Its time for Creation, curation!

The Google Event, be a You-tuber

First and foremost, the update is here. Last Friday, I was invited at the Google Office in Gurgaon to attend their YOUTUBE NEWS EVENT, a workshop aimed for bloggers, authors, and media people to discuss the nuances, strategies for news, making content for audience and everything that goes behind creating a brand as a You-tuber.  Since the event, no more a video is ‘just a video’ to me but much beyond that. I look at it right from where it would have originated… the idea and the connection it makes with me as an audience.. there is much to explore and experiment…Videos are happening indeed..

Yes! I was ecstatic about the invitation because as a blogger it felt cool to be invited to be a part of something like this. Blogging meets, Book launches have become a routine now but here the invite itself said this was going to be different.  And of course, who wouldn’t love to peek in the much-talked about office of Google. (I work at Ericsson but wish to work for Google someday too, maybe as a blogger, Youetuber……. day dreaming)

As I often say I love the doodles and the abundance of data on GOOGLE. Have you ever wondered how life would be without it? Not me because I would hardly know where to make a quick search. Well our ancestors have lived a life this it but then it was past. Today, it’s absolutely different. Internet has given us power. With videos, live streaming, blogs, websites, social networking sites we live in an age that’s about being yourself, clicking selfies, updating status, recordings videos, sharing information at landslide speed or more.

I was there at the cybercity right in time. The Big letters of GOOGLE on the white walls looked inviting and warm.  There were four from the team of Google already waiting for us to start the session. Gradually fellow bloggers, writers too walked in. I picked my set of diary and a pen before settling on my seat. Aanchal, who had invited for the event greeted us cheerfully and began with the flow of it. She talked about various sites and individual brands that have been making the best of YouTube. The idea was to let us know the impact a video could make and some had been doing. For someone like me who is not much into you-tubing and live streaming, it turned out to be very useful. At the end we also did a video making activity and learnt to upload it as well. Isn’t it cool?

Apart from learning the top 10 strategies for Your Tube News, my Take- in from the event was as below…

• Being a blogger, who connects with audience, it’s time to complement content with videos. What videos can, print or online content cannot! True…
• Those who are dealing with social media, must adapt and connect with the changing generation. It’s the youngsters who will create a rage of your video than oldies. So its important to Give them what they want.
• Videos work because its easy to connect with emotions that are expressed truly. The honesty, sincerity shows on the face. The video may not be great pomp and show but if it connects, its gonna rock even though if its shot in a messiest room.
• One must try to put in a unique conversational style while making a video. An individual can create a brand any day.
  
• We also discussed the length of the video and the suggestion was…’tell your full story, don’t cut it down and don’t exaggerate as well..’

Some of the words and brands in news, video that I took back home were

Gen C, Creation, Curation, Between the two ferns,  ViceNews, Storyful, Buzzfeed, Youtube Nation, HrodmadskeTV.

And last but not the least, here are the punch-points of the TOP 10 strategies for You Tube News that we learnt.

1.       Cultivate Conversation

2.       Target Audience

3.       Create Shareable Content

4.       Collaborate and Cross Promote

5.       Curate and Own the Beat

6.       Provide Content for Easy Entry

7.       Interact with the Audience

8.       Balance Evergreen and Topical Content

9.       Quickly Respond

10.     Come up for AIR

Looking forward to more such events.  I must reveal I have suddenly become enthusiastic about video making.  Ideas have been doing rounds and very soon I would be playing around with them.

Happy Blogging…!!!

P.S. Its always fun to catch up with blogger, bookworm friend YATIN.