Happy New Year!
Supposedly, 2004 was the year of the blog and 2005 was the year of the podcast. I believe that 2006 will be the year of mobile video.
Online video has existed for years, but only recently has it gone mobile thanks to Apple's video iPod. As usual with the iPod, Apple wasn't the first to market, but it was the first to create a user experience likely to attract a mass audience.
Never underestimate mobility. What the BlackBerry did for email and previous iPods did for audio, the new iPod will do for video.
Many people have already discussed one important development of the iPod — portable, space shifted television shows. I'd like to discuss another — small business videos.
The stage is now set for law firms and other small businesses to take advantage of video. Thanks to a confluence of software, hardware, and online venues, virtually any business can create and distribute engaging videos with decent production values at almost no cost.
I don't know exactly how this development will play out in the legal sector, but it would not surprise me to see the following:
- Law firm Web sites and blogs with videos. How about video lawyer bios featuring interviews, footage of speeches, television appearances, courtroom performances, etc. Stream the videos on the site, and offer iPod-compatible downloads as well.
- Engaging CLE videos that finally make use of the medium as opposed to the recorded lectures of old. Forget streaming and sell downloads instead so that lawyers can watch them anywhere.
- Deposition videos for your clients to download so that they can see you in action rather than read a dry transcript.
To demonstrate why I believe we're about to witness an explosion of portable video content in 2006, I've put together an iPod-compatible video for you.
Below you'll find a link to Victoria's Secret Kitchen — a short cooking show I produced featuring my grandmother's secret recipe for Eggplant Frittata (despite its name, it does not contain eggs).
I filmed all the footage (34 different clips) on a still camera (no joke), and edited it using iMovie HD on a Mac. In other words, it cost me nothing to produce a coherent video with unique content (you won't find this recipe on the Food Network).
Just imagine what your firm could do with one or two camcorders, quality microphones, and Final Cut Express (Mac) or Adobe Premiere (Windows) — less than $2,000 in equipment and software.
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A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.
