact Us form is now in fine working order.

We take "Contact Us" messages very seriously and get back to every person that contacts us.  If you contacted us recently and did not receive a reply, please send the message again. Thanks for your understanding.

View With Comments

A Model for Applying Common Craft Videos

People often ask how our presentation quality videos are used in professional and educational settings. From talking to educators and influencers, we've learned that our videos are often used to introduce a subject - to get everyone on the same page at the beginning of a class, workshop, etc. Recently, as part of our planning for 2009, we came up with a model that helps tell this story.  We call it the A-to-Z Scale.

View With Comments

What to Expect From Common Craft in 2009

In a word: Education.

Our goal in 2009 is to make explanatory videos that have a positive impact.  To get there, we plan to focus of video subjects that are educational in nature and help address some of the big problems we face.

We plan to introduce new series of videos that diverge from our Web roots and cover subjects that we believe need to be covered.  You'll see the first of these starting very soon and continuing into February.  We're starting with the basics - big ideas that will be built upon over time.

View With Comments

Introducing: The Common Craft Explainer Network

A few weeks ago, we posted "Seeking Producers of Video Explanations" and wrote:

We see an opportunity for a win-win.  Every day, we receive multiple emails from organizations that are looking for custom explanatory videos... The opportunity we see is to create a way, through our website, to help organizations find video producers who can be hired to produce custom videos.

View With Comments

Seeking Producers of Video Explanations

We see an opportunity for a win-win.  Every day, we receive multiple emails from organizations that are looking for custom explanatory videos.  As we've changed our focus away from making custom videos, we can't help. Until recently, we didn't know where to point these prospects.  Thankfully, we're starting to see producers who are developing a specialty in producing explanatory videos - and we're looking for more.

View With Comments

What To Do About Copy-Cats?

For quite a while now, we’ve been flattered to see others create videos that appear very similar to ours. In many cases, these are positive videos that are used as classroom exercises.  We encourage others in the education world to create Common Craft-inspired videos. Of course, some producers have taken the idea in new directions and mediums, which we also encourage. Further, some producers choose to publicly attribute Common Craft for inspiring their work - and we deeply appreciate this kind of recognition.

View With Comments

You've Spoken: Common Craft and Politics

Through nearly 50 comments and 15-20 emails, you have spoken. You don't want to see politics on Common Craft. I agree that it is the right move - political discussions will not appear on the Common Craft web site. We may make videos about events that relate to government, but these will not reflect personal/partisan views.  A couple of things:

1) First, wow.  We are both so excited to see such amazing comments. The thoughtfulness is inspiring. Thank you so much for being involved - we are lucky to have people like you around us. My Mom even got involved via email (thanks Mom!)

View With Comments