Google Maps has neatly integrated photos and videos that have been geotagged.  If users take the time to put their media on the map when uploading, Google Maps users are provided with links to your media!

Hey, it just takes an extra minute to properly tag you photos with map information.  You are already tagging your photos with compelling titles and keyword tags, right?

TripAdvisor’s TripWow is a little over the top, but the idea of helping travelers create embeddable multimedia is a great one for the travelers.
The promise: Create a Slide Show that will make your friends go “Wow”.

The benefits for TripAdvisor – click throughs to TripAdvisor destination pages via keyword-laden hyperlinks to kickstart the travel planning process for TripWow slideshow viewers. Interestingly, the terms of use for the TripWow widget prohibit users from disassembling the widget and removing the keyword hyperlinks. The secondary benefit for TripAdvisor is some serious keyword SEO for TripAdvisor destination pages.

If growing traffic is your aim, make it easy for visitors to create and share media
If I was in the travel information archiving business (travel review sites, destination marketing organizations and travel associations), I’d forgo the development of my own platform and work with a company like Animoto to help folks create travel videos that more effectively focus on the photos of the traveler, with embedded music tracks.

A custom branded version of Animoto would create greater interest in your travel information site while adding a small revenue stream for Animoto, perhaps leading to the DMO, travel association or travel information site to pay for the higher resolution services of Animoto’s great travel promotion tool – making it free for travelers to create and share media promoting your website.

I’d also make sure that it was easy to geotag the photo sets and create a similar mapping graphic as shown in TripAdvisor’s TripWow tool part of the show. TripAdvisor’s map owes it’s inspiration to the likes of Indiana Jones, and the maps work well but frankly speaking, most of the other graphic elements of the video take attention away from the trip photos.

I am a fan of the social media tools that pop out from the right side of the videos. They make it easy to share the media by Twitter, Facebook and making the media easy to embed. The Video branding and destination keyword links are sure to drive serious page views for TripAdvisor.

TripWow’s bow is perhaps the inspiration you need to get into providing media production tools like this with a partner who has demonstrated expertise in creating Wow video that focuses on user generated photos and video. Page views are sure to follow.

The idea of charging a fee for video and audio from conferences and events is old, and comes from the days of charging for tapes of presentations as a way of boosting revenue from live events.  Those days are over.

Today, sitting in little old South River, Ontario, Canada I’m watching the live streaming event LeWeb from Paris France – for free.  Not everyone can afford to travel to conferences and not everyone can attend your event each year.  By letting participants peak into your conference on their computer, you build your event reputation, entice future attendees and earn fans far beyond the walls of your event.

Events like LeWeb and Web 2.0 Conference put some of the brightest lights in the tech industry on stage for their audience and give away the content. These events gain a wide audience and inspire people to consider attending in person and make it more enticing for presenters to offer their services at little or no cost.

These events and others like Phocuswright Conference for Tourism Industry earn income by providing a stage for start-ups to showcase their businesses.  Unlike others, Phocuswright charges a fee for access to streaming and on-demand video.  This insulates conference content from those who don’t pay for access, and offers less exposure for the people and businesses that take the stage.

Growing your brand exposure by giving away the proceedings, earns free promotion for your event from people “Outside the Walls” who:

• tweet about happenings with your hash tags (even though they are not there)
• broadcast the news and info and crediting your event
• tell others about what they learn
• blog about ideas they see and hear
• link back to your event
• attend future events

In this regard your event might consider moving the cost of video production from an expense that will produce income (selling access to video from your event) to a Public Relations and Promotions expense that will grow future attendance at your events.

Ask Yourself: How can I extend my brand and involve people who can’t be here?

Why Live Streaming your Event is a no brainer:

Audience members can stream your event themselves today for FREE.  Apple yesterday approved the Ustream Live Broadcaster application for iPhone.  Now anyone with an iPhone 3G can  live stream video straight from the iPhone to the Ustream Web site.  That video can be embedded in other Web pages for free.  When audience members are holding up their phones, they are no longer just snapping photos, but sending video of your conference or event to others on the Web.

The Ustream.tv Live Broadcasting app works on both 3G cell phone connections as well as Wi-Fi.  It supports audience interaction with chatroom messaging and polling of viewers and allows uploading video to Youtube and Facebook.  Ustream Live is available in the iTunes store for FREE here

Other apps like Qik Video for iPhone (and other smartphone devices) has submitted its app for approval to the iTunes store as well.  This app permits instant updates of Video broadcasting via Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

All information is already free. The information attendees gather from your event will be publically available around the world before your speakers even step off stage.  There is virtually no information that Google can’t provide, but for the sake of a couple of keystrokes.

Information presented at your event is already old. The Web is changing so quickly that information has a “Best Before” date stamped on it that expires before the signs are taken down and the stage is packed away.

If they can get it for free, why would anyone come to your event?

