Happy and Blue 2

Today I received an email from my webhost advising me that they have corrected their internal problems with their servers.

I’ve checked my site and everything seems to be working.

But, in the past week or so that I’ve had really limited access to my site I’ve started thinking about things. Things like: (more…)

I am still experiencing problems with my web host.

“But wait. You never mentioned this before Glen..”

That’s because I haven’t been able to post anything on here for the past week..
With a couple of exceptions of course.
Like this one.

I’m becoming much more comfortable doing video posts. And they are having a positive benefit in my personal life. I’m more outgoing as a result.

The reason I’m telling you this is because I did posts here and here about what it felt like doing the first video post on this site. It was scary and nerve wracking.

There are now 5 videos on this site. They aren’t getting a lot of views but I’m not concerned about that. Probably most videos don’t get a lot of views. Most of them, like mine are probably not particularly good. ( I did get a friend request on YouTube today from someone who posts on there and it wasn’t porn, ha,ha)

But, Jordan Cooper does good videos. Not professional in terms of his sets, lighting or whatever else is supposed to be in a high quality video. But good content presented in a good way.
And Gary Vaynerchuk does good videos without having great quality. Once again the message makes the video not the other way around.

The whole point is that doing videos is what you make of them.
If the message is good then people will view them whether they are high quality or not.

And if your new to this form of media the message and quality don’t really matter all that much when you start out.

The most important part for anyone who thinks they would like to try video posts is to just do them. Get comfortable with them and then work on making them more polished later on.

For anyone who hasn’t tried them you will get more comfortable with them. I have and I am really quite a shy and private person.

I plan to do more video posts and more podcasts. The benefits for me on a personal level outweigh the annoyance it may cause visitors to my site for the time being.

Editor’s note: Once again I am not suggesting that everyone should do video or audio posts. That is a matter of personal choice.
But if you are thinking of doing either then just do it. It really isn’t all that scary.

As noted in another post and probably in some of the comments I’ve left on other sites I’m renovating my home.
Yesterday was an exciting time here.

After 3 days I finally got my bathroom finished to the point where I could take a shower.

If anyone noticed a funny smell here or in their comments during the 3 day no shower time please be assured that it should go away now.

Or if you visited here and thought “These posts stink” or “Glen’s comments stink” please be advised that this will change immediately.

Thank you for your patience..

One of the perks of trying new things on our sites is that doing so provides us with ideas for new things to write about.

Less than a week ago I did a video post. The video was done using IMovie on my Mac.
To do this post I had to research how to make a video and how to get the video from my computer to YouTube and then to my site.

I also learned that there is a lot of work involved in editing which I chose to ignore for my initial video. Future ones will involve editing.

The best part of the whole experience was getting over fear I had. Fear of failure. Fear of exposure.
I’m really very shy and a kind of a behind the scenes kind of person.
This was a huge step in my life and hopefully it will lead to other opportunities for my personal growth.

Yesterday I did my first podcast. It was done using Garage Band on my Mac.
While there is no editing in this podcast either it took me hours to find out how to get the podcast on my site. I finally gave up reading how it is supposed to be done and did my usual of trying anything until it worked.

Doing an audio post is scary too. No one thinks they sound the way they do and I’m no different. When we hear a recording of our own voice it’s uncomfortable for us.

The podcast was easier in some ways because I’d done the video post first but it was another growth experience for me as a person.

It doesn’t matter in the least to me if anyone does audio or video posts on their sites.
Normally I visit sites to read and interact with written words.

Some people like Jordan Cooper, Nicholas Cardot and David Risley do really exceptional video posts. They all use video to supplement their written posts.

And I’ve listened to some really good podcasts lately. Mitch Mitchell linked to one he did which was definitely worth listening to and Mitch Joel does lots of good podcasts on his site as well.
Maybe to be good at podcasts you need to be named Mitch….

All I can think when I watch or listen to these people is that they are as good as they are because they started somewhere and improved.

They started somewhere..
They didn’t just think about it.
They took action.

I don’t expect my initial attempts at anything to be good.

As a manager I always told my staff:
“I don’t care what you do. Just do something.
We can work out the details later.”

My attempts at video and audio are just that.
Me doing something.
I can work out the details later..
I stopped thinking about it and I took action.

So the question for you is:
What are your thoughts on trying new things? In your life? On your site?

At the moment I’m all about trying new, to me anyways, things.

I tried a video podcast on Friday.

And today I’m trying an audio podcast.

Whether I ever use either medium again seems of little relevance to me.
I just like trying things.

Sometimes words are a more powerful medium than video or audio.
Personally I think that is the case with this story. It writes better than it sounds..

But, as one of my favourite Canadian singers Alanis Morissette sings:

You live, you learn..

If you get a chance to view the video or listen to the audio I would appreciate your input.
Both were done without much if any planning or editing. I just wanted to get something on my site.
So, I am more interested in your views on uses of the media itself rather than my attempts to learn how to use it.

Do you like video or audio posts?

The audio podcast is located below..

This is a two part series of posts. Part one can be found here.

I still don’t know if I made the right choice in posting my video.

But, I did something. I exposed myself. I took a chance.
And that’s always a good thing..

I suppose the obvious question for you would be why haven’t you done a video post ( if you haven’t done one)

But, in truth, I think that doing video or not is a personal choice. Just like using an un-retouched picture or avatar or doing audio posts.

We can’t hide behind the fact that we don’t have a video camera anymore.
Virtually every cheap picture camera has video capability.

And we can’t hide behind the fact that we don’t know how.
Google linked me to how and in about 3 tries I got it to work on my site.

Nor can we hide behind the fact that we don’t have the right space or backdrop or lighting.
I did mine with an isight camera on my Mac using IMovie. There is no backdrop. There wasn’t any special lighting. Just me and a camera..

What we hide ourselves behind is fear.
Fear that others won’t like the way we look.
Fear that others won’t like the way we sound.
Fear that people will judge us based on our appearance.
Fear that people will laugh at us.

It’s alright to be afraid.
But, we already go out in public and, not sure about you, but no one makes fun of how I look (to my face anyways.)
And no one I talk to criticizes my voice.
And probably some people do judge me by how I’m dressed. But when I get to know them it doesn’t seem all that important to them.
People laugh with me a lot of the time. And I suppose they laugh about my antics behind my back.
And never once has someone’s appearance made me, or anyone I know, run away.
(We don’t have Zombies here though. The cold weather keeps them away I suppose. If you have Zombies where you live running away would be prudent.)

I don’t care if you or anyone else does a video post.
Personal choice is personal choice.

For me, personal choice now means that I can explore other forms of media that weren’t available to me in the past.
And, now if I ever actually met someone from writing on my site, they would recognize me.

And for me, personal choice now means that I can move forward.

Kris Kristofferson Me & Bobby Mcgee Lyrics

“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose. And nothin ain’t worth nothin but it’s free.”

I am still torn.
But I’m free..