Vodcasting: first impressions

I first met Dr Silvia Pfeiffer (from Vquence Pty Ltd) when she got involved in the very first public sphere event on higher bandwidth networks.  Her presentation focused on the central role that video would play as high bandwidth became ubiquitous, from both the supply (gov, edu, health and biz apps) and demand (consumer/client/citizen) perspective. Her blog about her presentation is well worth a look if you want to grasp the challenge from a practical and technical perspective. Note her link at the end to the CISCO report which discusses the rate of growth of video over the internet!

Anyway, with this down to earth analysis in mind it certainly sharpened my thoughts on what possibilities I could explore on my own web site.  I have used audio recordings as part of blog posts in the past, but never ventured into video. For me, the real challenge lay in being able to produce and post something that was reasonable quality within the human and technological resources of my electorate office. I was aware of the success other politicans were having with their video and You Tube channels but had always presumed the need for resources would put video beyond me. Of note are the PM’s regular videos and of course the Obama campaign efforts last year.

This article by the ABC’s Ben Self describes the use of video: “The campaign’s official blog was updated more than a dozen times a day, and the campaign posted over 2,000 videos in its YouTube channel, from in-depth documentaries to concise educational issue videos.”  President Obama’s web site continues to use video as a primary channel for communicating with US citizens.

The good news is it is indeed possible! To get started Silvia set up the You Tube and Vimeo (another video site with no time restrictions per video) channels. Initially we borrowed some video equipment and hired a mixer to get the sound right for the first recording. I have since bought a second hand digital (hard disk) video recorder and intend to buy a radio mike as well, which will alleviate the need for a mixer. I also am fortunate to have guidance from a friend who was a TV producer. His ideas about planning, setting, lighting, sequencing and editing continue to be very helpful. Silvia initially helped with the editing while my staff learnt the skills and best practices required.

I have had some feedback about the first vodcasts, and it seems everyone has their own thoughts on what they like. I am hoping to develop my own style that gets the right balance for a functional, practical in-house video that is relevant, topical and professional-looking.

Silvia prepared a social video report that analysed the impact of having videos on my website and the interest they have generated. Below are some snippets from the report, which I think is an excellent example of the analytics and analysis I need as an elected representative to understand the progress of my vodcasts and how to improve them in the future.

The videos recorded as a consequence of have shown to be a tremendous means of capturing results of an open discussion about government and politics. Views are still increasing videos even now, weeks after the event.

The vodcasts increased the time spent on Senator Kate Lundy’s Website by 45% and contributed well towards the other communication activities started in the same timeframe, in particular the Public Sphere, the new blog, and the Twitter channel. In this summary, we look at the overall performance of the videos and compare it to the Website. In later sections of this report we look in more detail at the performance of individual video recording events.

While the videos that document speeches and events work well towards providing a more complete picture of all the activities of Senator Kate Lundy, the vodcasts work well for providing a more personal and accessible picture of the Senator to constituents. We recommend future vodcasts continue to focus on providing insights into backgrounds, experiences, and motivations of the Senator that fit within the political context and encourage constituents to contribute their views through social networking means such as blogs, twitter, or video replies, or through the excellent Public Sphere events.

Increased time spent on site from Vodcasts

The analysis concludes by reporting a 45% increase in time that people spend on my web site. By providing transcripts to the videos, which is time consuming, I am helping ensure that hearing impaired people are not excluded and people have a way of referencing my statement via the text. Dr Silvia Pfeiffer has encouraged me to do vodcasts on a range of issues, some in depth, some summaries and to continue to experiment, which I plan to do. So if you notice some subtle (an     d not-so subtle) changes in my vodcasts, it is because we are on a program of continuous improvement! This will work best if I get some feedback.

In conclusion, incorporating vodcasts on my websites and the commensurate upskilling of my staff to assist me in communicating with my constituents have been a really worthy investment. I hope you agree. I would be interested in your thoughts about this or any aspect of this blog. Have you watched Kevin Rudd’s videos? Or even President Obama’s? What works for you?

Public Sphere video analytics

You can find all my vodcasts here, as well as a full list of video and other media posts.

Tagged: broadband, egovernment, ICT