The truth is, most people don’t come to your event for the conference proceedings and presentations.  They come to socialize with other attendees and presenters.  The biggest value you bring to attendees is the opportunity to build face to face relationships.  If your event doesn’t gain renown for the face to face interactions that take place in between presentations, you have a bigger problem than ubiquitous live streaming video.

photo credit: kitcowan

Apple announces iPod Nano and iTunes Upgrades

Apple transformed the marketing of tourism when the iPhone became the connected device of choice among digital travelers. Today, Apple announced a number of new enhancements to iTunes and their most importantly the Apple iPod nano music device.

iPod Nano – Video

iPod Nano, the small little music player that fits into the smallest of Christmas stockings will bring video into the hands of everyone. Last year I wrote about how the Flip Video camera could be an important tool for getting video to market your tourism business.

The current Flip Video has 4 gigabytes of memory.

The new iPod nano will record video on a flash drive with up to 16 gigabytes for less than $200!

Couple that with a device that is syncs with your computer via iTunes and has one click upload to Youtube capability and you are making it easier than ever for anyone to create and share video.

The device will clearly be marketed to youth – it has no still camera capability, nevertheless, there are important implications for travel and tourism businesses.

With Video on iPod Nano, Video will be Ubiquitous

91% of people who have cell phones have them with them within arms reach 24 hours a day. Stats aren’t available on how in-touch people are with their Flip Video camera, but its a safe bet that they have their portable music player a lot closer, a lot more often (most are iPods of course).

What that means: It will be as convenient for iPod nano owners to shoot video as it is for cell phone users to make phone calls.

Get it?

iPod Nano spurs questions for Tourism

iPod Nano announcement means it’s time for a few important questions the tourism industry needs to start thinking about (if you aren’t already):

• How are you going to encourage your guests to share video that inspires other travelers?
• How are you going to monitor social media for video representation of your region, property or experience?
• How can you include the needs of digitally connected travelers to make sharing of content easier? Think wifi and power needs. (Please tell me you are still not charging for wifi access?)

What questions come to mind for your region or business?

Links:

• Get video from your guests
• Flip Video & social media post

Video featuring Todd (3 minutes): How Facebook makes it super simple to keep your Web site fresh:

• Facebook Fan Boxes.
• Status updates.
• Handheld instant publishing and sharing of photos.
• Tagging people in your fan club photos.

The Quest

In Newfoundland and Labrador, two of the things that travelers like to experience are icebergs and whales. Getting a photo of both together . . . well that could be a lifelong photographer’s quest and a Destination Marketing Organization’s dream.

This past weekend, my daughter Natalie got this photo of a Humpback Whale and Iceberg at Battle Harbour, NL.

Value of User Generated Content

With thousands of visitors pointing cameras at your destination, there is a much greater chance of getting the photography and video that sells the benefits of your region by looking at content created by your visitors.

This past weekend (on her spare time), Natalie and her boyfriend, Shaun McLeod headed off to Battle Harbour to see if there were any whales to be photographed. To our shared delight and amazement, Natalie and Shaun captured some of the best footage of whales I’ve ever seen including the video below!

NatalieLucier.com/WhaleVideo

As Natalie excitedly shared recently on Twitter and Facebook, the Youtube Video was featured on the National CBC News in Canada:

Next, Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism emailed to request that she blog about her experience and requested permission to feature the video on NewfoundlandandLabrador.com. Not surprisingly, the DMO is interested in getting full Rights to the whale video so they can cut and edit it and use it for advertising.

What’s it Worth?

Destination marketing organizations coming across video or photography that could be used to promote and market their region need to give serious consideration to the value of such content.

A few things that should come into the equation:

• How compelling is the experience in the video – does it convey the idea that I could be there too?
• How rare is the video or photo – are there others like it?
• Does it capture emotion?
• If you sent a photographer or videographer out to get the footage, could they reproduce it easily?
• How much would it cost to send a professional out to get the footage?
• Do you have exclusive rights to the raw footage so that you can use it in a variety of formats and integrate it with existing media?
• Does editing and branding the video with your brand benefit your organization more than just using the free embedded youtube version of the video
• How much does your organization currently pay for professionally produced media?
• How much did the content producer invest in equipment, time, travel, planning to get the content?
• What is the content worth to your DMO members? Will it result in new visits to your region?

So – What do you think the video is worth?

Links:

Folks who have attended Tourism Keys workshops or community Internet Marketing training might remember my daughter Natalie who has been working at Gros Morne National Park for the past year working on Web Marketing and new media projects.

Natalie shares her personal video and photography on NatalieLucier.com, a travel blog site and her Facebook Page.

btw, Natalie took the job in NFLD in part because of the opportunity to be close to whales! I’d say, she got pretty close.

Is this the year you focus on getting quality video interviews for your Web presence?

