About The Author A mother of two girls, a freelance writer and blogger, and an award-winning
educator, Melissa Taylor holds a Master's Degree in Global Education, with
expertise in early childhood and elementary education and a focus on literacy
and play. She has taught all subjects for the elementary grades and
preschool.
Pinterest For Business and Fun Have you considered the benefits Pinterest offers your brand, your business, your blog, or even your personal coolness factor? Here are some facts that might impress you;
Pinterest is the FASTEST growing social media network.
Pinterest has 23 million users.
The Pinterest referral traffic beats Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined.
Melissa Taylor uses Pinterest as an online bulletin board and filing system. She has created boards for her business and personal interests and saved links to webpages that she wants to keep. You pin interesting photographs or graphics that represent the content you want to save. What do you pin? Here are some of the author's favorite things to pin;
Learning ideas for kids
Recipes
Crafts and DIY projects
Children's books
Inspirational Quotes
How do you get followers on Pinterest? Ms. Taylor offers the following tips for getting followers.
Name your boards with keywords that others might find interesting.
Make a board dedicated to your business only. You can then repin posts from your business board to your special interest boards.
Pinterest uses hashtags the same way Twitter does. Use hashtags in your descriptions before a category word like #education or #travel.
Repin, Like and Comment on other user's pins.
Follow people who pin items that interest you.
Set up a pinning schedule for each day.
The author shares "Best Advice from Top Pinners"and "Interesting Pinners to Follow" at the end of her book.
My Thoughts This book was a fast read and filled with color screenshots and links. I have read several books about Pinterest but this one really has me excited about setting up boards and pinning.
I currently pin my blog posts and have noticed that I am getting traffic to my blog from the Pinterest links. My goal for the future is to use Pinterest as a virtual filing system that reflects all my interests and passions. You can designate your boards as "private" if you don't want others to see them.
Pinterest Savvy provides basic information about using Pinterest and explains exactly WHY you need to use it. The links are excellent for finding avid pinners to follow and getting a feel for how to use the site. The author shares many tips from the book on her Pinterest Savy website.
If you are looking for Pinterest "how-to" and inspiration, this is the book for you! My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5
FYI ~ I ordered this ebook from Amazon.Com during a limited-time free promotion.
Please check the current price before ordering.
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About The Authors Stephen Voltz and Fritz Grobe are the creators of the viral
video studio EepyBird. The recipients of four Webby Awards and two Emmy
nominations, they have been featured in the New York Times and the
Wall Street Journal and on the cover of Advertising Age.
What Makes Videos Go Viral? Online video is fairly new and the video techniques of the past don't work. The authors of this book have created numerous videos that have received millions of views on YouTube and other video sharing sites. They share their techniques for creating viral videos in this book.
The authors of this book present the following four rules for creating videos that attract millions of viewers;
Be True
Don't Waste My Time
Be Unforgettable
Ultimately, It's All About Humanity
The authors share their own personal experiences in creating videos that have been wildly popular on video sharing sites. They also feature other videos that have the same popular traits and have been favorites with online viewers.
The authors encourage readers to watch samples of viral videos as they read the book. There are QR codes embedded on the pages of the book so you can watch a video on your smart phone while you are reading the print book or a digital copy on your ereader.
The Viral Video Manifesto web site provides an excellent summary of the book and a chapter-by-chapter list of videos that are mentioned in the book.
My Thoughts This is a practical, informative and entertaining guide for video fans and producers. You don't have to be a pro to create a video that goes viral on YouTube. I can't say that the information in this book will make your videos overnight sensations on YouTube, but you will learn many principles and techniques that will give you a better understanding of what people are looking for in an Internet video.
I found the video samples extremely interesting and entertaining. You really MUST view the sample videos as you read the text in this book. A picture/video is worth a thousand words and will give you insight that you can't glean from the text alone.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in making videos for business or fun. You will gain a new understanding of what people want to view and what they don't want to view on YouTube.
My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5
***On a personal note, I love to make videos and post them on YouTube. I have one video that has received over 140,000 views. Please take a look and see if this video follows the four rules listed above.
FYI ~ I received a complimentary digital copy of this book to read and review from Net Galley.
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Would you like to create a professional quality video slideshow to share with your friends and family? Animoto lets you organize your photos, add some video clips and top it off with your favorite music. It is very easy to do and you will love the results. I recently attended my daughter's baby shower and created a slideshow with the photos and video that we took on this special day. I used a brand new Animoto template named "Through the Blossoms" to design the slideshow. I explain exactly how I made the video in the steps below.
How To Made A Video Slideshow With Animoto (1.) I transferred the pictures that I took at the shower from my digital camera to my computer. I also selected pictures that my daughter took with her camera and copied them from her album on Facebook. (2.) I saved some of the favorite video clips that I took at the shower with my Flip Mino camera on my computer. (3.) I went to Animoto and logged into my account. I clicked on the "Create Video" tab. (4.) I was able to view all the video styles that are available on the site. I chose "Through The Blossoms" for this video. (5.) I was taken to the screen where I would design the video. I clicked on the "Add Pics and Vids" tab. I uploaded all the photos that I had saved on my computer from my digital camera and the Facebook album. I then uploaded the video clips that I saved on my computer from my Flip Mino video camera. Animoto allows you to use 10-second video clips in your slideshows. You have the option of turning the audio off or leaving it on. I decided to turn the audio off on the video clips. (6.) Animoto offers a collection of stock photos and video that you can add to your slideshows. I chose several baby photos from their collection to add to my slideshow. (7.) I clicked on the "Add Text" tab and created several short written messages that I wanted to include in the video. You can drag and drop the text screens to the location you want them in the slideshow. (8.) I clicked on the "Change Music" tab to select the music that I wanted to complement my photos. This is always the hardest part for me because there are so many selections in the music library. I chose a song named "Golden Days" for this slideshow. (9.) I clicked the "Advanced Settings" tab to give the slideshow a name and description. There are other options you can use to customize the video to fit your needs. (10.) I saved my work and then clicked the "Produce Video" tab. I waited a few minutes and it was a done deal. I previewed the video and then upgraded the resolution to 720 HD. (11.) I exported the video to YouTube and shared it with my friends.
Animoto allows you to open an account and create a 30 second video FREE. Try it today.
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