So: I have good news, bad news and worse news.
The good news is, the video linked below, an interview with Jeff Turner of RealEstateShows.com about his experiences at the NAR Convention, is a full representation of the BloodhoundBlog.TV idea as I envision it. Video captured to the size of the image window on an Apple iPhone with a decent level of audio quality.
The bad news is, this is probably as good as things will get for a while. We have something truly cool, and truly novel, but the level of quality we can achieve with existing tools is limited. A year from now we’ll be doing much better. Two years from now the flap-jaws on the Tee Vee News will be pontificating about the dangers of unfettered TV news. In other words, this is the world of desktop publishing or weblogging brought to the world of the multi-camera remote television interview. But: For now, this is as good as it gets.
The worst news is that I hit yet another audio glitch about a third of the way into my conversation with Jeff, with the result that we lost more than we retained. This is truly tragic, because Jeff covered a lot of interesting ground.
But: We’re getting there. Sunday night we’ll do a group interview with NAR Convention survivors, and this will be an even better test of this technology.
In the meantime, we console ourselves with Tennyson:
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,–
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
BloodhoundBlog.TV is that much closer to being a reality.
Technorati Tags: blogging, disintermediation, real estate, real estate marketing, technology
Todd Carpenter says:
Great Interview. Jeff’s view is spot on. I’m amused when other bloggers pose the proposition that RE blogging has reached critical mass. Couldn’t be farther from the truth.
November 16, 2007 — 9:06 pm
Brian Brady says:
God, I miss Turner, here! Lord, how BHBTV can dominate this space!
The idea that RE.net marketing is hyper-local, an esoteric idea, spawned 10 months ago in the epicenter of real estate weblogging, is here and now.
https://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/index.php?s=weblogging+salon&sbutt=Go
Jeff’s example of the REALTOR in upstate NY, with 7000 views, coming from Newzjunkie, proves just that.
What is the future of marketing on the RE.net, in my opinion?
A broad exposure (thanks for the nod, G) driving viewers back to your site. Your site will need to stoke many different senses in 2008 to be effective: blogging for the mind, podcasting for the ears, vidcasting for the eyes, and widgets to bring the consumer into the “experience”.
I don’t know what’s next. Live weekly shows with Q&A? Interactive webinars, recorded for posterity? Inviting consumers on the camera? Our challenge is to find the consumer, invite him into our virtual office, and ENGAGE him.
Fish wraps are all but dead. The television mimics the web through reality shows. Magazines are replaced by group weblogs.
We are in the minority…today. In 2010? A whole different ball game. Now, here’s the cool part; we’re Microsoft in 1983.
November 16, 2007 — 11:16 pm
John Kalinowski says:
Am I the only one having problems playing these videos? They don’t play in Windows Media Player, and when I play them in QuickTime, the sound doesn’t match up with the video. It looks like I’m watching one of those old Japanese movies with English dubbed in. I know, Windows PCs are for losers, but that’s all I have. Thanks!
November 17, 2007 — 7:46 am
Greg Swann says:
> the sound doesn’t match up with the video.
Unrelated to Windows, if that’s any consolation.
There are two reasons for the phenomenon you note:
1. The video is transmitted at 10 frames per second. It’s captured at 30 frames per second, but that doesn’t matter. The source video is still only 10 fps.
2. The video and audio streams are captured from two separate sources, and the twinned propagation delays are somewhat out of phase. We have a way of capturing the audio with the video, but it entails a couple of logistical trade-offs that resulted in a worse overall product.
I warned you: This is as good as it gets for now. This is right on the bleeding edge of being impossible, which is why I keep getting less than I want. The whole thing works, but the audio, particularly, stole a patent from Rube Goldberg. What I want is for some web video entrepreneur to see this and take it to the next level.
Wish list:
1. Better directorial control.
2. Feed live and capture in real time, neither of which I can do in this form for now.
But: My post-production effort is maybe five minutes of labor in two-minutes-per-minute of clock-time-to-video-time. The finished videos are around 2 megabytes per minute, a very small disk footprint. And the time commitment for the interviewed guests is almost 100% efficient, just as with an audio podcast: You show up, you talk, you leave.
November 17, 2007 — 10:33 am
Ines says:
Greg – I don’t know why I feel uncomfortable commenting here at Bloodhound, but now that you interviewed Jeff, who happens to be one of my favorite people, I feel like I can let me guard down.
What you said about “the jungle you are right now…how to take advantage of the opporturnity that we have right now while anticipating that the world could be radically different in 12 months” was spot on.
Thanks for the enlightenment!
November 17, 2007 — 2:14 pm
Greg Swann says:
Hi, Ines. I quoted that email yesterday in another comment thread. Here it is again:
——
Monday night Jeff Turner was beating me up about not making Real Estate Weblogging 101 a true paper-bound book. This is me from email to him this morning:
November 17, 2007 — 2:26 pm
Ines says:
Greg – I do see your point of not making a paper-bound book, but I can speak for myself when I say that I’m always reading a book in addition to being on the Internet. You should definitely consider it.
November 17, 2007 — 2:46 pm
CJ, Broker in L A, CA says:
Does anyone have a video of Brian Brady’s Zillow/Trulia/Facebook/MySpace presentation that Greg mentioned in the interview?? I’d love to see it!
November 17, 2007 — 7:37 pm
Daniel Rothamel says:
Jeff was right on the money about my impressions of Walter Sanford. It was actually sad and depressing for me to watch. As long as his voice and those similar, are the accepted voice of real estate, the consumer is in trouble, and the industry will be left behind. The worst part about it is that, being an NAR convention fixture for so long, he has been pre-ordained by the NAR, and therefore is far more readily accepted by the rank and file member. This must change.
Jeff is absolutely right about the fact that we, as a blogging community, should have no delusions about our relevance to the overall real estate community. As of right now, we are the fringe, the crazies, the people living on the bleeding edge. It is a lonely world.
The good news, however, is that with careful planning and continual faith in our message and a constant evangelism, things can change. It will require some compromise on our part in certain respects, but I firmly believe it is possible. After having attended the NAR convention, it is apparent that change is necessary now more than ever.
November 18, 2007 — 11:54 am
Brian Wilson says:
Not to get off topic here, but this is a great example of what Allen Butler wrote about a few weeks ago on the blog — https://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=2195. Putting a face, voice and mannerisms to the writers we love. If this is any indication, BloodhoundBlog.TV will be great, Greg!
November 19, 2007 — 10:22 am