I found this fascinating quote today:

10 Tips for a Great Video Blog January 5th, 2009 by Kyle Lacy Posted in Viral Marketing, blogging, small businessKyle Lacy, Social Media – Indianapolis, Jan 2009

The article also motivated me to share the reasons why I include so much video on my blog.  So here they are:

1.  Video Helps Add Personality to Your Blog
One key factor to a successful blog is showing personality.  You need to be able to connect with your audience and allow them to get to know who you really are.  Convince them you are HUMAN.  Sure the content that you put in a blog allows you to do this, but video adds a whole new dimension.  Your viewers are able to actually see you and hear you as you are expressing your thoughts on a particular subject.  This makes it much easier for them to connect.  When people begin to connect with where you are coming from, you start to establish a rapport and build a level of trust.  This is key in developing your group of loyal followers.  This will be the group you can truly benefit from interacting with.

2. Video Increases the Level of Interaction on Your Blog
I have noticed that a large amount of my feedback has come from my YouTube videos.  Interaction on YouTube is the reason that I know OS version 4.7.0.85 is now out for the Blackberry Storm and that it is in fact possible to use Twitterberry in landscape mode.  A viewer saw my videos on YouTube and felt compelled to provide me with information that has been very helpful.  Of course this made my videos a bit inaccurate, but this is why I am telling you about it now.  I firmly believe that opening up your level of interaction by including video elements you are more likely to get your followers to open up as well.  

3. Video Enables A First-Hand Demonstration
My blog so far has included several product reviews.  By adding video to my blog not only am I able to write my review, but I can also show exactly what I like and dislike about the product I am reviewing first-hand.  This adds authenticity to your review as viewers know that you have actually experienced real life interaction with the particular product you are reviewing.  This is a great step toward encouraging others to value your opinion.  Because after all, if you opinion is not valued- what good is a blog?

All of that talk about including video on your blog and guess what?  I am not posting a video for this blog entry.  If you want a new video, I guess you will have to check back later this week!

And if you are looking for a review on video cameras- check out this blog post by Justin Bryant.

Twitter is a great micro-blogging tool for staying in touch and allowing others to stay in touch with you.  If you are not using Twitter currently, create a Twitter account right now. 

There are a variety of different applications out there to use with Twitter.  You have: TwitterBerry (Twitter for the Blackberry), Twitterific (Twitter for the iPhone), TwitterFox (Twitter for Firefox).  Each of these can be very beneficial depending on what your specific needs might be with the phone or browser you are using.  One thing we all have in common, however, is the fact that we are using a computer.  So how do you better manage your tweets when you are using Twitter on your desktop or notebook PC?  The answer is TweetDeck.

TweetDeck is the most efficient way that I have found to utilize Twitter.  Simply put, it breaks all tweets down into managable pieces.  It’s column view and sorting functionality make it much easier to know who is following you, replying to your tweets, or sending you a direct message.  TweetDeck does require Adobe Air to run, but once this is installed your Twittering experience will be a breeze.  TweetDeck will ensure that you stay up to date with the people you want to follow, while making it easy to see who is following/replying to your tweets.  With TweetDeck you are sure to increase your Twitter Grader score in no time!