Beautiful Iceland

We are used to tiny, fuzzy and jerky internet videos, due to technical limitations. But the technology is developing fast and new standards are now appearing that will make our video experiences richer on the internet.

So sit back, put on your best headphones and rest your eyes on this clip from Iceland, a music video with Sigur Ros, one of my favourite bands (very cool late-night music). Double-click the video to go fullscreen.

This video is compressed to use only 500 kbit/s using a new standard called H.264 (why do the engineers always come up with these awkward names?). It means that you can see this video on any computer even with a low-end broadband connection. The guy that encoded this video has tweaked it to its limits, but soon we will see this kind of quality everywhere. Compare it with this version of the same video, running at 1.3 Mbit/s, still possible to run on most broadband connections.
(Thanks Peter at Disruptive for the tip about the blog Flashcomguru.)

Another exciting technology that enables full-screen video at excellent quality comes from Move Networks. It uses dynamic bandwidth, meaning that it runs on any connection speed, the higher you have the better the quality gets. The national Swedish television SVT are the first to use this in Sweden, check it out by watching an episode of their drama series Andra Avenyn (click on “Se Andra Avenyn i högupplöst Play”).
It looks very good and also illustrates that picture quality is one thing and movie experience quality is something entirely different…

So now internet videos can be played in all sizes. From tiny thumbnails to full screen, almost HD-quality with superior stereo audio as well. This opens up for even more new ways of using video for communication, education, inspiration and information, also for corporate use.

                 

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KIVA

I am engaged in venture capital in Sweden, both as investor and as business coach. But I have also invested in 5 aspiring entrepreneurs in third world countries through KIVA, an internet based micro-lending organization that since the start in 2005 has financed some 30 000 entrepreneurs by small ($25 and up) loans from more than 130 000 people like me from all over the world.

KIVA is an example of something that could not be done without internet and the support from online payment service PayPal, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, MySpace and other partners. The web site is a school example of building an engaged community with lots of smart tools for networking between the lender and the entrepreneurs and also between lenders.

See how it works in this New York Times video story, where a reporter goes to Kabul in Afganistan to check up on his investment in a local bakery.
Exercise: first read this blog text and about KIVA on their web site.
Then watch this short video.
Compare the two experiences!
My point: video is a very powerful medium for explaining things and creating feelings for people and causes.

Also, listen to this excellent interview with the KIVA co-founder Jessica Jackley Flannery, from the Phorecast podcast.

And, if you want the entrepreneur’s look at this, check out Guy Kawasaki’s blog post “The six lessons of KIVA” (Guy is the father of the term “evangelism” for marketing and brand building).

KIVA is enabling thousands of people to improve their lives by doing everything right:

1. Creating a great user experience by connecting people globally on their site.
2. Keeping the lenders updated about the progress of each individual that they have lent money to.
3. Having a clear, easy-to-understand business model (a voluntary $2.50 or 10% from the lender for every loan).
4. Using evangelism to recruit lenders, not spending a dollar on marketing.
5. Inviting big corporate sponsors to help out with their services to create win-win.

                 

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How to sell a web application

You read about a new cool internet application and click on the link.
An unfamiliar site appears. In about 5 seconds you decide if you want to stay there and explore it, or if you will surf away.
Fact: most people only give a new site 5-10 seconds to attract them.

So why are so many internet apps so bad at really quickly making the first-time visitor understand the basics:

1. What is it?
2. What’s in it for me?
3. How does it work?

Often you just meet a confusing startpage with a login-form and some user comments, with few clues to what it really is about or who should use it.

An exemplary example of how it should be done is the new American online speed-dating service WooMe.
It is financed by the smart Skype-founder Niklas Zenström and not only because it uses Skype video technology.

Here’s why it is so great:
The window title explains it all: Meet People Live in Voice and Video Online Speed Dating Sessions

The next thing you see is a text box with the head line What is it? that explains the service in short bullet texts. Beside this is a “How to play” section with screen images and the highlighted key words Find, Meet, Woo.

And best of all, right at the top there is also a professionally made video with a user that goes through the service in a very personal way. The video clips is short, inspiring and cleverly shows how it works and how easy it is.

Video is usually the best way of showing how you do things, especially when you can show a person interacting with a computer such as in this case. Mixing the screen shots with the shots of the woman looking into the camera is also a very efficient way to inspire the audience.

You also see a big join now! button with the tag line (takes 29 seconds). Again, an exemplary way of making people think “Well, if it only takes 29 seconds I could try it out”

Corporate sites are also falling into this trap. How often haven’t you visited a corporate site that do not explain what the company is doing and for whom, really?

Update March 2009: Check out this great post by Guy Kawasaki, The Art of the Tutorial.

Checklist for creating a web service start page that entices users

1. Write your pitch in the window title. It is one of the first things people see. And, even more important: this text shows in the search engines. Standard window titles like “Welcome to XYZ!” sucks!
2. Put the important presentation stuff at the top of the page.
   Very short headlines describing: What is it? Who is it for? How does it work?
3. Add one or several video clips where a typical user goes through the service. Make it very short (2 minutes max) and very personal. Better to have several short videos than one long.
   Important to use a credible person representing your target group .
   It should be someone I as a user can identify with, who can inspire me and give me confidence that this is a smart service.
   Avoid using grinning sales guys with shining ties and costumes!
   (Unless that type of person is your key target group…)
4. It is often also a good idea to have some videos with typical customer scenarios, showing situations where different problems are solved by someone using your service.
5. Put a “Tip your friends” button on the start page, viral marketing is very powerful. Make this a very quick and easy process for the user.
6. If your service requires a lengthy registration process, divide it up so that the users can get started with a minimum of form-filling. Then make them fill out the rest of the forms during later visits.

                 

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