Katie Couric gives advice on how to be a good interviewer. The five minute video is a springboard to Google’s new Reporters Centre channel http://www.youtube.com/reporterscenter which aims to help make citizen journalism more mainstream.

The gist of Katie’s advice on How to Conduct an Interview:

• Put people at ease.
• Calibrate your tone.
• Know your interview subject.
• Go with the flow.  Be prepared to shift direction.
• Listen well and respond authentically to responses from your subject.
• Serve your audience and don’t get in the way of your subject sharing their story.

Got any other advice to getting great video interviews?

Links:

• Have a gander at The Uptake’s video instruction on how to organize a citizen journalism project that uses video.

Datatubes allows users to upload their videos to datatubes and offers playback of the videos on your own web site. This isn’t any old Youtube embed code. Not only are individual videos embed-able in your Web site. You can embed entire libraries of videos on your primary Web site!

and… when the videos in your library are updated, the embed code automatically updates the library listing of videos available within your Web site.

It gets even better!

Not only can you upload videos to the service and build a comprehensive automatically updated library, Your guests can be invited to share their videos too! Right from Your Web page!

I’ve only been trying out Datatubes new video library service for about an hour, but I’m more than impressed with the results. What do you think?

• See our video library set up at Northern Edge Algonquin

Benefits to Datatubes:

• In less than 2 hours you can walk in, set up everything and have a complete video library hosting solution running on your Web site. What’s more, you’ll not have to updated any code the next time you upload a video. Just upload it and it’s there running from your site.
• Embedded versions of your videos aren’t watermarked with logos of other video hosting sites.
• It’s social. You can invited your fans to embed their travel videos on your site!
• Search widgets make your videos searchable right on your Web site.
• Tourism regions and businesses often can’t afford the expense of creating their own video sharing portal. They can with datatubes – it’s free.
• Video resolution can be set at a wide range of settings and play back in full screen with just a click.
• Bandwidth is provided away from your server. So no worries about slowing your site down by hosting your own.

Got to run, on my way to SXSWi but couldn’t resist getting started creating a video hosting library on our own Web site. Who’d have thought?

I hope you’ll pardon the exclamation points on this post. Needless to say, I’m excited about Datatubes.

Rocky Harbour Newfoundland – Tourism Keys State of the Web Keynote

According to a report on search engine results from Forrester Research: “on the keywords for which Google offers video results, any given video in the index stands about a 50 times better chance of appearing on the first page of results than any given text page in the index.”

Not only is video invaluable to getting your web presence better exposure in search engines, but video is the most compelling way to tell your story and inspire potential visitors.

Considerations in managing your online video presence

1. Capture the video you need: There are a variety of choices to make in determining the best tools to capture video. Some important considerations:
   • use a high definition camera: most video services already encourage uploading of high definition content.
   • In the future, more people will want to view your high definition online content on big screen high definition screens.
2. Edit and Distribute your content - Windows Movie Maker or iMovie for Mac are easy to use. Tubemogul is the ideal place to upload your video content. The site permits uploading video content across a variety of online Video distribution sites including . . . . Take the time to set up accounts on all of them.
   • Take the time to come up with a great title, description and keyword tags for each video you post. These are what the search engines will display when showing your video as a search result. Good titles and descriptions and tags feature keyword phrases so that the video is deemed relevant for search.
3. Your videos are a podcast. Video hosting sites have feeds. Use the feed from your favourite site and tell the iTunes Podcast store about it and your fans can subscribe to your videos. Register the feed at Podpusher.com and make your video podcast available across a variety of feed services.
4. Post your videos to dedicated travel video Web sites: There are a number of Travel Web sites that host video including Travelistic.com, TripFilms.com, Zoom and Go. These sites usually organize video based on destination. Travelers more than ever are going to Web sites and searching for video from the destination and host location they hope to travel to.
5. Embed the content from your preferred video hosting site into your blogsite. We’ve been recommending you ditch your Website and focus on a Wordpress Blogsite in 2009. One of the reasons to do this is a Wordpress Blog makes it easy to embed your video into your blogsite. If you can send and receive email, you can embed video on your blogsite. The best tools for this are Blip.tv and Youtube.
6. Video is Social. Most video hosting sites encourage viewers to post comments about the video they watch. Fans of your region or business can be encouraged to watch your video on these sites and post comments about the value of your offerings.
7. Think Local. In the near future, visitors to your region will want location-specific multimedia. What stories need to be told in your community, where do they need to be told? How can you use video to give your visitor a richer local experience.
8. Think Current. What stories are relevant at different times of the year? What’s story would be interesting to your Website visitor right now.
9. Just do it. Get out and start recording. Like most things, your video production will get better the more you do it. Remember, any time your video gets viewed in a location away from your website or blogsite, it could drive traffic back to your main site or even inspire an inquiry about travel to your location.

Links:

• Ditch your Website and focus on your Blogsite
• 400 Plus online media websites and tools