Video: Secure Websites in Plain English
By leelefever on February 09, 2010 - 11:57am
We've published a new video called "Secure Websites in Plain English"
Security is obviously an important part of using the Web. Thankfully, through cooperation between a number of organizations, standards have been developed to communicate when a site is secure. Unfortunately these clues are not always known to everyday Web users. This video covers the basics of web site security - the common threats, the basics of encryption and how to tell when a site is secure.
The video also covers a new and growing standard that gives banks and other organizations a way to communicate that their site is the genuine article. This new standard, called EV SSL Certification, is meant to battle phishing scams.
This video, like all our videos, is available for licensing and use by individuals, organizations and websites. Learn more.
Here are other videos in our growing "Net Safety" series...
Phishing Scams
Protecting Reputations Online
New Video: Protecting Reputations Online in Plain English
By leelefever on January 06, 2010 - 12:12pm
Today we published a new video called Protecting Online Reputations in Plain English.
Aimed at younger or inexperienced web users, this video helps explain the long-term risks of sharing inappropriate photos, videos and stories on the Web. We've seen the stories and heard personal accounts about people who shared an inappropriate photo that eventually caused them to lose their job or miss an opportunity. Preventing this kind of problem can come from increased awareness about how the Web works and what it means to share something with the public. This video is about taking responsibility and making choices to protect reputations.
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Video: Cloud Computing in Plain English
By leelefever on November 11, 2009 - 1:36pm
Today we published a new video called Cloud Computing in Plain English:
This title has been one of our most requested and for good reason. Cloud Computing is a subject that has an explanation problem - people have a hard time understanding it because it's difficult to explain quickly. Like Social Media, it's a subject that is very broad and lacks broad consensus in terms of clear explanations. Our hope with this video is to lay bit of groundwork so people can see the big ideas.
We asked a number of people for input on the video and I want to thank: Tony Wright, Chris Savage, Uri Budnick, Jeff Dickey and lots of others who I bugged over the last year.
Lastly, this video is available for embedding with a monthly subscription fee. If you're interested, learn more or contact us.
View With CommentsZombies in Plain English - Protect Your Brain this Halloween
By leelefever on October 15, 2009 - 8:12am
It's that time again folks. If you're worried about your brain this Halloween, Zombies in Plain English can help!
View With CommentsVideo: Saving for Retirement (401ks) in Plain English
By leelefever on September 30, 2009 - 1:31pm
Today we've published a new video "Saving for Retirement in Plain English".
Since we first considered making the series of videos on Money, we've had our eyes on retirement savings. Not just our retirement, but yours. Too many people start saving too late and/or don't know the basics of why retirement accounts like 401ks and IRAs make sense. This video is aimed at helping people see the long term benefits of retirement accounts.
Who is it for? Along with use in schools, we see this video being a tool for companies who offer retirement programs. This video can be licensed for use by HR (or financial organizations) that have the goal of increasing awareness and adoption of the programs.
This video will join the other Money videos in a forthcoming "Financial Basics Pack" of 6 videos:
The release of this video also marks a break for our recent focus on money and a return to technology. More coming soon!
View With CommentsVideo: Stock Markets in Plain English
By leelefever on September 02, 2009 - 1:20pm
Today we've published a new video: Stock Markets in Plain English
This video is one of our most requested and focuses on a few basic ideas:
- Why companies offer their stock to the public
- Why people buy and sell stocks
- What makes stock prices change
- How we measure stock markets using indices
This video is part of our Money series and one of the first to touch on markets. It was also one of the toughest to make. Economic forces like supply and demand can quickly turn into rabbit holes. Keeping it short and sweet was a challenge. We're so excited to share it with the world.
We expect this video to be useful to teachers, but also organizations related to investing, particularly ones focused on educating those new to the market.
View With CommentsVideo: Insurance in Plain English
By leelefever on July 21, 2009 - 11:59am
Today we've published a new video: Insurance in Plain English
As we wrote recently, we're focusing on our Money category over the next month or two. This video, Insurance in Plain English, is meant to explain why insurance exists, what service it provides, how it works and what role it plays in being financially responsible.
Insurance is a concept that surrounds us all the time. In fact, it's so common that it's easy to assume that everyone understands it and why it makes sense. Unfortunately, there are not a lot resources for teaching the big ideas behind insurance, much less ones that do it in an entertaining way. This video is meant to make the boring subject of insurance a bit more fun and interesting.
We hope this video will provide educators a resource for helping people young and old make smarter and more informed decision about their coverage.
View With CommentsVideo: Twitter Search in Plain English
By leelefever on June 16, 2009 - 3:09pm
Today we released a new video called "Twitter Search in Plain English"
The video uses an metaphor of the small town of "Twitterville." The town has an election and the people use Twitter to track real-time news, a hashtag to organize discussions and trends to find new information.
While it wasn't our intention, the video matches closely with the events currently taking place in Iran, where people are using Twitter to organize and share news about their disputed election.
If you know people who get Twitter, but don't understand things like hashtags and trending topics, this video will help.
Watch Twitter Search in Plain English.
View With CommentsNew Video: Preparing an Emergency Kit in Plain English
By leelefever on May 26, 2009 - 12:11pm
Today we published a new video called "Preparing an Emergency Kit in Plain English." 
This video represents a new kind of relationship for Common Craft. A while back, we were contacted by Public Safety Canada (PSC) about this subject and we saw a couple of opportunities. First, we could work on a video that has the potential to have a positive impact. Second, we saw an opportunity for a win-win in terms of the video's ownership - something we call a hybrid relationship.
Emergency kits are a widely accepted part of emergency preparedness and most agree on what a kit should contain. The opportunity we saw was to work with PSC to create an emergency kit video that would fit their needs and give us an opportunity to offer a similar video for licensing on commoncraft.com. So, PSC received a video built for their Canadian audience and we have a video with versions appropriate for our American audience. We see this as a win-win and enjoyed working with PSC to make it happen.
This video offers governments and organizations focusing on emergency preparedness a quick and effective way to help citizens get started on building their kits. It can be licensed and branded for use in training and education, or on public facing websites.
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