Ready for Your Close Up?

    Almost unthinkable as little as 20 years ago, video has become today’s marketer’s dream. Emergence of easy-to-produce, easy-to-access video makes it unbelievably simple to include video in your communications potpourri. Emails, newsletters, social media and certainly websites are relatively easy to link to and to even host videos. An organization easily can create its own YouTube channel.

    What’s more, there is an enormous selection of video production and editing tools that are relatively easy to use (and learn). Some of these apps even include free options making the cost of entry more than reasonable. It’s also relatively easy to include them in all sorts of  outbound efforts.

    Video is becoming an everyday tool in new product introductions, a whole variety of promotions, fund raising and presentations while not forgetting the ever-popular how-to video. Possible applications are limited only to your imagination.

    All this is made even more easily accessible through creative uses of AI. With the assistance of artificial intelligence, an almost endless supply of images are at a user’s fingertips. And, it’s not just still images. Rolling video also is abundantly available. Some of these apps promise literally millions of video clips to use. You can even choose your own voice-over accompaniment by gender, nationality, accent and language.

    There is nothing left to do but get out your director’s chair and to start practice yelling, “Action!”

“Whenever a new technology is introduced into society, there must be a counterbalancing human response — that is, high touch — or the technology is rejected. We must learn to balance the material wonders of technology with the spiritual demands of our human nature."
   — John Naisbitt, an American author & public speaker

Isn’t it Grand?

    In case you missed it, last Friday was Flag Day – established to commemorate the adoption of the flag by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. There have been 27 official versions of the flag – each prompted by the addition of new states to the Union. The current 50-star flag was designed by a high school student in 1958 and was adopted in 1960 when Hawaii became the 50th state.

    The flag’s 50 stars represent each state while the 13 bars of alternating red and white symbolize the original 13 colonies. The colors red, white and blue are also significant. They  represent valor, purity and justice respectively.

    In 1942 the official Flag Code was established to provide guidelines for the preferred and appropriate manner of presentation and handling of the flag. The president can order special occasions when the flag can be displayed at half staff (half mast only applies to naval vessels) usually to indicate times of mourning.