Sometimes interesting things can happen when one mixes older ideas along with newer technologies. The 30 Hour Day is one of those things. The show is designed be 30-hour Web-based telethon. Think YouTube meets Jerry Lewis. No sleep. All for charity.
The telethon will be hosted by Cami Kaos of Strange Love Live, a popular tech podcast broadcast from Portland, Oregon, and Rick Turoczy of Silicon Florist, a blog that covers the Portland startup scene. They’ll be raising money for charity by entertaining for 30 hours with the help of quite a few people. Watch this video to find out more about the 30 Hour Day, and how you can participate:
It’s very cool how they’re taking an older concept (a telethon) and mixing it up with new technology including using the web for the event and using social media (Twitter, Facebook, blogs) for build-up. I’m a photography sponsor for the event (via Hockley Photography), and it would be great to see how other folks will chip in as well.
For more information on the event or to keep track of the progress, please visit the website, follow them on Twitter, or join the Facebook fan page.
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A few weeks ago, Dale Chumbley offered a look at Animoto. You guys must’ve loved it – the amount of traffic and links from other places indicated a strong interest in the topic. I got in touch with the folks and Animoto and we’ve got a special offer for Social Photo Talk readers.
If you’re not familiar with Animoto, they’re the best way to provide fun slideshows (both stills and video) that showcase your work in a great format that can be easily be shared on the web, Facebook, and more. Take a look at this show for an example:
If you’re a pro photographer looking to polish your image, you’ll love these Animoto professional features:
- Over 500 commercially licensed and free to use songs
- Completely white-labeled (no Animoto branding)
- Free DVD-quality download upgrades
- A “call to action” button can be added at the end of your video so that viewers can link directly to your website
We have a special and limited time offer: purchase a 3-month Animoto for Photography purchase and receive an additional month completely free… that’s over a $30 value. Here’s how to use our special offer:
- Head over to Animoto and sign up for an account if you haven’t already.
- Go to the Animoto account upgrades page.
- Hit the “buy a three month pass” link.
- Click where it says “Do you have a promo code?” and enter the code: STP09
That’s it! Your three month pass is now a four month pass! Don’t delay, this code is only good through November 30th, 2009.
There’s a lot of talk about video, convergence, and fusion amongst the photography world with new DLSRs often having video capability. Even if your camera doesn’t yet record video, there’s an easy way to capture quality videos that can be used to help spread your message on your blog, YouTube, and Facebook.
Enter the Flip video camera. I have a Flip Ultra HD (pictured) which is a pocket-sized unit that can record up to two hours of HD video. A flip-out USB connector makes it very easy to transfer the videos to a PC or Mac for easy sharing online. I carry my Flip with me in my backpack so that I always have it handy for an impromptu video… it’s the device I used to record videos with Laurie and Andy at WordCamp Seattle as well as the video of Darren at BlogWorld.
Wouldn’t it be great to have a few clients record brief testimonials you could display on your website or blog? How about a quick video tour of your studio? I occasionally use my Flip to record video of a photoshoot location when I make a scouting trip; I can review that video as I prepare for the day of the event.
Have you incorporated simple video into your online presence or social media world? Are you using a Flip? An iPhone? Another device?
If you’re new here, you can keep up with my latest photography information at Picture Pundit – subscribe to my newsletter for a FREE Report: A Guide to Twitter for Photographers.
Today we feature a guest post by Dale Chumbley, a photographer who writes a Clark County Real Estate guide.
Today I hope to add another tool to your toolbox that will kick your business up a notch. A tool that will take your images and creativity and make them POP even more. Something that will liven up your photos and really bring them to life. Your clients and friends will want to pass them along, share them on facebook, tweet them out, email them to their friends and loved ones. You ask, what is it? What is this tool?
Animoto
That’s right, Animoto is the tool I speak of. Animoto is an extremely simple to use program that builds rock star videos out of your photos AND videos. The only thing you have to do is choose your photos, choose your video clips, add in transition phrases if you want them, put everything in the order you’d like it, pick a song and then hit GO! The program does the rest. All the transitions, movement to the music, etc is magically done for you. I’ve used Animoto for a couple years to build video tours of homes, local venues, flowers and anything else I’ve photographed that I want to share with the world. I’ve loved it and my friends and customers have loved it too.
One of my photographer friends David Martschinske has done some amazing work incorporating Animoto into his business, especially with his wedding photography. Take the time to watch this video from one of his recent weddings. What an awesome bonus feature he provides for his clients. This is a timeless way to capture the special day and a great way to allow his photography to go viral amongst everyone in their world.
Want further testimony to the value of Animoto? How about a little something from David Ziser? David says…
Animoto is my secret superpower. Animoto is the quickest and easiest way to create a spectacular standalone product from my photography. My clients love it, my competitors don’t offer it, and it’s so simple I don’t even have to sweat it. Photographers who aren’t using Animoto are leaving some easy money on the table.
Want your own Professional Animoto Account?
Animoto provides a couple different professional pricing options. You can get a full annual pass for $249 or a 3 month pass for $99. Just click on the big banner below to get started. (They also have a non-commercial pass available if you have no commercial needs)
Disclaimer: That’s an affiliate link. I’ll get a few dollars if you purchase the software.
4th of July photo by Teresa Boardman, used with permission
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