Video, Shoots, and Real Estate: Thoughts on the Future

Did a video shoot today with the owner of the company I now work for. It was his first video with a videographer, so he had to work though nervousness and his desire for perfection. I was quite pleased with how things went. And that he came away with a ton of ideas of how we can make the next one better.

Preparing got today reminded me of the one below, where I am on camera. I’ve been behind the scenes many, many times. I do like being in front of the camera, I should do more of that. Maybe, once I have my real estate license back, I’ll go full on into being a YouTube agent. One of many possibilities to explore.

So, the video below is one I made with the C & K Real Estate Team. I really enjoyed making it and have thought, many times, it would be a blast to do more.

What do you think? So many options, do little time.

The IRS and 21st Century Annoyances

So, one of my current projects is helping a non-profit get up and running. One of the things we need is an EIN (Employer Identification Number…the organizational equivalent to a Social Security Number). So, I go to the IRS page to request this, and keep getting the old “Can’t connect to the website. Please try again later” error. I don’t think too much of this, but after a couple of hours, it’s getting to me. So, I explore a bit and find this.

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Really? A website that’s only useful during “business hours”? It’s a WEBSITE! Why on earth is this not available 24-7? I guess that there’s some manual approval that happens during the process. Even so, I should be able to apply and be dropped into a queue that’ll be checked Monday morning, or whatever. A website with office hours just boggles my mind.

Ok, this clearly is a 21st Century problem. But it’s just so antithetical to the zeitgeist.

Tech Research Pet Peeve

Currently, I’m looking at an online service for the Snohomish County Youth Chorus (my son sings with them, and I’m on the board). One of the first things I always want to do is look at pricing. I want to avoid spending hours of time researching features and whatnot, when the product doesn’t fit into the org’s budget.

When it’s not available, or not easily findable, I get annoyed. I don’t want to sign up for a “free trial” to answer the most basic of questions. A couple of thoughts with this:

  • If you won’t tell me the costs plainly, I expect that I will need to worry about being “sold” to all the time. Sure, it might make it easier for you to sell to me, but it both annoys me and erodes my trust.
  • If you won’t tell me upfront so that you can apply high pressure sales, what other things will I need to endure to get basic service.

Anyway, if you craft content for a business, these are a few things to keep in mind.

Exploring Faith And Music

I love music that challenges me, pushes my understanding of what music, what it can convey. So I look forward to exploring this playlist. Let me know what you think.

 

 

Watch “How Unbox Therapy became the Biggest Tech Channel on YouTube” on YouTube

I stumbled upon this video today. Paddy Galloway does a great job in his analysis of Unbox Therapy, one of YouTube’s most popular tech channels. He gives some great insights for utilizing Youtube’s tools and algorithms to maximize your video’s presence.

Some fun with Mailchimp

An interesting evening.

I inherited a Mailchimp account. I needed to update the website, organization name (slight name change), address, phone number, etc. My goodness! There were 4 different forms that needed informatio.

Make sure you’ve updated all elements at this section of your account:

  • https://us14.admin.mailchimp.com/account/contact/#

It’ll save you aggravation later.

Please note: I’m still a fan of Mailchimp and their business model. I love how it’s free to start while designed to grow with you and your business. It’s a powerful tool that will help you market professionally with minimal effort. And will scale as you grow.

Let me know if you have any questions. I’ve deployed Mailchimp for multiple businesses and organizations. It’s one of the best investments you can make for your growing business.